Macbeth Essay
Caleb Cordova and Aaron Freedman
Mr. Crea
Honours English 11
8 May 2015
Deception in Macbeth
A common theme throughout
Macbeth
is deception. A plethora of characters use deception to fulfil their greed and/or get what they want. Deception is a tactic that proves to be very successful for certain characters in this play. Of all the characters that make use of deception: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Witches, and Malcolm have the most impact on the outcome of the tragedy by being deceptive.
When King Duncan first arrives at Macbeth's castle he is treated as a special guest and it is made apparent by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth that they value and love him. They do this in an effort to deceive him into thinking that he is safe at their home and that they have no bad intentions. This is shown by lines 2528 in Scene VI of Act I, “Your servants ever have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt, to make their audit at your highness’ pleasure,” in these lines, Lady Macbeth is treating King Duncan as though he is completely safe at Inverness.
However, in the coming scenes Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to become King and fulfill the prophecy that was given to him by the three witches. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s use of deception was successful and allowed Macbeth to pull off the murder of King Duncan and move forward in his effort to become the King of Scotland.
The three witches that Macbeth and Banquo meet in the beginning of the play also make use of deception to their advantage. In Scene I of Act IV, The three witches give Macbeth another set of prophecies: “Beware Macduff! Beware the Thane of Fife,” “Laugh to scorn the pow’r of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,” and “Macbeth shall never
vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” The prophecies are deceptive in the way that they give Macbeth false hope. He thinks that he is safe from all men unless they are not born
Mr. Crea
Honours English 11
8 May 2015
Deception in Macbeth
A common theme throughout
Macbeth
is deception. A plethora of characters use deception to fulfil their greed and/or get what they want. Deception is a tactic that proves to be very successful for certain characters in this play. Of all the characters that make use of deception: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Witches, and Malcolm have the most impact on the outcome of the tragedy by being deceptive.
When King Duncan first arrives at Macbeth's castle he is treated as a special guest and it is made apparent by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth that they value and love him. They do this in an effort to deceive him into thinking that he is safe at their home and that they have no bad intentions. This is shown by lines 2528 in Scene VI of Act I, “Your servants ever have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt, to make their audit at your highness’ pleasure,” in these lines, Lady Macbeth is treating King Duncan as though he is completely safe at Inverness.
However, in the coming scenes Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to become King and fulfill the prophecy that was given to him by the three witches. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s use of deception was successful and allowed Macbeth to pull off the murder of King Duncan and move forward in his effort to become the King of Scotland.
The three witches that Macbeth and Banquo meet in the beginning of the play also make use of deception to their advantage. In Scene I of Act IV, The three witches give Macbeth another set of prophecies: “Beware Macduff! Beware the Thane of Fife,” “Laugh to scorn the pow’r of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth,” and “Macbeth shall never
vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” The prophecies are deceptive in the way that they give Macbeth false hope. He thinks that he is safe from all men unless they are not born