Treachery In Macbeth

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is an extremely tragic play, in which Macbeth becomes a serial killer out of pure greed and quickly goes mad. Although every portion of this play is important, Act IV scene ii is a crucial scene in the text. This scene is essential because it brings together all of the major themes of the play and creates a pivotal moment of action. In this scene, the audience or reader finally realizes how bad Macbeth has truly become, while feeling pity for Lady Macduff. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Act IV scene ii is crucial because it displays the themes of manhood, betrayal, and madness.

First of all, Act IV scene ii is an essential part of the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare because it connects the theme of manliness to the rest of the play. In this scene, Lady Macduff is curious as to why
Treachery is mentioned in this part of the play when Lady Macduff continues to call her husband a traitor, and even tells their son that his father is a traitor. The son asks, “Was my father a traitor, mother?” (Act IV scene ii, line 44). To this, Lady Macduff replies, “Ay, that he was.” (Act IV scene ii, line 45). It is fairly unreasonable for her to say that he is a traitor, because she provides no reasoning. However, she could mean that he betrayed the family by abandoning them to save himself. This is ironic because Macduff is actually plotting to kill the real traitor, which is Macbeth. This theme is also shown Lady Macbeth and her spouse are planning the murder of Duncan, because he is their relative and friend who trusts them. Lady Macbeth shows betrayal to the king when she tells Macbeth to, “...look like th’ innocent flower/But be the serpent under ‘t.” (Act I scene v, lines 65-66). The fact that Act IV connects this theme to other areas of the play shows that it is an obvious important