Macbeth Deception Essay

Lindy Mitchell Miss Wilson Honors Freshman English 4 March 2024 Macbeth Deceit Analysis Essay “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath” (Shakespeare I.V.63-64). Macbeth is a story about a promising soldier, Macbeth, who is visited by three witches. They tell him that he will one day be king. Fueled by his ambition and encouragement from his wife, he pursues the throne. His first step was to murder the beloved king, Duncan.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a selfish Scottish thane becomes over-ambitious and commits several murders in order to gain and stay in power. After the murders, Macbeth evades suspicion by hiding his guilt and intentions, therefore deceiving others into thinking that he is innocent. Other characters including Lady Macbeth, the witches and the Scottish thanes also use their appearances to hide the truth and deceive others. With these examples, Shakespeare shows that appearances can be deceiving.

They poison his mind with these prophecies, making him greedy and bringing out the evil qualities in his soul. When the first of the prophecies is proven true, Macbeth then considers the idea of murdering Duncan for the first time. This is his first step on the journey to his downfall, as the Three Witches had planned. The Three Witches plan has succeeded, they had brought out the greed in Macbeth, allowing him to make the most important decision - to kill King Duncan. Macbeth's malevolence and deceptiveness are sown further when he becomes so obsessed with the witches prophecies to his own friend Banquo, that he decides to hire men to kill him and his son Fleance. After Macbeth went through the murder of Duncan and Banquo, he slowly lost his sanity, it is at this point that the witches were easily able to control his mind. They have succeeded in bringing out the Evil qualities in Macbeth and are ready to finish their game and make sure Macbeth continues to spiral downward. With Hecates' lead, the witches plan to bring Macbeth to his death by making him overconfident, they do this by presenting him with three apparitions. The first appears as an armed head that speaks,

The apparition gives Macbeth false security as it makes him think that he can never be defeated because is impossible for Birnam Forest to come to Dunsinane Hill. This contributes to Macbeth’s failure as his over-confidence makes him cocky and he ends up being hated by

Moreover, when Macbeth meets the Third Apparition it tells him he “shall never [be] vanquished” Macbeth then states “Good! /Rebellious dead. Rise never till the wood/Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth/Shall live the lease of nature…” (4.1.95-98)

Before he lived through the witches prophecy and became king, so there was no doubt that would not trust the witches again. The first apparition is an armored head that bewares Macbeth of Macduff. Macbeth is shocked of the news and wants to no more, but before he has the chance to ask why he should beware Macduff, the apparition quickly descends before the question is asked. That apparition presented Macbeth’s present because what Macbeth did not know was that Macduff was going to be plotting Macbeth’s death. Now there came a second apparition which was a bloody child to signify Macbeth’s past, as he was a baby of a cesarian section and not delivered from his mother’s womb.

Also, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both strong conveyors of deceit. From the onset on the play, Macbeth is characterized as strong and loyal to his king and country. However, once the witches’ prophecy is planted in his head, his thirst for King is so intense that it cannot be quenched and slowly his admirable traits are erased. When Macbeth is preparing for the King’s arrival at his house, he starts to question his murderous thoughts. He states that the King will be here in “double trust” , for Macbeth will be his hostess and will also be acting as a subject of the state. How can he possibly do such a grim task? The answer is Lady Macbeth. She lusts after becoming Queen and living a life of fantasy and does everything in her power to persuade her husband to kill the King. She questions his courage, she feeds his ego and she emasculates poor Macbeth all in an effort to get what she wants disguised as what is best for him. When he agrees, she tells him to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” in order to commit this regicide. Lady Macbeth, such a beautiful woman, is actually a cunning, strategic and determined lady – so determined that she’s willing to risk everything and make her husband lie to the king and betray him. It’s funny how things are not always what they appear to be.

Jean-Francois Vernay looks at the story of macbeth as “Macbeth is a play of deception and self-deception”. Murders are everywhere in the play.The characters take control throughout the play.Macbeth meets his fate by being talked into doing things.Lady Macbeth is one that questions macbeth on the things he does.

His ambition soon gets to his head and gives him a false sense of security. When the witches said this it created a domino effect because it caused his ambition to get to his head then he killed King Duncan which later caused him to kill more people. After Macbeth had committed many bad actions including killing Banquo the witches appear with three apparitions. These apparitions include an armored head, a baby and a crowned child holding a tree, all the apparitions have a meaning to them for Macbeth to see what will come in the future. The witches said, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him”(4.1.15-17).

In this play, Macbeth murders King Duncan and he later encounters his own death. (Cain, Murderous Thinking In Macbeth pg. 255-263). observes, “We know that Macbeth must be killed even as, at the end, we may find ourselves hoping that this murderer will escape the death he deserves.”

In the play, Macbeth, Shakespeare utilizes the art of deception, exercised by the Macbeth’s to further develop the conflicts within the story, ultimately expanding the plot. Macbeth’s ambition to become king has led him and his wife Lady Macbeth, to arrange an assassination against King Duncan by betraying him, “To beguile the time, Look like the time, Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent/flower,” (1.6.74-77). Lady Macbeth encouraged Macbeth and his desire to become king, by guiding Macbeth on how to deceive Duncan when he arrives at their castle tomorrow. Macbeth’s plan to utilize deceit and a scapegoat in his assassination of King Duncan, building up and creating new problems, for Macbeth.

Macbeth dies as his castle is overrun and his brief rule ended. Yet, Bradley proposed that Macbeth maintains his nobility and his courage at his demise. Bradley claims: “In the very depths a gleam of his native of goodness, and with it a touch of tragic grandeur, rest upon him” (144). Macbeth’s “native goodness” or noble nature consists of his courage or manliness. King Duncan illustrates the connection between Macbeth’s courage and his noble stature: “what he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won” (6). Macbeth’s nobility depends on the maintenance of his courage. Thus, since Bradley believes that Macbeth dies with his “native goodness” he believes that Macbeth maintains his courage and manliness even at his death. Bradley focuses on Macbeth’s mention of “tomorrow” to show that Macbeth continues to be courageous and optimistic till the end. However, Macbeth’s mention of the future and his determination are not signs of his courage as shown by his next statement. Macbeth then recognizes his own loss of hope and nobility: “a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage… signifying nothing” (90). Macbeth’s existential comment presents a reflective point of view that recognizes the hopelessness of his situation and his own devolution from grandeur. Davidson also maintains that Macbeth has lost all sense of his native nature. Davidson concludes: “sin does change Macbeth

At this point in time Macbeth is insane, he is talking to himself and is even seeing the ghost of his murdered best friend because his need for the ultimate power has stripped him from reality and the person he once was is indeed

Macbeth knew that Duncan was a kind man, and Duncan thought that others were like him (as noble and

The first apparition is shown to Macbeth and this warns him about Macduff and look out for his intentions. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn, the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” ( 4.1.78-79). The second apparition informs Macbeth that the individual who has been untimely ripped from its mother's womb, will be king. “ Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” (4.191-93). The last apparition shown by the supernatural uncovers that he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill.