APPEARANCE VS REALITY

• MACBETH "False face must hide what the false hearth doth know"


  -admits he must disguise his true feelings behind a misleading expression to carry out Duncans murder

  -shows how he becomes aware of the need to deceive others- his reality must be hidden behind a mask of innocence

  -This reflects the crucial theme of deception and appearance vs reality in the play

  -warns the audience that good and evil will be confused throughout the play

  -rhymes with previous line, suggest he finds contentment in this plan.

  -Shakespeare implies deception is a form of playing god as people believe they can defy time and truth and the most powerful forces humanity is subjected to
• LADY MACBETH "Look like th'innocent flower but be the serpent under't"


  -stressing the important difference between looking like something and being something else

  -Juxtaposition of "flower" , connotates to femininity, with "serpent" which connotes masculinity and trickery, showing there can be a dangerous divide between a persons outward appearance and inward nature

  -to appear innocent while hiding malicious intent, a strategy she urges Macbeth to adopt to deceive King Duncan during his visit

  -"Flower" wants macbeth to appear more feminine as she gets more masculine, "look" suggest appearance is unauthentic

  "innocent" how honourable macbeth must be
• WITCHES "Fair is foul and foul is fair"


  -conjunction "and" shows both good and bad can exist at the same time.

  -weather is reflective of this as Macbeth declares "so foul and fair a day I have not seen"

  -shakespeare warns audience that no on and nothing can be trusted

  -SUggets there are no certainties when it comes to mortality

  -What appears to be good on the surface may not be
• MACDUFF “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece /Most sacrilegious murder hath broke open/ The lords anointed temple..”


  -Reacts with horror to duncans murder

  -Outward appearance of castle as a safe + noble place is shattered by the hidden reality of regicide

  -Calling duncans body “temple” (sacred and divinely chosen) and murder “sacrilegious” emphasises the violation of natural and moral order- gone again divine right of king- exposing the contrast between seeming loyal and actual betrayal

  -the murder violates the image of moral leadership and safety that duncan represented. His appearance as a protected, powerful figure has been undone by a hidden betrayal
• DUNCAN "signs of nobleness liek starts shall shine/ On all deserves"


  -hes vulnerable as isnt way of the difference between appearance and reality, he's gullible

  -tells ^ to his subjects, suggesting e believes a persons good nature is reflected in their face

  -image of "stars" shining like a spotlight implies good people stand out in a crowd, almost as if illuminated by god.

  -The "stars" are an allusion to heaven and god, suggesting there's a link/connection between god and his people as the "stars" can reach down to earth.

  -Macbeth contrasts by wanting to be in darkness asks for "sealing night" . Suggets true evil is dangerous as it arrives with the face of goodness.

  -Most vulnerable are those who dont understand the world is an evil
• BANQUO-“And oftentimes, to win us to our harm/ The instruments of darkness tell us truths/ Win us honest trifles, to betrays”


  -Warns that evil forces (witches, instruments) may appear honest by telling small truths (trifles) but their real purpose is to lead people to destruction

  -Skeptical of witches prophecy, even though theyve just told the truth about macbeth becoming thane of cawdaw

  -Shows his wisdom + moral clarity , recognising that not all truths are good + what may appear harmless may hide dangerous intentions

  -sees truth and deception can coexist, and what seems like a gift, prophecy, may actually be a trap
• MALCOLM “Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace/ Yet grace must still look so”


  -Says that evil often disguises itself as good “foul” things may appear “graceful”

  -Yet true goodness (grace) must also appear outwardly good, makes it hard to tell whos truly virtuous and whos pretending

  -Captures malcolms deep suspicion + awareness of deception after witnessing macbeths rise. no longer trusts appearances

  -Highlights plays central concern that reality is often hidden beneath a mask, and those who seem noble (like macbeth once did) can be corrupt beneath the surface