Appearance vs Reality

• Appearance vs Reality


  The difference between appearance and reality, and the deception that is possible because of this
• The outward appearance of the Macbeths as trustworthy and innocent enables them to get away with their plot to murder Duncan and ascend the throne
• Supernatural


  Shakespeare's use of the supernatural, such as Witches and spells, hallucinations of knives, blood and ghosts, creates a chaotic atmosphere and mental instability of the main characters
• The Witches


  • The Witches are the first exposure we get as an audience to the chaotic and inverted world of Macbeth
  • The Witches' contradictory statements reflect appearance versus reality
  • The Witches don't tell Macbeth to kill Duncan, but the chaos and confusion they create is frightening
  • The Witches show how human greed makes us vulnerable to deception and betrayal
• Lady Macbeth


  • Lady Macbeth is a significant example of the difference between appearance and reality, and the conflict between the two
  • Lady Macbeth is aware of the importance of outward appearance and how it can be manipulated
  • Lady Macbeth wants to use appearances to her advantage by blinding others to her actions
  • Lady Macbeth is caught between reality and imagination, and her hallucinations symbolize her losing control of herself
• Macbeth


  • Macbeth benefits greatly from the conflict between appearance and reality, managing to be viewed as an honorable warrior and king despite the awful crimes he has committed
  • Macbeth is a symbol for deception and facade, but also for the way people lose sight of themselves when they are constantly deceiving others
  • Macbeth sees appearance as something that can be managed to meet his intentions, and he uses deception to protect himself from judgement
• Couplet


  Suggesting he finds contentment in this plan
• Shakespeare implies deception


  Is a form of playing God because people believe they can defy "time" and truth, the most powerful forces humanity is subjected to
• "False face" and "false heart"

  Highlights the divide between someone's outward looks and true nature
• Macbeth says "We / Must lave our honours in these flattering streams / And make our faces vizards to our hearts, / Disguising what they are,"


  Metaphors about "honour" and "fairest show" suggest compassion is a performance or scientific process that can be reproduced without meaning behind it
• "Disguise" and "hide"


  Imply the Macbeths' lies shield them, showing they are scared of being discovered and losing their good reputations
• Shakespeare suggests people use their appearances to protect themselves from judgement


  Accusing society of being afraid of intimacy
• Macbeth suffers from his exploitation of appearances

  He starts to be unable to tell what his reality is anymore
• The evil, corrupt parts of himself Macbeth tries to repress and "disguise"


  Start to express themselves in the form of morbid hallucinations and spirits, suggesting your true nature can never be changed no matter how much you alter your appearance
• Macbeth can't trust his own mind


  As a result of his deceit
• The biggest conflict as a result of appearance vs. reality is within Macbeth's own head
• Shakespeare shows it's not just the Macbeths and the Witches who experience a distorted, deceitful reality
• The whole world is upside down, and we're all just living in it
• Duncan


  A good king who is vulnerable because he isn't wary of the difference between appearance and reality, and is too gullible
• Duncan believes a person's good nature is reflected in their face
• Macbeth wants to be in darkness to do his crimes, suggesting it would be obvious to Duncan that he's not a "deserver", but Duncan is unaware of Macbeth's plots
• It is almost humiliating how drastically wrong Duncan's impressions of the Macbeths are, challenging these ideologies
• Shakespeare suggests true evil is so dangerous because it arrives with the face of goodness
• The most vulnerable people are those who don't understand that the world is an evil place
• Pathetic fallacy


  Furious thunderstorms and thick layers of fog and darkness that the sun can't get through, creating an atmosphere of obscurity and fear
• Banquo observes "There's husbandry in heaven, / Their candles are all out", suggesting even heaven is acting suspicious and secretive, so that the whole world is against him
• Macbeth's wish has come true: the "stars" have extinguished their "fires", suggesting Macbeth has a supernatural ability to control his environment and reality, provoking fear from the audience
• The opening scene foreshadows the use of trickery and witchcraft in the play because of the Witches' presence, and establishes Macbeth as an untrustworthy, corrupt character
• Macbeth's motive for his deception is his lust to be king, as Shakespeare suggests power is behind all evil and manipulation in the world
• The hierarchy of power in the world means there is a chain of influence: the citizens of Scotland obey their king, Macbeth, who obeys the prophecies of the supernatural Witches
• If appearance is a trustworthy, accurate reflection of reality, then order is kept. If not, chaos breaks loose
• As reality breaks down the Macbeths are haunted by more and more hallucinations, which are a symbol for the divide between appearance and reality
• Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's switch to prose indicates their mental instability, as reality falls apart slowly exposing the villains in the story
• Anyone is capable of putting on a mask and mocking the time, but this goes against the natural order and against God, and is only rewarded with death and suffering
• By the end of the play, the Macbeths' moods swing so violently, their decisions change so quickly, that it seems their masks have tricked even them, as they no longer know who they are, their sense of self has been destroyed, because they have driven their appearances away from their reality