Appearance vs reality

• Appearance vs Reality


  The difference between appearance and reality, and the deception that is possible because of this
• Appearance vs Reality in Macbeth

  • At the heart of the tragedy
  • Outward appearance of the Macbeths as trustworthy and innocent enables them to get away with their plot
  • Loyalty and trust are juxtaposed by the ultimate betrayal
• Role of the supernatural


  • Facilitates the manipulation and alteration of reality and appearance
  • Chaotic atmosphere and mental instability of the main characters is central to the play
• The Witches


  First exposure to the chaotic and inverted world of Macbeth
• The opening of the play creates a paradox, the contradictory statements are reflective of appearance versus reality
• One witch: '"When the battle's lost, and won"'
• One of the most famous lines: '"Fair is foul, and foul is fair"'
• Shakespeare warns his audience that no one and nothing can be trusted
• Shakespeare suggests that there are no certainties when it comes to morality
• The Witches


  • Grotesque outer appearance but not overtly violent or cruel within the context of the plot
  • The chaos and confusion they create is so frightening
• Banquo: '"Oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths; / Win us with honest trifles, to betray's / In deepest consequences"'
• Banquo's quote


  • Humans can be easily fooled by lies if they are given with small truths
  • These contradictions confuse us and lead us astray
• Lady Macbeth


  • Significant example of the difference between appearance and reality
  • Her ambition fuels her deception of others
  • She ensures she disguises her true intentions in order to gain power
• Feminine vs Masculine


  • Initially her outward appearance as a woman would mean the audience would assume her to be weak
  • As the play progresses we see she is stereotypically masculine internally
  • As she becomes more powerful and masculine she is ultimately destroyed by her weak mind
• Lady Macbeth: '"To beguile the time, / Look like the time, bear welcome in your / eye, / Your hand, your tongue"'
• Lady Macbeth: '"Sleek o'er your rugged looks, be bright and jovial / Among your guests tonight"'
• Lady Macbeth: '"Look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't"'
• Shakespeare demonstrates how appearances cannot be trusted because they are moldable, meaning they offer no insight into the reality of a person
• Lady Macbeth: '"Come, thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, / That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, / Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark"'
• Lady Macbeth's quote


  • She wants to use appearances to her advantage by blinding others to her actions
  • The personification implies there is a level of self-deception to her plan
  • The semantic field of darkness implies our reliance on what we can see makes us ignorant and gullible
• Macbeth


  • Benefits greatly from the conflict between appearance and reality
  • Manages to be viewed as an honorable warrior and king despite the awful crimes he has committed
  • A symbol for deception and facade
  • Loses sight of himself when he is constantly deceiving others
• Duncan's description of Macbeth: '"O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman"'
• This is situational irony because we soon see that Macbeth is neither "valiant" nor "worthy"
• Macbeth's first line: '"So foul and fair a day I have not seen"'
• This signals how Macbeth's fate is tied to the confusion of contradiction
• This foreshadows his indecision and moral ambiguity
• Macbeth: '"Away, and mock the time with fairest show, / False face must hide what the false heart doth know"'
• Macbeth's quote


  • Deception is a form of playing God because people believe they can defy time and truth
  • The juxtaposition between "false face" and "false heart" highlights the divide between someone's outward looks and true nature
• Macbeth: '"We / Must lave our honours in these flattering streams / And make our faces vizards to our hearts, / Disguising what they are"'
• Macbeth's quote


  • Compassion is a performance or scientific process that can be reproduced without meaning behind it
  • The verbs "disguise" and "hide" imply the Macbeths' lies shield them
  • This shows how 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
• Appearance vs. reality


  The difference between how something appears and what it truly is
• Macbeth finds contentment in his plan


  Shakespeare implies deception is a form of playing God
• People believe they can defy "time" and truth

  The most powerful forces humanity is subjected to
• The juxtaposition between "false face" and "false heart"

  Highlights the divide between someone's outward looks and true nature
• Macbeth: '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
• Verbs "disguise" and "hide"


  Imply the Macbeths' lies shield them from being discovered and losing their good reputations
• 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