Appearence Vs Reality Macbeth Essay, Research Paper
The play Macbeth was written in 1606 by William Shakespeare. It s about a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from three sinister witches. The prophecy stated that he would be crowned king of Scotland; this combined with Macbeth s ambitious personality tempts him to murder the king. Macbeth s wife appears to be kind and gentle but she has underlying sinister intensions. Macbeth eventually kills the king with help from his wife. Shakespeare through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth demonstrates that appearances can be deceiving.
King Duncan trusts Macbeth too much. He trusts Macbeth because of his heroic efforts like killing Macdonwald and winning the battle between the Scots and the Norwegians. An example of Duncan s trust would be when he goes to Macbeth s Castle he says This castle hath a peasant seat; the air/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/ Unto our gentle senses. (Act I, Scene 6, Lines 1-3). This quote shows that Duncan completely trusts Macbeth just prior to his murder. Appearing to be noble and trustworthy, then killing Duncan in his sleep proves that Macbeth s appearance is deceiving.
Lady Macbeth is another example of how appearances are misleading. Her physical appearance portrays her as a kind and gentle person. Although when Macbeth briefly decided not kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the reason he changed his mind. She practically forced her husband to murder Duncan. I believe that Lady Macbeth is equally responsible for the death of Duncan, since she convinced Macbeth to murder him.
Unfortunately, I learned that appearances can be deceiving through a friend I once had. He always appeared to be there for me, but when the time came for him to choose between helping me and helping himself he chose to help himself. We had a Halloween party for our friends from school. When it got out of control my so-called friend decided to continue drinking instead of helping me settle people down. His actions contributed to having one of my friends almost die of alcohol poisoning. I can personally testify that no matter how much you trust someone they can always prove to be something that they did not appear to be.
Through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, William Shakespeare clearly expresses that appearances can be deceiving. Macbeth is portrayed as a noble and loyal man, but murdered the king in his quest for power. Lady Macbeth appeared to be a kind and gentle women, but she was the main factor that influenced Macbeth in his decision to murder. Based on my knowledge from personal experiences and the events that took place in this play, I have come to a conclusion that we should never judge people by their appearances. I believe that only time can reveal who people really are.