Appearance and Reality in Macbeth

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  • Appearance and Reality in Macbeth
    • Key Characters
      • Lady Macbeth
        • Her ambition fuels her deception of others and ensures she disguises her true intentions in order to gain power
        • When she pretends to faint, she's taking advantage of womens' stereotype at the time - a weak woman overcome by shock to hide the reality of her cruel nature.
      • The Witches
        • The Witches aren't overly violent or cruel within the context of the plot. They don't tell Macbeth to kill Duncan.
          • It is the chaos and confusion they create that is so frightening.
        • Shakespeare uses the Witches to show how human greed makes us vulnerable to deception and betrayal.
      • Duncan
        • Shakespeare implies he is vulnerable because he isn't wary of the difference between appearance and reality.
      • Macbeth
        • He is a symbol for deception and facade, as people lose sight of themselves when they are constantly deceiving others
        • He knows that reality and appearance don't always match up, but he completely trusts the Witches' prophecies, leading to his downfall.
    • Scenes
      • Act 1, Scene 1
        • The Witches plan to meet Macbeth. They describe the setting.
      • Act 1, Scene 4
        • Duncan is too trusting with Macbeth
      • Act 1, Scene 5
        • Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan
    • Quotes
      • "look like th'innocent flower, But be the serpent under't" Act 1, Scene 5
        • Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to appear good so no one suspects he wants to kill Duncan
        • The serpent links Lady Macbeth to Satan who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
        • "flower" connotes femininity, whereas "serpent" connotes masculinity and trickery.
          • Shows how there can be a dangerous divide between a person's outward appearance and inward nature
      • "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" Act 1, Scene 1
        • Nothing is as it seems in the play,
        • The use of 'and' shows both good and bad can exist at the same time
      • "When the battle's lost, and won" Act 1, Scene 1
        • There are always two sides to every story.
      • "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" Act 1, Scene 3
        • Shakespeare foreshadows Macbeth's indecision and moral ambiguity
        • His fate is tied to the confusion of contradiction
      • "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face" Act 1, Scene 4
        • Duncan thinks there is no way of telling what someone is really like
      • "You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so" Act 1, Scene 3
        • Suggests they're unnatural and evil
    • Linked Symbolism
      • "flower" connotes femininity, whereas "serpent" connotes masculinity and trickery.
        • Shows how there can be a dangerous divide between a person's outward appearance and inward nature
      • The use of 'foul' and 'fair' links Macbeth with the witches
        • "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" Act 1, Scene 3
          • Shakespeare foreshadows Macbeth's indecision and moral ambiguity
          • His fate is tied to the confusion of contradiction
        • Associates his character with the supernatural

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