Deception in Macbeth Essay Example

Macbeth knows instinctively that she and her husband will eave to use deception if their evil plans are to succeed.

If evil Is to succeed, it has to appear to be good.

Lady Macbeth tells her husband "look like the Innocent flower, but be the serpent under;t"_ This Is the expert of deception who will greet the Innocent Duncan on arrival at her castle. As she greets him she plays the role of welcoming hostess. Duncan, again taking her appearance for reality, greets her as "our honored hostess", when, in fact, she is a murderess in waiting. Macbeth learns the ways of pretence and deception quickly. Soon we hear him echoing his wife's words: "False face must hide what the false heart doth know".

Macbeth becomes a master of deception.

He becomes an arch hypocrite. After Dunce's murder has been discovered, he puts on a show of grief, declaring there's nothing worth living for, now that Duncan is dead: "there's nothing serious in mortality: All is but toys; renown and grace is dead, the wine of life is drawn". Macbeth then explains why he slew the guards, claiming he done it out of love for Duncan "who could refrain that had a earth to love, and in the heart courage that makes love known".

As Macbeth continues on his career of evil, deception becomes his trademark. He deceives the hired murderers, telling them all their misfortunes are Banquet's fault.

He explains to them that the murder of Banana must be masked "from the common eye", leaving Macbeth free from suspicion. Macbeth even has the gall to tell Banana "fail not our feast" when he has

already arranged for his murder. Macbeth is the arch deceiver. Apart from the deception used by the evil characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, here Is another aspect of deception.

This Is the deception used by Malcolm in Act V to test Macadam's Integrity. Here we see a sort of 'reverse deception'.

Up to this point, goodness putting on a show of evil. He presents himself as the prince of vice. He claims to be "luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful". He tells Macadam that if he had power he would "pour the sweet milk of concord into hell". This deception is interesting.

Malcolm father, Duncan, was a man of virtue, but he lacked political skill. He was too trusting. Malcolm is different.

He has learned from his father's fate.

He knows that a ruler needs political skill as well as virtue. He will not make his father's mistakes. Ironically, Macbeth who comes to power through deception ultimately becomes a victim of deception himself. The witches give him a false sense of security. He is told "none of woman born" shall harm him. That he shall "never vanquished be" till Birdman Wood comes to Adenosine.

The witches may be the visible, dramatic sterilization of Machete's inner self. If so, Macbeth has deceived himself.

Self delusion is made visible, and indeed audible, on the stage. In the end, the hosts of deception Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have been deceived and destroyed.

Throughout their devious plotting and deception, they had been deceiving themselves. It is said the human capacity for self deception is almost infinite'. Nowhere is this more evident than when Macbeth, with his world collapsed around him

and death staring him in the eyes, declares "I bear a charmed life, which must not yield to one of woman born".