Appearance vs Reality in Mabeth
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- Category: English: Shakespeare
- Date Submitted: 04/23/2011 01:31 AM
- Pages: 5
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The theme of appearance vs. reality says that things are not always as they seem; what you believe to be one way can in reality be the complete opposite. This is an important theme in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. This essay will firstly argue that Shakespeare uses the three witches or weird sisters to convey the theme of appearance vs. reality. Secondly it will argue that Shakespeare uses characters personalities specifically Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to convey the theme of appearance vs. reality. And finally this essay will argue that stage directions and dramatic techniques have been used to imply hallucinations to play with the audience’s idea of what is real and what is simply appearance.
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the three witches are used to convey the theme of appearance vs. reality. The three witches’ role in the portrayal of this theme starts in the opening scene of the play, in which the witches huddle together in ferocious weather discussing their next meet. They chant ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’. This paradox introduces the idea that it can be hard to distinguish between what appears to be true and what is actually true, mimicking future events within the play. Shakespeare has chosen to use witches to portray the theme appearance vs. reality as by nature they are creatures of mystery and intrigue, using spells to manipulate reality and to make objects appear. It is also questionable whether witches themselves are reality or false; although at the time belief in supernatural beings such as witches was common. Throughout the play the question continues to be asked whether the witches are in fact real or not. Macbeth states his doubt after the witches vanish in Act 1 scene 3, he says : ‘what seemed corporal melted, as breath in to air’. Here Shakespeare has used a simile to compare the witches’ bodies disappearing to losing one’s breath in the air, gone without a trace. The theme appearance vs. reality is evident in this line as Macbeth...
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the three witches are used to convey the theme of appearance vs. reality. The three witches’ role in the portrayal of this theme starts in the opening scene of the play, in which the witches huddle together in ferocious weather discussing their next meet. They chant ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’. This paradox introduces the idea that it can be hard to distinguish between what appears to be true and what is actually true, mimicking future events within the play. Shakespeare has chosen to use witches to portray the theme appearance vs. reality as by nature they are creatures of mystery and intrigue, using spells to manipulate reality and to make objects appear. It is also questionable whether witches themselves are reality or false; although at the time belief in supernatural beings such as witches was common. Throughout the play the question continues to be asked whether the witches are in fact real or not. Macbeth states his doubt after the witches vanish in Act 1 scene 3, he says : ‘what seemed corporal melted, as breath in to air’. Here Shakespeare has used a simile to compare the witches’ bodies disappearing to losing one’s breath in the air, gone without a trace. The theme appearance vs. reality is evident in this line as Macbeth...