School: Tenby International School Penang Centre: MY401
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How does Shakespeare present the theme of deception in Macbeth?
Throughout the play of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, events always have a twist to them. Deception, which is defined as “the act of tricking someone by telling them something that is not true”, can be seen in the play through the main characters of deception, which are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the witches.
Manipulative language is used to portray deception, especially through female characters throughout the play with the use of the element of religious context, such as the story of Adam and …show more content…
Macbeth is obsessed with being a king that he betrays his acquaintances for his own benefit. In the quote “Is this a dagger which I see before me” suggests that he is captivated by the fact that he could be king himself that he starts to hallucinate items that motivate him to commit treason against King Duncan. The wording of “dagger” usually symbolises death and betrayal, as it is short and can be smuggled easily. This moulds a feeling that he is determined to betray Duncan as people usually hallucinate of something when they are insane with the idea of something they absolutely want. This makes the audience frightened of becoming insane for committing treason. Besides that, Lady Macbeth wants “spirits” to “unsex her” and fill her “from crown to toe topfull of direst cruelty”. This indicates that she wants to get rid of her femininity to be able to carry out deeds necessary to seize the crown. “Spirits” are often referred to as evil beings that possess someone to carry out certain deeds. The word “unsex” gives a feeling that Lady Macbeth wants it to remove her feminine side so that she is able to carry out the necessities. “Crown to toe topfull” exaggerates the amount of confidence and the greed she has for this crime, as “Crown to toe topfull” makes the audiences imagine a volume of cruelty as much as a person, which evokes the feeling that she is willing to devour a person and do whatever it takes to get the amount of cruelty she needs. The fact that she wants to be filled with “direst cruelty” evokes a sense that she wants to be as heartless as possible, and just to think of her own benefit. This shows betrayal as not only she plans on betraying herself by having “spirits” possess her conscious mind and remove her sexuality, but she also wants to betray her king so that her husband can seize the crown. Audiences would feel disgusted and terrified by her actions as