The theme of appearances versus reality runs deep in Shakespeare's Macbeth. When examining this topic, you could examine any of the following ideas:
1. The witches' prophesies: Throughout the play, Macbeth is guided by promises made to him via the witches. From their initial promises until the end of the play, Macbeth's sense of power and destiny hinges on their visions. Consider especially the beginning of act 4, when Macbeth is given three pieces of advice:
"Beware Macduff."
"Laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth."
"Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him."
Because the witches' predictions have always worked in his favor before, he doesn't even consider last two predictions a possibility. The witches have blurred the reality of the situation by making Macbeth's safety and sense of power appear to be a certainty.
2. Thanks to his wife (and the witches), Macbeth believes that becoming king of Scotland is his destiny, so he doesn't mind helping destiny out a little. He therefore kills King Duncan and plants evidence on Duncan's guards to incriminate them. The reality is that Macbeth is a murderer. But it appears (even if some believe that the situation looks suspicious) as if Duncan's guards have killed their own king.
3. Lady Macbeth is a real force guiding the action of the play. Macbeth isn't quite as quick to act as his wife would like, and she goads him in one of the most cutting ways—by questioning his manhood. When he tells her that "I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none," his wife responds, "What beast was't, then, / That made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you were a man" (act 1, scene 7). So while Macbeth appears to be the one actively making murderous decisions, in reality it is Lady Macbeth who is the true mastermind of the plot.
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