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How has Shakespeare explored the theme of deceptive appearances in Act one of Macbeth
‘There’s no art/ to find the mind’s construction in the face. / He was a gentleman on whom I built/ an absolute trust’.
Duncan is praising Macbeth and thinks he is a worthy man. This is ironic again because Duncan has no idea that Macbeth id going to deceive him. In this scene Duncan names his successor. He leads Macbeth to believe that he is going to be the next king, but then names Malcolm as his next king. WE then hear Macbeth’s’ real thoughts on how HW must become king. Shakespeare has deliberately juxtaposed these scenes, first dealing with appearances then reality.
The main characters in this play that use deceptive appearances are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. We’ve already met Macbeth and have heard of people making false judgements of him already. We meet Lady Macbeth in scene five for the first time. When we first meet her she is immediately thinking of murder, this links her with evil.
As we look on into scene five and scene six we see some of Lady Macbeth’s’ deceptive appearances. First of all we expect women to be passionate and caring, but Lady Macbeth is far from it. She has quite a masculine side to her and this can be very deceptive in a way. I know she has a masculine side because in her speech in scene five she uses quite harsh and masculine words. The fact that she is immediately linked with evil is deceptive also because when people meet her they can’t see past her feminine looks. Duncan is a person who thinks she is a charming person. WE see this mistake being made in scene six.
In Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s dialogue at the end of scene five we see Lady Macbeth telling her husband how to deceive the world by covering up his true feelings with appropriate facial expressions; ‘ Look like the’ innocent flower, / But be the serpent udder’s’.
This is a biblical metaphor were the flower represents the good and the serpent represents evil. Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to act normal when Duncan arrives and not let his thoughts reveal himself.
In scene six we see that the atmosphere has taken on a deceptive appearance. At the start of the scene we see Duncan and Banquo arriving at Macbeth’s castle in Inverness. So Duncan states,
‘This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air/ Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / unto out gentle senses’.
Banquo talks about the house martins only nesting in healthy and clean areas and so is describing the castle as a healthy and relaxing.
‘Where they most breed and haunt, I have/ observed / the air is delicate. This is a very clear example of irony because Duncan is going to be murdered in this place.
Another example of deceptive appearances is when Duncan first meets [next page]