Discuss the theme of appearance and reality in Macbeth Essay

Discuss the theme of appearance and reality in Macbeth - Essay Example He is one who King Duncan trusts, and he has the favor of all his countrymen, but he betrays this trust and, for a while, everyone is deceived into believing that he mourns the death of Duncan as he seems to, that he killed the two guards out of his love for Duncan, and that will be a good ruler because he will think of the interests of the people, and not himself. The Thane of Cawdor was also a man who Duncan trusted, as he says in Act 1, Scene 4, â€Å"He was a gentleman on whom I built/An absolute trust†, but he, too, betrays that trust. Lady Macbeth is not suspected for her part in Duncan’s death, till she starts walking and talking in her sleeps, and ironically, Macduff wants to save her from hearing about it (2.3.85-88). Macduff himself is not trusted by his wife and Malcolm, because both believe him to be a traitor to the country, whereas, he is one who is willing to sacrifice all for his country, and it is he who later kills Macbeth. The sons who are suspected o f killing their fathers (Malcolm and Donalbain, and Fleance) also show how seeming truths are not always true. Images presented through language also play an important role in presenting the theme of appearances and reality. Numerous images conveying the idea of concealment occur in the speech of almost all the characters. Sometimes the concealment is in the form of clothes, where clothes supposedly hide what a person truly is. Thus Macbeth chides Ross for â€Å"dress[ing]† him â€Å"[i]n borrowed robes† (1.3.108-109) when Ross calls him the Thane of Cawdor. This is because he does not know that the Thane of Cawdor that was, no longer owns the title. Similarly, Macbeth talks of â€Å"put[ting] on manly readiness† (2.3.135), when the people are not really ready at all. Other forms of disguise also occur, such as masks: Macbeth tells the murderers he has hired, that he is â€Å"Masking the business from the common eye/For sundry weighty reasons† (3.1.125-126). Later, he