Macbeth - deception Flashcards
Who is deceived?
Macbeth
Duncan
Banquo
What is deceived?
Scotland
Who is not deceived?
Banquo
Macduff
Malcom
What themes link to deception?
Ambition
Power
Loyalty
When does deception take place?
Structured throughout the whole play
beginning with the witches deceiving Macbeth
Where does deception occur?
Deception mainly occurs wherever the supernatural is present
Why is deception important in the play?
Macbeth is deceived by the witches and Lady Macbeth
Due to his ambition, and then he continues to deceive others due to his lust to be king
Beginning: Witches language
‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’
deception is shown through witchcraft and spells
Mirrored by Macbeth
‘So fair and foul a day I have not seen’
Beginning: Witches prophecies
‘King hereafter!’
two truths and one lie/temptation
use Macbeth’s ambition to tempt him
leads to him being deceived by their prophecies
What quotes show that Macbeth has been deceived by the witches prophecies?
‘cannot be ill, cannot be good’
‘If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me’
Analysis on ‘If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me’
begins his lust to be king
–> power and greed
Beginning: Lady Macbeth deceives Duncan
Deceived by her kindness
‘we rest your hermits’ - polite and formal
a façade that hides her true intentions
Beginning: Lady Macbeth deceives Macbeth
repetition of the word ‘man’
questions/attacks his manhood
uses violent imagery to deceive him into believing there is glory in killing the king
analysis on ‘Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’
advises Macbeth to deceive others while concealing their true murderous intentions
imagery of the innocent flower and the treacherous serpent highlights the contrast between outward demeanour and hidden wickedness
Beginning: Macbeth deceives Banquo
‘I think not of them’ - untrue
Macbeth’s deception emphasizes his growing sense of paranoia and his willingness to hide his true nature from those around him.
Beginning: Dagger used to deceive Macbeth
‘dagger of the mind, a false creation’
element of the supernatural used to deceive Macbeth
however, created by his own guilty conscience
Beginning: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth deceiving others
‘gild the faces of the grooms…seem their guilt’
framing the guards to deceive others
Middle: Banquo is not deceived by Macbeth
‘I fear thou play’dst most foully’
not being deceived by Macbeth leads to his death
Macbeth is paranoid and orders his murder
Middle: Macbeth deceives the murderers
‘it was he…which held you so under fortune’
blames Banquo for their lack of success in ‘times past’
Middle: Macbeth mirrors Lady Macbeth’s method of deception
emasculates the guards when convincing them to do what he wants
Middle: Macbeth deceives Lady Macbeth
Tells Lady Macbeth to greet Banquo, knowing that he will be murdered
power and paranoia has lead to him not trusting his ‘dearest partner of greatness’
Quote of Macbeth deceiving Lady Macbeth before Banquo’s murder
‘Be innocent of the knowledge’
Analysis on ‘Be innocent of the knowledge’
conceal the full nature of the murder from his wife
maintain a level of innocence and avoid her disapproval
End: Witches apparitions
‘none of woman born shall harm Macbeth’
‘Great Birnam wood, to high Dunsinane hill’
false hope
sense of confidence
