“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Shakespeare, I.i.11). The three witches in Macbeth state that what is good, is bad and what is bad, is good. They live in a world where everyone is not what they seem. Appearance versus reality is a theme that repeatedly occurs throughout the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. In this story, which takes place in Scotland in the early seventeenth century, three witches tell Macbeth that in the future, he will be king. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin to plot King Duncan’s murder so that Macbeth can be king. The three witches, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth all prove that looks can be deceiving in both the play Macbeth and in society. To begin, the three witches use their powers to tell Macbeth his future, however, …show more content…
For example, when given the news about Duncan’s death, she pretends to faint. Lady Macbeth says, “Help me hence, ho!”. Macduff replies, “Look to the lady” (Shakespeare, II.iii.112- 113). When Lady Macbeth faints, she is utilizing the stereotype that claims women are more weak compared to men. Since she is a woman and seems so innocent, no one would expect her to be capable of contributing to the murder of the king. No one would ever even consider Lady Macbeth as a suspect because she is a female. However, she is the one who planted the idea of killing Duncan in Macbeth’s mind. Another example of a woman who is seen as incapable of something because of her gender is Hillary Clinton. She is running for the presidential election currently, and some people do not take her seriously. Producer and recording artist T.I. stated, “...But the president? It’s kinda like, I just know that women make rash decisions emotionally…”(ew.com, 1). T.I. is saying that because she is a woman, Clinton would not be a favorable president. He says that she would be a weak president because women typically let their emotions control them. Likewise, because she is a woman, Lady Macbeth is assumed to be innocent and feeble. Both are being underestimated by their appearances. The expectations of how both genders should behave affects both Clinton and Lady Macbeth. Evidently, both women are underestimated because they are …show more content…
For example, Macbeth appears to be a royal thane to King Duncan. He says, “The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it pays itself” (Shakespeare, I.iv.22-23). Macbeth is expressing his loyalty to the king. What Duncan does not know is that Macbeth already has homicidal thoughts toward him. Therefore, while Macbeth appears to be loyal, he will actually become Duncan’s killer. To continue, this relates to Julius Caesar and his friend. Caesar was the ruler of the Roman Empire when suddenly his friend, Brutus, stabbed him in the back. Caesar said “Et tu, Brute?” (Shakespeare, III.i.). That means “And you, Brutus?”. Out of everyone in the world, Caesar certainly did not expect his close friend to be responsible for his death. This is just like how Duncan would not expect Macbeth to kill him. Betrayal of close friends and family who were supposedly loyal is extremely