Drew Linarelli

Miss Skirtich
13 December 2017
English 12: British Literature
"Macbeth" Thesis Paper

Andre Malraux once stated that "Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides." As

a tribute to James I, who unified England and Scotland, in 1606, Shakespeare wrote the play

"Macbeth." This thriller, setting in Scotland, holds many instances of deception throughout the

play. Shakespeare demonstrates several instances of deception and deceit in "Macbeth" through

the characters of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the witches.

Shakespeare demonstrates several instances of deception and deceit in "Macbeth"

through Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth states, "Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest

smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes; Nor heaven peep through the

blanket of the dark, To cry "Hold, Hold!"" (I.v.51-55.) Lady Macbeth looks to hide her violent

ambitions, from everyone except Macbeth. She wants the smoke of hell to cover her actions so

that even heaven could not discover the actions she plans to commit. Another instance in which

deception comes into play occurs when Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into becoming more

ambitious when she says, "Your hand, your tongue: look like th' innocent flower, But be the

serpent under't" (I.v.66-68.) Saying this, she is instructing Macbeth that he must be more

ambitious and appear to be innocent on the outside, while scheming on the inside. She is

corrupting her husband's mind and deceiving him into go against his morals just so she can

obtain the power she greed's for.

Additionally, Shakespeare demonstrates several instances of deception and deceit in

"Macbeth" through Macbeth. In this quote Macbeth plans to hide his plans when he states, "Stars
hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires" (I.iv.50-51.) Macbeth does not want

anyone to see or know how he will gain the crown unfairly. Him and Lady Macbeth plan to

murder King Duncan and cover it up with their diabolical scheme of killing the people who were

supposedly accused of committing the crime before anyone could hold a trial against them. Later

in the play Macbeth states, "Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day, And with

thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond Which keeps me pale"

(III.ii.46-50.) In saying this, Macbeth requests that the night conceal the murder of Banquo and

Fleance. With Macbeths growing paranoia, he grows sick knowing that Banquo and Fleance still

lives, and wants them taken care of without any track leading back to him. Macbeth looks to

deceive everyone into believing this is just an unfortunate happening, when he knows he is the

one to blame.

Moreover, Shakespeare demonstrates several instances of deception and deceit in

"Macbeth" through the witches. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, tells the witches that, "He

shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear His hopes' bove wisdom, grace, and fear: And you all

know security Is mortals' chiefest enemy" (III.v.30-33.) Hecate instructs the witches to deceive

Macbeth into believing that his position as the king is secure. In doing so, they plan to

manipulate his vision and twist their words making him think his reign will never come to an

end. Their biggest twist of words is when they tell Macbeth that, "The pow'r of man, for none of

woman born Shall harm Macbeth" (IV.i.80-81.) This vision informed Macbeth that no man born

from woman will ever harm him. However, Macbeth did not know that Macduff was born of a

C-section and that he was technically not born from a woman. The witches went on to deceive

him in two other ways in the play, that signaled to the audience that Macbeth's reign is most

likely coming to an end.

 To conclude, Shakespeare demonstrates several instances of deception and deceit in

"Macbeth" through the characters of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the witches. These instances

of deception and deceit resemble scandal that occurred during this time in history involving

James I. Deceit and deception is a major theme of the play "Macbeth" and plays an important

role in the overarching plot of the play.