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How does Shakespeare portray the theme of appearance and reality in Act1sc6 and Act5sc1

In Act1sc5 we see Lady Macbeth stepping in and advising Macbeth to be deceitful. She tells Macbeth to "look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it". Then in Act1sc6 we see Lady Macbeth alone welcoming her guests to the castle, these guests are Duncan and Banquo. It is almost like she is controlling the whole situation, she is being devious on Macbeth's behalf and is in charge of being deceptive. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are close partners in crime so Lady Macbeth will do anything to cover up for him.
One of the ways that Shakespeare portrays the theme of appearance and reality in Act1sc6 is when Duncan first sees the castle he misreads its whole appearance. We can see this when Duncan says "this castle hath a pleasant seat" this is the first sign he misreads. When Duncan says this he means that the castle is set in a pleasant atmosphere, it is a nice situation to be in. This means that Duncan is completely unaware of the situation before him, and has no idea of what...

Posted by: Sheryl Hogges

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