Starting from the witches' statement that beautiful is ugly and ugly is beautiful, it is clear that Macbeth is a play in which appearances are deceiving and morality is confused. From the dialogue between King Duncan, Malcolm and the wounded sergeant in scene 2, it would appear that Macbeth is the most beautiful of all the figures mentioned, while Macdonwald the lord of Cawdor, who betrayed the Scots, is the most disgusting. This can be inferred mainly from the sergeant's conversation with Duncan in scene 2, in which he describes Macbeth's valor in fighting the ruthless Macdonwald. The wounded sergeant describes Macbeth as brave, and then tells the king that he deserves that name. King Duncan echoes the sergeant's admiration with his response: O brave cousin! Worthy sir! In the next lines, the sergeant describes Macbeth's relentless assault on the enemy and compares the magnitude of his slaughter to another Golgotha, which is where Christ was crucified. On the other hand, Macdonwald is spoken of with disgust, and since the reader is shown only the Scottish point of view, we share their contempt. According to the wounded sergeant, Macdonwald is worthy of being a rebel, which is in contrast to his later statement that Macbeth deserves to be called brave. Macdonwald is depicted as nature's villains swarming around him, and fortune is personified as the rebel's whore. Although luck is on Macdonwald's side, the sergeant explains that his cause was too weak to withstand Macbeth's assault. When it is finally reported that the treacherous Macdonwald has been defeated, Duncan joyfully proclaims that his title will be taken away and given to Macbeth. That being said, however, it is important to keep the play's theme of fair is bad and bad is fair in mind when reading this scene. The very fact that Macbeth appears so righteous is a clue to the fact that, in reality, he has a disgusting heart. What Macdonwald has lost and won may include the betrayal of the former Thane of Cawdor along with his title. It is this contrast between an appearance of fairness and a reality of disgust that will dominate the rest of the work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Banquo seems to counterbalance Macbeth's character by acting as the voice of reason in their dealings with the mysterious witches of scene 3. Both men respond to the appearance of the three witches with curiosity, but Banquo exercises a level of caution not demonstrated by Macbeth. Macbeth seems to be excited to see the witches, assuming that the event is a supernatural solicitation, but Banquo is quick to remind him that the instruments of darkness seek to conquer us with honest nonsense... While Macbeth is ready to accept the witches' words Banquo is reticent and first asks himself: can the devil tell the truth? He doubts the reality of what he sees, and goes so far as to ask Macbeth: have we eaten the mad root? Perhaps the greatest contrast between Banquo and Macbeth is how they deal with the prophecy after hearing it. Almost immediately, Macbeth begins to take matters into his own hands and comes up with a plan to implement the witches' predictions himself. In contrast, Banquo describes himself as one who neither begs nor fears your favor nor your hatred. Banquo is able to accept events as they come and does little to take control of destiny. At the same time, he recognizes that his friend Macbeth is enchanted by what he has heard and reports that new horrors befall him. Clearly, Banquo does not experience these horrors, because he does not have the murder of his king to look forward to, as Macbeth does. From scene 4, it is obvious that Macbeth is plotting to fulfill the second prophecywhich he will become king by killing Duncan. The challenges before Macbeth are further deepened in this act, when Duncan names Malcolm as his official heir. Macbeth describes Malcolm as a step on which one must fall or jump, and realizes that he must put his plans into action quickly if he is to become king. Therefore, his motivation for leaving for Inverness before the king is not respect or gratitude, but the first step in his murderous plot. By arriving at the castle before Duncan, he will have time to plan the king's murder and consult with his wife, Lady Macbeth, before the deed is done. This scene also alludes to the level of influence Lady Macbeth has in her husband's actions, as he uses it as a reason why he must act as an omen and cheer my wife's hearing. While Macbeth has already entertained the idea of ​​killing Duncan, it is Lady Macbeth who serves as the catalyst for his misdeeds. In Scene 5, she wastes no time in presenting herself as a murderous, power-hungry woman, hell-bent on pushing her husband to success, presumably for her own glorification. Lady Macbeth recognizes that her husband may be too full of the milk of human kindness to carry out his plans, and calls on the spirits of evil to free her from compassion and fill her... with the most atrocious cruelty. When she finds out that the King will arrive the following morning, she becomes ecstatic and declares that we will never see the sun tomorrow! Then he begins to instruct Macbeth how to behave the next day: be welcome in your eye, in your hand, in your tongue: look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent beneath. These lines illustrate a key aspect of Macbeth's relationship. and Lady Macbeth. In scene 2, the wounded sergeant gives an account of Macbeth's courage and extreme brutality on the battlefield, graphically describing how Macbeth freed an enemy and left his head atop the battlements. It seems that Macbeth is outwardly brave and brutal, but he may be a little barbaric in thought. It would therefore appear that Lady Macbeth is the mastermind of the operation. She is a master of subtlety, which Macbeth lacks, and that is why she has to tell him exactly how to behave the next day. Up to this point, Macbeth has had no clear plan for Duncan's murder; now his wife intends to provide him with a clever plan. He ends the scene by saying to leave everything else to me, showing that Macbeth may be relying more on his wife's cunning than he realizes. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Personalize Essay In Scene 7, Macbeth begins to doubt the morality of killing his king, and his conscience forces him to tell Lady Macbeth that he will proceed no further in this matter. Lady Macbeth, however, does not allow her husband to think twice about their plot and begins to belittle him until he relents. His arguments do not arise from logic, but demonstrate a cunning manipulation of Macbeth's emotional state. She taunts him as a coward and mocks his virility, then informs him that from this moment on, I consider your love as such. Essentially, what this line means is that she will measure Macbeth's love for her by what she chooses to do in the matter at hand. The threats to Macbeth's manhood are particularly embarrassing, especially in light of the praise he received as a soldier earlier in the play. After finishing degrading her husband, Lady Macbeth continues her argument by telling Macbeth that only when he planned to kill the king, then you were a man. Furthermore, he emphasizes Macbeth's commitment to murder by telling him that if he swore so he would rip out the brains of his own children. Macbeth is now ready to give in to the..