Phony Faces
Think of a person you know who acts one way when he or she is with a group of people, but acts very differently when you’re with him or her in private. Describe how this person acts in public or private, and explain why you think he or she wears such a mask sometimes- why not be yourself at all times?
Act one contains many quotes that address the idea of false appearances. Find two quotes, put them into your own words, and explain how they relate to the theme of appearance v. reality.
posted by annes @ 7:45 AM
33 Comments:
I know a couple people who are very two faced. One of my friends in elementary school was like the coolest kid ever when you were alone. He was really nice, but in a group he was a jerk. He wasnt nice at all and said the stupidest things. It was really annoying. This is a big theme in macbeth also. "Your children shall be kings," is a quote from Macbeth that says that Banquos children will become kings eventually. It is a very unselfish quote considering Macbeth wants to be king himself so badly. It is very two sided. another two sided quote is, "All our service
In every point twice done and then done double
Were poor and single business to contend
Against those honours deep and broad wherewith
Your majesty loads our house: for those of old,
And the late dignities heap'd up to them,
We rest your hermits." Lady Macbeth says this very nice and hospitable thing to King Duncan shows up at her castle. She says it like she is happy to have him when she really is just interested i nkilling him. This is very two sided.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The person who I'm going to talk about is the definition of a "two face." She is the type of person who acts as if she cares for your feelings and your ideas, but truthfully she is too concerned with herself to give any thought to you. She was "passionate" about her beliefs and morals, but in her actions, she forgets all of her morals. I think that in this case, she could not be herself all of the time because she simply CAN'T be herself or risk losing support and friendship. So, her friends that she made were friends who liked the false side of her, not her true self.
Wow, I know a ton of people that are like this. I personlly think that everyone does that alittle, even I do, so I really shouldnt be talking. But, there is this one person that I just met over the summer. He's a friend of a friend, and we hung out with a bunch of different people over the summer and so I kind-of got to know him. Unfortantly, as soon as we started school he started acting really different. He would act normal when we were alone of with the people that we hung out with over the summer. I was totally disapointed becuase I thought that we could have been really good friends, but I have found that he has two totally different sides. It's like I dont even want to see him anymore. It's really sad but I guess that he will learn someday.
There is one quote in Macbeth said by Lady Macbeth, "Your hand, Your tongue; look like the inniocent flower, but be the serpent under't." I think that this really relates to anyone who is "two faced". lady Macbeth is going to act like there is nothing going on and the she loves and serves the king, when she is really going to kill him. She's different around Duncan than what she normally is.
I think that when some people are in public, they are only showing their "safe" side, the side they're okay with everyone seeing. Sometimes they do it because their insecure, but sometimes they are trying to hide something. Lady Macbeth especially is one of the hiders. She says to look innocent and welcoming on the outside to hide the deceit on the inside. (Scene 5, pg 35) She even talks Macbeth into it. In the last line of Act I (pg 45), Macbeth says that they have to go back to the banquet and be gracious and kind, just to hide their evil intentions. If they show their “safe” side, how can anyone blame them for what they’re about to do?
I know a girl who is a certain way around me, and then different when she is with other people. When she is with just me, we can talk about anything, and she will listen to me. But, when she is wiht other people, she will make fun of me and roll her eyes when I talk about something that we talked about whe we were alone. When she does that, I feel like I'm being used. (Like I tell her what I am concerned about and then she makes fun of me). I then think that I can't trust her to be someone to listen and understand. Maybe she does that because she doesn't want the other people that she spends time around that she likes certain things that the others might think are stupid.
I have this friend who, when we are together outside of school we have so much fun but at school this person pretty much ignores me. I think this person acts like this because they are friends with a lot of people who expect them to act a certain way. This person is afraid to be their own person. The mask this person wears is meant to keep everybody happy.
"Let not light see my black and deepest desires." Macbeth is saying do not let anyone see what I want most in the world. This relates to the theme of appearance v. reality because Macbeth is pretending that eveything is okay and he is satisfied with being the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth wears this mask of lies to hide the fact that he knows he is going to be king and he plans to kill Duncan.
"Bear welcome in your eye, you hand your tongue: look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under's." Lady Macbeth is saying pretend that you are happy to have Duncan and be the innocent one, but be the evil man under the innocence. This relates to the theme because Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to act as though he is still loyal to Duncan even though he is plotting his death.
I agree with MadisonM and erinl that everyone has a public side and a private side. I would say that I am this way. I tend to be more introverted if I'm a situation with people, who are lot older than me, i.e. adults, than I am with my family and kids my own age.
In Macbeth, while I agree that Lady Macbeth most certainly has two sides, I believe a better example of this is Macbeth. In Scene 7, the last line Macbeth says "False face must hide what false heart doth know" Here Macbeth is saying that he must put on his false persona in order that the king won't infer anything. In appearance, Macbeth is loyal to the King, but in reality, he is scheming to kill him.
Another example of being two faced is the witches. Their most famous line is "Fair is foul and foul is fair." (Last line of Scene 1.) What they mean is that sometimes things aren't what they seem. While the witches appear to be harmless, beneath the skin the reality is that they like cause trouble.
No one I know really comes to mind for being two-faced. Most of the people I know are themselves most of the time. I guess I am a little two-faced because at school I'm really shy and don't talk very much, but when I'm with my family or really close friends, I am much louder and not afraid to be a little weird. I guess in public I refrain from being completely myself because I'm pretty self-conscious and don't want to embarrass myself or make other people think I'm weird. With people I know really well, I am not as reserved because I know that they love me and that they'll accept me, even if I am not perfect.
One quote that addresses this idea of a "mask" or false appearances is when Macbeth says, "The false face hides what the false heart doth know." What he means is that he will have to hide the murderous intentions in his heart by putting on an innocent face to fool those around him.
Another quote is when Lady Macbeth says to King Duncan, "Your servants have theirs, themselves,and what is theirs, in compt, to make their audit at your Highness' pleasure, still to return your own." Lady Macbeth is being especially kind and saying that everything that they own belongs to the King and they will give it back to him whenever he wants it. She pretends to be humble and demure when really she is just hiding her plot to murder Duncan.
I have a fried that is a totally different person when he is at school and when I am with him out of school. When he is at school, he is really loud and he is a little bit of a know-it-all. The strange thing is that when I am hanging out with him out of school, he is really shy. You wouldn't know him for the same person if you didnt' know what he looked like.
I agree with madisonm on some level, when she says that being two faced is not always a bad thing. In some ways I think that is shows insecurity, and that they don't truly believe in who they are. But also, I think that sometimes you act different ways around certain friends, compared to some others. Maybe you are goofier around one friend, but then not as around another.
I know a few people that act twofaced, some more than others. I am good friends with some, but around them I am careful of how I act because I don't want to tell them something, that they might be pressured into telling someone else or spreading around. When I am with these people, just one on one, I feel that they say things and act differently then how they would in public. This bothers me sometimes, but it also tells me who my true friends are. I am still friends with them, though, just on a different level.
I think that "wearing a mask" or acting two faced, shows insecurity. I think that it shows that that person is not completely happy with who they are.
One quote that is an example of being two faced is in scene 6 when Lady Macbeth says:
"Your servants ever
Have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs in compt,
To make their audit at your highness' pleasure,
Still to return your own." This is an example because in this quote she is acting so innocent and nice towards Duncan, when really she is filled with disgust towards him. (Plus, she wants him dead.)
Another quote is when she has turned “evil” and she talking to Macbeth in scene 7:
“What beast was't, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.” This is when Lady Macbeth has gone evil, and her rage comes out. She is saying that Macbeth better go through with this murder, or else he is not a man. This is a completely different girl, and a perfect example of a two faced person.
My friend from East HS is definetely two-faced. When he's around me or our friends, he acts to comfotable and we'll talk, make jokes, and just have an amazing time. Yet when he's around his friends from school he's totally different. He's less talkative, less exciting, and he's a bit meaner too. He just doesn't seem interested in what I've got to say. When I talk to him about that same thing when he's not around his friends, he's exactly the opposite. I think one reason that he does this is because he's afraid to let his friends know that he likes going to church and hanging out with his friends there and spending his own time hanging out with us instead of them.
I can be two-faced too though. I can be shy and I'm more quiet at school than I am when I'm with people that I feel comfortable around. I do this because I'm kind of scared of what others will think. Now that I really think about that, I think it's ridiculous. If people like how I act and who I am, then why shouldn't I share that with everyone? I think I'll try and be myself more often now! :) I somewhat disagree with chelseah though when she said that people might hide their real self because they're not entirely happy with themselves. I don't feel that, I'm actually quite happy with who I am. But I guess it depends who it is to really know whether or not that's true.
Like many other people have said, I believe that the quote, "Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under't" is a perfect example. I believe when Macbeth is saying this that he's saying: "Have a twinkle in your eye, smile and welcome him in, act like the sweet woman he thinks you are. But when he doesn't watch, be the real evil person you are." This relates to why people do hide their real personalities now because people believe that they should be held up to a certain standard, and when their personality shows, their image is "ruined".
This next quote shows that Lady Macbeth was threatening Macbeth that his image will be a coward if he doesn't go through with killing Duncan. The quote is: Wouldst thou have that wich thou esteem'st the ornament of life. And live a coward in thine own esteem, letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,' like the poor cat of adage?" With Macbeth doing what Lady tells him to, by killing Ducan after having second thoughts, will make him feel guilty. But also he's living Lady Macbeth's part by doing it instead of his own, deciding not to do it. Although yes, Macbeth did kill someone in the beginning of the play, but that person did not have complete trust in Macbeth as Duncan. So in reality, Macbeth is thinking that Duncan is a good person and there's nothing wrong. But with the manipulation of his wife, everything changes.
I think that some people act differently when they are in gruops because they are maybe have friends who aren't really their friends and those people expect them to act a certain way. But when they are in a small group with just themselves and another person that they know they know that they can be themselves and they are who they are. This does bug me becuase then at one moment the person is someone that you can truly trust but in the next minute they are telling your secrets to the entire world and insulting you and ignore you just because those certain people come along.
"Your hand, your tounge; look like the innocent flower But be the serpent under't." This quote is sending a phony message. It basically means that Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to put on a nice kind and gentle face while really he is planning a evil scheme to kill the people that he is being nice to.
"To make their audit at your Highness's pleasure, still return to your own." I think that this quote means that Lady Macbeth is just welcoming the people into her home and is just telling them to allow themselves to make themselves comfortable and so on. This is a phony face because she is acting nice even though she knows that they will soon be dead.
In both of these quotes the characters appear the complete opposie of how they really truly are feeling.
I have known many people that act one way with a group of friends but very differently when it's just you and them hanging out. She would act all crazy and outgoing when we were with a group of friends but when she would come over my house, she always seemed bored, like she wanted to be somewhere else. When I would ask her what was wrong she would say "nothing," sigh deeply and look away. I liked her as a friend when she would be exciting and outgoing with tons of energy.
------------QUOTE 1------------
LADY MACBETH
"Your servants ever
Have theirs, themselves and what is theirs, in compt,
To make their audit at your highness' pleasure,
Still to return your own."
In this quote, Lady Macbeth is puttng on the mask of the kind housewife that warmly welcomes her guests, when in reality she's scheming ways to figure out how to kill Malcolm and Duncan.
------------QUOTE 2------------
MACBETH
...First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself..."
In the beginning, Macbeth seems like a very brutal and pityless man. But in this monologe, he is having second thoughts about his wife pushing him into killing his kinsman and the current king, Duncan.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I agree with Erin that i think everyone acts at least a little different when you are with a group but when it is just you and that person they act different. I have a really good friend who i hung out with a ton this summer but once we started school and hung out in groups he would act totally different. Even now when it is just the two of us talking or hanging out he acts so much different than when he does during school. He sometimes even acts like we never talk or do anything anymore.
a quote from Macbeth that demonstrates this is said by Macbeth, "Let not light see my black and deep desires." Macbeth says this when duncan mentions that Malcolm has become the prince of cumberland. Macbeth acts like he is surprised but happ for Duncan but really underneath Macbeth wants to become in power and take over the thrown, possibly by killing Duncan ans Malcolm. Also he has built up his trust with Duncan, he trust Duncan and Duncan trusts him.
Another qoute that demonstrates this is, "How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this."
Lady Macbeth would come off as a nice person who cares and would never do anything so horrible, but really she would have rathered kill her own kid. Lady Macbeth is a very brutal person. She also wants to have the king and his son killed so she can take over the thrown. It is like she is hiding behind a mask.
There are many people I also know that are two-faced. One particular person I know very, very well. This person CAN be so amazing, but in reality is a jerk, that is rude and disrespectful especailly to family (and sometimes friends because they know of her weakness). Although, this person is the sweatest thing when around others and everyone thinks of her as an Angel. This person is probably two- faced becaue if she were to act like her real rude self, she would probably not have any friends.
1. The qoute "Your hand, your tounge; look like the innocent flower But be the serpent under't," was said by Lady Macbeth. This meant that you can act one way (such as a really nice and pleasant person), but in reality you are different (maybe rude and unpleasant).
2. The qoute "On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires: The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see," was said by Macbeth. To me this means- well I feel and act a certain way when alone or with others I know really well, but when I am around others that are not so close to me I feel like I need to act another way and can't act myself.
There is one person who really stands out in my mind as two faced, and I obviously am not going to name them. In public, they are very outwardly friendly. However, once they are with someone else he/she is friendly to them, and often insults you or talks about his/her dislike for you, to make the other person happy while they are there.
My quotes will come later.
I believe that people act differently around different people or surroundings. Whether it is a concious action or not, I cannot say. When you're around adults or in a group of people who are really smart, you tend to feel the obligation to be as adult-like or smart-sounding as you can. Another type would be your cliques. THough many people don't realize it, you act differently when hanging out with different people. When hanging out with sporty people, you talk about sports and your team-when you hang out with band kids, you tend to talk about the music or the show that year.I personally know that I'm a lot more comfortable with my close friends and family than, say, my dad's friends or anyone I really know. I'm not entirely sure that people really notice their change of action. I know sometimes my friends will ask me what is wrong and I won't even know what they're talking about.
The first quote I found was from the witches. When they said that,"foul is fair and foul is fair". What they are foreshadowing is that things will be twisted; not what they seem. Things will not be as they appear.
Another is from Lady Macbeth. "Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't."Lady Macbeth is saying that Macbeth will look very innocent, and possibly ask for a secret meeting with the king, but in reality he will be ready to kill the king.
I know many people like this. They feel like they need to impress people and change completely when it's just you and them. When in a group, they need to look cool, but away from the group the go back to being themselves. I hate to admit it, but I probably do that sometimes, although I don't think it hurts anyone but myself. I also agree with Madison. It's harder to be yourself in public because, at least in my case, there is always the comparison to other people. Some people also have to compete with other people over everything, which sometimes hides their true self.
I think everyone acts differenlt with different people. Like with my really good friends I'm not afraid to say how I feel, who I like, what I'm thinking etc: I'm not afraid to be totaly and brualty honest. With people I've just met I tend to try and be careful. This is because I have been burned badly by telling people things that are important or secrect and then having them burn me. Anyway what I'm getting at is that ALL PEOPLE act differnt around there really good friends vrs. there parents vrs. people they've just met. I think that I do this because I don't know if people who I've just met will like me or not.
The two quotes I found are
"your hand your tongue look like the inocent flower, but be the serpent undern't- this means be inocent kind and pleasent on the outside but your really evil and decietful on the inside.
2. Wouldst thou have that wich thou esteem'st the ornament of life. And live a coward in thine own esteem, letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,' like the poor cat of adage?" Here Macbeth is being compared to a cat tha didn't want to get his feet wet. He didn't want to go through with killing Duncan
Yes! I know someone that acts totally different around all different groups of people and when we are by ourselves. In a group she pretends to be scared of a lot of things like going on amusement park rides but then when we are at dance in Disneyland she goes on every single roller coaster and ride there like it is no problem. And then when we are by ourselves she is goofy, relaxed, and fun but then at school she is more serious and tries to be center of attention. I am really not sure why people wear masks, because I like to be myself everywhere because I don't like being fake.
Quote 1:"Your hand, your tounge; look like the innocent flower But be the serpent under't," Lady Macbeth said this. It means that you may seem nice and sweet but in reality you are really mean and nasty,
Quote 2:Lady Macbeth also says, "Only look up clear, to alter favor ever is to fear. Leave the rest to me." She is saying that even though they may feel a certain way, they need to put on a mask and not let the others witness their feelings within.
I believe that the main reason that people act two-faced is partly because they are trying to find their place in the world. They might be trying to figure out just WHO ARE THEY? Are they one in the "in" crowd, one of the insanely popular people who you really wonder about how they earned the tittle "popular?" Or are they the quiet one in the back of the class that says "hi" to no one? Or are they the bubbly, outgoing, always seemingly happy person that most everyone likes?
And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of. ---William Shakespeare (the great one himself!)
I believe that this means, about, that:
As you cannot see your inner soul by just looking at your own self in the mirror, I will be your mirror and tell you parts of your character that YOU didn't even know was there. ---Michelle's wording...
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With old odd ends, stol'n forth of holy writ;
Ans seem a saint, when most I play the devil.---William Shakespeare
Personally this is one of the most perfect deffinations of "two faced" as you will find in Shakespeare. I find it meaning:
And so I hide my true evil intentions with various random things that come to me, I pretend to be faithful and true to God, while I truly am an agent of the devil.--My wordings of THIS QUOTE.
In Hamlet, yes I know we are doing Macbeth, but in Hamlet he has to distance himself from his girlfriend, and conviently her father doesn't like Hamlet. Any way, in one of Ophiela (his girlfriend) and his incounters he basically calls her a literal "two face." I cannot find the quote now, but when I do, I'll post it. It really is quite vicious, he goes into how girls wear make-up to hide their true selves...
One of my friends was kind of a two face. She really wanted to be in the "in" crowd. So when around them she wouldn't eve acknowege my presence. However, we also kayaked together, so we had to at least converse occasionally on the river, but she was always really nice then...
Well that's all for now!
PS>that quote is really bugging me that I can't find it...honestly.
The first quote is:
-Look like a flower, but be a snake at heart.
It explains appearance vs. reality beause Macbeth is supposed to look like a pretty flower, but in reality be a coniving serpent.
Appearance= Flower. Reality= Snake.
The second quote is:
-We are all going to look sad when Duncan dies.
It means that they will appear sad, even though they are glad that they killed him.
Appearance= Sad. Reality= Happy.
I hope I understood right the put it in your own words.
Actually, I do know some people who are two faced. A lot of guys I know have two sides. One guy in my English class last year was really nice and cool in class and then when he was with his other friends he would act stupid and be mean to other people, I guess because he thought it made him look cool. I think he did this because he felt a little insecure about being a smart, nice person and being a little different from all his friends.
I know a person with two faces, as we all do. I won't name any names, and you probably wouldn't know him anyways. This is a guy who is really a quiet induvidual. However, when hes hanging out with me and my friends, hes loud, obnoxious, and is constantly striving to be the center of attention. He's a guy who has me ask a store clerk a question for him when its only us. When with my friends, hes a smartass to everyone, doing stuff he would normally never do. As Macbeth says quite well, "False face must hide what false heart doth know". He knows this when hes with me, but seems to totally ingnore it when with people.
Everyone seems to be using this wuote, so I'll follow suit: "Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't." Lady Macbeth says this, and there are several interperatations already posted, so this time I'll go my own way; I think this means that while you are an 'innocent flower', there is also an 'inner serpent', or demon side. This quote is sort of vice versa for my friends situation, but it means something nonetheless.
I agree with sarahc in that most people start are shy and hide behind a mask every once in a while. I know I most certainly am. When I am around people I don't know as well, I will act more like the shy and quiet goody-two-shoes student I was when I was in elementary school. But now I am more out going and talkative. However, my very good freinds will tell you I am wacky and I basically don't know when to stop talking. I think I might act this way because I know I can trust my freinds not to make fun of me when I act a bit strange. We accept and know that our odd sides are a part of ourselves and expect no less from each other. You can't expect the same from people you don't know as well as your good freinds.
Other than myself, I know some people who also act in two different ways. When you get them alone, they will be the coolest and nicest people in the world. Then you'll find them with their 'clique' and with their "freinds" acting all preppy or snobby or will just plain ignore you as if you are not there. Who knows why they do this. Maybe it is because they think you're not as cool as those other people that they love to hang out with, but still think you are fun to be around. But that doesn't seem to explain all their actions.
As for the quotes, the first one I found is "Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full
Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Ahake my fell purpose nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts
And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers.
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature's mischeif! 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!'" In this quote, Lady Macbeth is talking about how she wants to carry out her plans to murder, but doesn't want to have guilt and to not be to afraid to not go through with it. But all the time before and after this she speaks of how she thinks that Macbeth doesn't have the guts to do so and that she is better than him. This seems to give some insight to her inner self versus the self that she acts like at almost all other times.
A second quote I found two-faced was when the witches are telling Macbeth of the prophecy. They say, "All hail Macbeth!" They don't seem like the type to help out, so why would they do so by telling Macbeth?
I know some people who are two faced, and they aren't independent at all. They are completely vulnerable to influence from others, and they can't seem to make a decision or opinion of their own. They will probably just find a group that likes them for who they pretend to be and hide behind their brave faces. There's nothing wrong with joining a group of friends, but when you hide behind them like a scared puppy, it doesn't say much for your personality. Part of why people do this is because they see "cool people" and want to be like them. Everyone wants to be the guy that everyone looks at and says "I love that kid" or "He's so cool." Not everyone can be like that, but that won't stop people from trying. The people that tend to be the "coolest" ones, though, are the ones that really are themselves, it just so happens that they really are a nice person. I think people should just take of their mask, put on their own brave face, and be themselves. If people don't like you, thats not your fault, but it's not their's either. You were just never meant to be friends, and you move on. Once Macbeth realizes that he is just hiding from what is right, and he will do what he needs to do.
It is very rare that you find a person who is themsleves 100% of the time. Many people are naturally going to act differently around different people, for better or worse. I know plenty of people who act one way in a group but opposite one on one. I think these people wear these masks so that they can be cool or popular or funny. The truth is your seen upon by others as being almost nothing like what you are trying to achieve. However, acting one way in a group and behaving differently one on one can be a good thing too. I trust (one thing I'm begining to question if I should have within some people after reading Macbeth) certain individuals more than a group of people. Therefore, in a crowd, I might not be as open as I would with one person. But it is deffinitly true that we should be comfortable and trusting enough that we can all be ourselves all the time. If there is anyone reading this blog that can say they honestly are themselves 100% of the time, I say good for you, alot of us are not the same as you.
Quote 1) The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
LET NOT LIGHT SEE MY BLACK AND DEEP DESIRES
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
I think this quote is saying that the Prince of Cumberland stands in his way of becoming King. To become king he must destroy him or avoid it and not become king. He is saying that the outside should not see what he thinks and feels on the inside.
Quote 2) Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't
This quote seems to be very popular. My interpretation is that your appearence and the words you speak (hand and tounge) should be as innocent as a flower, which flowers are very innocent indeed. But underneath the flower be a raging serpant. Underneath, be as cruel and as dark as necessary because you need to feel that way in order to kill someone espescially a king. She is saying that Macbeth needs to hide his desires underneath his skin and save it for later.
I know several people who are two sided. Mostly, it's because I just moved here, so people treat me differently when they are with their other friends. In private, they are really cool, but I think sometimes when they are in their groups of friends, they get annoyed with me, almost as if I'm butting in. I'm not saying that people do this all the time. I think it really depends on moods.
I think that when the witches say "Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air", it can be interpreted as pertaining to a two faced person. They are basically saying that sometimes people look nice but are really mean, and sometimes people look mean and are really nice. The second line can be interpreted to mean that these people are everywhere, they "hover" among us.
In the beginning of Macbeth, it portrays Macbeth as being ruthless and murderess in battle. But when Macbeth and his wife are planning murder, his wife calls Macbeth a coward. I think this is an example of appearance vs. reality because Macbeth portrays that he is strong and brave, but on his own, or with his friends, he is cowardly. Another example of his cowardness is when the witches prophesy to Macbeth and Banquo. When Macbeth learns he will be king, he is scared of how he will come to that position. He is also scared of the actual prophesy and doesn't really trust the witches until he becomes Thane of Cawdor.
I do know a person a lot like this. When he is around me we joke and have a good time. But when we are around a group of people that we are familiar with, he tends to be harsh and crucial towards everybody but the people he does not want to impress. This shows how someone can be one way when you are around tham and another when they are around a different group. It is almost like he is wearing a mask that he takes off only when he does not want to impress anyone.
I definitely know people like this. Quite a few people actually. It's the kind of thing that when I'm around that person just us two we're the best of friends. Then when other people are around I'm suddenly the scum of the earth. It's like what Lady Macbeth said about the face hiding what the heart knows. These people know they really have no problem with me but they hide it around other people in order to keep some kind of image they think they have. It also reminds me of when Banquo is talking about Macbeth's castle. He's saying how nice it looks and how there doesn't appear to be anything unusual about it. People try to be like the castle and look ok while really there is something going on that not everyone knows about.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Post a Comment
<< Home