False Security In Macbeth

Throughout William Shakespeare’s timeless play, Macbeth, there are many instances in which the main protagonist, Macbeth, believes something to be true which is not. Macbeth’s most prominent illusion of the world around him is that he is invincible and cannot be defeated. Mainly through the theme of the danger of false security, Macbeth develops an incorrect sense of the world around him, believing himself to be unbeatable. Macbeth’s fatal misconception of the world around him eventually leads to his kingdom being taken from him and ultimately his life as well. In the play, Macbeth is under the illusion that he is invincible and cannot be conquered. Macbeth is told by three witches that he will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of …show more content…
Throughout the play, Macbeth is lulled into a false sense of security by the witches and their misleading prophesies. First, the witches gain Macbeth’s confidence in them by prophesying that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. When Macbeth is told that he will become Thane of Cawdor by the king and then becomes King of Scotland after killing Duncan, he believes that the witches really can see the future and he begins to trust them. Macbeth trusts so much in the witches, he goes to them for a second prophecy to learn more about his fate. After hearing the second prophecy, Macbeth feels extremely confident and secure, trusting that what the witches say will continue to be accurate. Even though Macbeth believes himself to be invincible through the foresight of the witches, in reality he was far from it. Macbeth gets tricked by the witches into believing he can only be killed under extreme consequences, all of which seem very unlikely. Because he feels so assured, he enters the final battle without fear or restraint, believing he is unable to be harmed. When he meets Macduff, he is very confident and arrogant knowing he cannot be killed by any man woman born; assuming Macduff was born of a woman like most other men. Macduff tells Macbeth he was ripped from his mother’s womb, meaning he was removed through a c-section procedure and then kills Macbeth. Macbeth was not careful to examine the witches’ choice of words and was too quick to accept that he could seemingly not be stopped. The false sense of security that Macbeth felt in Macbeth gave him the illusion that he was invincible which eventually led to his gruesome and untimely