Appearance versus Reality in The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Othello

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Appearance versus Reality
The theme of appearance versus reality asserts that people's perceptions of things are not always accurate. Individuals can use deceit and manipulative tricks to obtain favor and do evil without being discovered. Using a twist of words, William Shakespeare demonstrates the theme of appearance versus reality in The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Othello. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth offers the audience the outcome of machinations through choices of words and misleading acts (Bratchell). In The Tragedy of Othello, a similar strategy is used, but in this play, it's through close friends with corruptive testimony that the theme is depicted. The theme of appearance versus reality plays a vital role in the characters, storyline, and outcome of both plays.
The similarity in how the theme is used in both plays is that manipulative individuals are not what they are perceived to be. In these plays, deception is used to cause harm to characters. Shakespeare uses the theme of appearance versus reality to portray how people can cause harm and extreme pain to other people by pretending to be what they are not. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, the Macbeths are very good at making people perceive them as harmless. They use manipulative ways to appear innocent even after committing heinous acts.
Additionally, in the Tragedy of Macbeth, the outward appearance of the Macbeths as very innocent and trustworthy enables them to get away with many evil acts, such as the plot to murder Duncan. From the time Lady Macbeth and Macbeth decided to usurp the throne, they used deceptive ways to hide their reality. For example, lady Macbeth speaks openly of the need for an individual to look like a flower but be the serpent underneath (Bradley). Hence, it is an indication that one should appear harmless and welcoming, while the reality is that they are cunning and malicious to obtain favor. Additionally, when Duncan visited Macbeth's castle, his perception was that the place was hospitable, including the pleasing seat. Ironically, the castle is not what it seems. Here, Duncan will be killed, and the Macbeths still disguise themselves, which makes them appear innocent. Similarly, in The Tragedy of Othello, Lago is manipulative, and he wants people to perceive him as a good man while he is not.
The significant difference in how the theme is treated is that in The Tragedy of Macbeth, the appearance versus reality theme is reflected in supernatural hallucinations. Characters in the plays are depicted as hallucinating, hearing, and seeing things that are not reality. On several occasions, Malcolm changed his appearance to d...