After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become king and queen. They maintain an innocent appearance of grief and modesty to hide their evil deeds and ambitious desires. This ‘false face’ is only threatened in the famous banquet scene, as Macbeth reacts violently to the sight of Banquo’s ghost while Lady Macbeth tries to keep up appearances (shown here in a Taiwanese adaptation of the play).
As something of a contrast to the dark atmosphere of the play, the Porter provides some comic relief in Act 2 Scene 3. The Porter’s joke about ‘an equivocator’ (someone who does not tell the truth) echoes the theme of deception and the conflict between appearance and reality that runs through the play.
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