Are You Informed?

"The service and the loyalty I owe

In doing it pays itself. Your highness' part

Is to receive our duties, and our duties

Are to your throne and state children and servants,

Which do but what they should, by doing everything

Safe toward your love and honor." (Act 1, Scene 4)

The deception in Macbeth’s words is quite apparent once you remember the thoughts he was having just a couple pages ago, as he witnesses the first of the witches’ prophesies come true. He has imagined himself king and believes that now that this has been promised to him it must he what he deserves according to his merits. As these thoughts fill his head, we can with certainty deduct that he develops antipathy to the present king, Duncan, who is sitting on Macbeth’s throne-to-be and stealing the precious and priceless minutes of his reign. Hearing words of praise from a dislikable person stirs up distaste and hostility in the listener whether he is a just a kid or Macbeth himself. When feelings of despise feel one, his answer will be, no matter how sugar-coated or savory they sound, will have ugly sub-contexts buried underneath that rot with time and make the words with time reveal themselves as mockery. Macbeth’s words sound reverent, humble and pleasing to Kings Duncan’s ego, because they build him up, exalt him above humdrum mortals and largely because he is ignorant of the thoughts and images the witch prophecy stirred in Macbeth. Obviously Kind Duncan’s bait, which caught him on the lethal hook of treachery and deception, is flattery. And this made me wonder, “What is my bait that will attract me to the deadly hook?” and I hope it makes you wonder, “WHAT IS YOUR BAIT?” Because as one reporter said, "You can either be informed and your own rulers or you can be ignorant and have someone else, who is not ignorant, rule over you."