Macbeth Visual Text Analysis

The theme of betrayal is prominent in Macbeth, illustrated in a variety of incidents throughout the play. It is also common in many articles, current events reports, and even an element of it can be found in artwork and visual texts, which creates a variety of links between these text types and the play. The visual text is a painting depicting Adam and Eve eating the apple, an act commonly viewed as betrayal and disobedience of God. This can be connected to Macbeth’s murder of Duncan, his king who he had sworn loyalty to and had already promised him great rewards. “When Duncan is asleep, whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey soundly invite him…their drenched natures lies as in a death.” - Lady Macbeth. However, Macbeth is tempted by the allure of power, just as Eve was tempted by the devil. Later in the play, Macbeth takes on a role similar
The article is very critical and likens Gillard’s leadership to a murder or assassination of Rudd, the previous leader. The visual text depicts Eve taking the apple from a serpent, which is typically seen as something ‘evil’ when in a ‘good versus bad’ context. The mood of the visual text seems curious and in a way, innocent - but at the same time, is still a betrayal that had consequences. In contrast, the article presents it’s intended tone in an evaluative manner and making the subjects of the report seem anything but innocent - it makes them out to be something equivalent to a criminal, using words such as ‘back stabbing’ and ‘assassination’. This kind of language effectively presents the author’s stance on the issue and also sets the mood of the article. These two texts can easily be linked back to the play Macbeth because of the similar tones they incorporate - betrayal and chaos in leadership of an entire country, something the play focuses on