What are examples of treachery and tyranny in Act 4 of Macbeth?

Of course, there are many examples of treachery and tyranny in Act 4 of Shakespeare's Macbeth, but this response will focus on Act 4 Scene 2.  During Scene 2, the audience learns that Macduff has indeed left Scotland to find Malcolm in England in order to convince him to return to Scotland and claim the throne.  However, Macduff has not told Lady Macduff his reasons for leaving, and she assumes that he has abandoned his family.  Macduff's absence leaves his family in a vulnerable position, and at the end of the scene, a group of murderers hired by Macbeth arrive to sack the castle and kill Macduff's entire family and court.  The murder of the Macduffs is a prime example of Macbeth's tyrannous nature--Macbeth understands that Macduff is a threat to him, so he exercises his power to rid himself of the threat.  Further, the treacherous killing of all the Macduffs exhibits the fact that Macbeth will betray anyone around him if it means securing his position of power.

What are some examples of tyranny in Macbeth?

Themes of tyranny are central to the play Macbeth. Indeed, seen from an Early Modern mindset, the play seems focused on the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate kingship. Macbeth is a usurper, someone who has murdered his rightful king and stolen the throne for himself, and in the process he has thrown all of Scotland into a state of corruption. We see this reflected in Shakespeare's dialogue. Take, for example, in act 5, scene 2, where Macbeth is referred to as "the tyrant" and where, in that very same scene, it is later stated,

Now does he feel
His secret murders sticking on his hands,
Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach;
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love. Now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.

However, the play's themes concerning tyranny should be understood in light of the contrast that Shakespeare draws between legitimate and illegitimate kingship. Macbeth's murderous and bloodthirsty pursuit of power is weighed against the more positive examples presented by Duncan and his son, Malcolm, who is the rightful claimant to the throne. Likewise, Macbeth's treachery is contrasted against the more faithful Macduff and his support of Malcolm in the restoration.

At the same time, however, note that Malcolm himself (one of Macbeth's great foils) provides a powerful illustration of what tyrannical kingship entails. This can be found in act 4, scene 3, when he tests Macduff's character and trustworthiness. In this scene, Malcolm claims various vices, seeking to cast himself in the worst possible light so that he could judge Macduff's reaction. In the end of this exchange, Macduff rejects Malcolm, finding him unworthy of the throne, and in the process he establishes his own worth in Malcolm's eyes. I think that there is a lot worth looking into in this entire conversation if you are discussing the subject of tyranny as it is presented in Macbeth.

What are some examples of tyranny in Macbeth?

In act 1, scene 7, Macbeth tells his wife that they shall "proceed no further in this business," meaning that he no longer intends to murder King Duncan. Macbeth reasons that he has prospered because of King Duncan. However, Lady Macbeth is determined for her husband to become king as the witches predicted and for herself to become queen. She chastises her husband for being "a coward," and she tells him that he is not "a man" until he commits the murder he formerly promised her he would commit. Lady Macbeth's behavior here is selfish, cruel, and also oppressive in the sense that she is oppressing her husband's better judgement and his sense of morality. In this way, Lady Macbeth here may certainly be characterized as tyrannical.

One good quote to demonstrate Lady Macbeth's tyrannical behavior in this scene is as follows:

When you durst do it, then you were a man:

And, to be more than what you were, you would

Be so much more the man.

Lady Macbeth is here exploiting Macbeth's insecurities about his own masculinity. She is accusing him of being unmanly, and thus by implication feminine, and this, for a warrior like Macbeth, is an insult that he can not bear.

A second quote that demonstrates Lady Macbeth's tyrannical behavior is as follows:

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have pluck's my nipple from his boneless gums,

And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you

Have done to this.

Here, Lady Macbeth is tyrannizing her husband by ruthlessly and unashamedly exploiting the memory of their dead child. She is saying that she would sooner have "dash'd the brains out" of their baby than broken a promise to him. She is deliberately trying to make Macbeth feel guilty here for breaking his promise to her. This is emotionally manipulative behavior intended only to spur Macbeth to a murder which will later prove to be his undoing.

What are some examples of tyranny in Macbeth?

Certainly there are many acts of tyranny in Macbeth.  Macbeth likes the power that he has and he is driven by his fear that someone will find out that he is guilty of the murder of King Duncan (and later others).  As a result, Macbeth's behavior becomes increasingly tyrannical; for example, in Act 4, Macbeth decides to have Macduff's family murdered because he thinks that Macduff suspects him of foul play.  Macbeth sends his men to murder everyone in the castle including Macduff's wife and son.  This act of tyranny drives Lady Macbeth over the edge when she reflects on the fact that Lady Macduff and her son where completely innocent and did not deserve the brutality inflicted on them. 

Provide a quote that illustrates Macbeth's tyranny in Macbeth.

There are numerous examples throughout the play that demonstrate Macbeth's tyranny. In Act Four, Scene 1, Macbeth meets with the Three Witches, who reveal several apparitions that are designed to purposefully mislead Macbeth. After viewing the apparitions, Macbeth feels overconfident and vows to immediately follow through with his thoughts. Macbeth says,

"The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool. This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool" (Shakespeare 4.1.157-61).

Macbeth's plan to murder Macduff's innocent family depicts his tyrannical rule. Tyrants are willing to eliminate their competition at any cost, which is exactly what Macbeth does.

Later on in the play, Macbeth's enemies refer to him as a tyrant. In Act Five, Scene 2, Menteith is speaking to Caithness and asks what Macbeth is doing. However, Menteith does not call Macbeth by his name, and instead asks, "What does the tyrant?" (Shakespeare 5.2.12) Caithness responds by saying,

"Some say he’s mad, others that lesser hate him do call it valiant fury. But, for certain, he cannot buckle his distempered cause within the belt of rule" (Shakespeare 5.2.13-16).

Caithness's description of Macbeth portrays an out-of-control tyrant who has lost his mind. Throughout the play, Macbeth becomes corrupted by ambition and becomes a ruthless tyrant.

Provide a quote that illustrates Macbeth's tyranny in Macbeth.

The scene that springs to mind immediately is Act IV scene 3, in which Macduff reaches Malcolm in England and the two talk about the state of Scotland and how it has declined since Macbeth killed Duncan and then crowned himself King. There are many possible quotes that you could choose from, so you might like to re-read this scene again. However, one of the most poignant ones is said by Malcolm to Macduff as he gives his assessment of Scotland's state:

I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;

It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash

Is added to her wounds...

Another prominent quote that could be used is Macduff's impassioned response to Malcolm pretending to say that he cannot do anything to help Scotland:

Bleed, bleed, poor country!

Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure,

For goodness dare not check thee! wear thou thy wrongs;

The title is affer'd!

Both provide excellent examples of Macbeth's tyranny as seen through the eyes of other characters who have witnessed the changes that have occurred in Scotland first or second-hand.

Is Macbeth a tyrant?

Macbeth does not start out as a tyrant, but he gradually becomes one over the course of the play's middle acts. When the play opens, Macbeth is an acclaimed military leader who performs valiantly in a battle and is awarded with the additional title Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan. After the battle, though, Macbeth meets the witches on the heath and learns that he is predicted to become king one day. He immediately starts to think about how he can become king quickly, and his ambition grows over the course of act I until he finally murders Duncan while he is visiting Macbeth's castle. Macbeth is crowned King. 

Once he is the monarch, Macbeth's ambition only increases; he is not satisfied with having been crowned, and he becomes completely paranoid about holding onto his position. His insecurity leads him to become increasingly tyrannical as the play progresses. He tries to eliminate all of his enemies, even those who were formerly his friends. He sees Banquo and Macduff as threats and tries to eliminate them and their families (he is partially successful). It is reported by other characters in the play that Scotland has declined radically under Macbeth's rule and that the people do not have food and live in fear of their king. When Macbeth is finally killed by Macduff in act V, he proclaims that Macbeth's decapitated head will stand as a monument to what happens to tyrants in Scotland. 

Why is Macbeth portrayed as a tyrant?

For plot purposes, Macbeth has to become a terrible tyrant. There is no psychological reason why he should become so tyrannical just because he killed Duncan, or because he had Banquo killed, or because he had dealings with the witches. He could have become a good king and capable ruler, which was probably exactly what he intended. He certainly seems to have those benign capabilities when the play opens. Claudius in Hamlet is a villain and a usurper, but he seems to be a wise and popular monarch. The reason Shakespeare had to emphasize Macbeth's tyranny was to make it plausible that the English king, at great expense, would authorize the raising of what in those days was a enormous army of ten-thousand men to invade Scotland. Otherwise, the English king would not have felt morally justified in interfering in Scottish politics.

Malcolm and Macduff are not this king's friends or favorites. Macbeth has been lawfully elected king of Scotland, and it would be impossible for Malcolm to ask the English king for military assistance just because Malcolm was next in the line of succession. The English king has no way of knowing that Malcolm was not responsible for Duncan's murder. Even if the king had believed Malcolm's story, those assassinations and coups were common in Scotland and none of his business. He had nothing to gain by trying to place Malcolm on the Scottish throne, and of course there was no assurance that his army would have been victorious. He could be making a bitter enemy of Macbeth and even risking a counter-invasion.

Another reason why, for plot purposes, Macbeth had to be depicted and reported as tyrannical was to make it plausible that so many people would flee Scotland to join the ranks of the English army. Evidently, those who were fleeing were not only many of the important thanes, but liegemen of those thanes and ordinary commoners as well. This flight of so many people was creating additional havoc in Scotland. Crops were being neglected and animals untended. A state of anarchy was emerging. If economic hardships developed in that country, it could affect English imports and exports and might also lead to a influx of refugees who could commit thefts, robberies, burglaries, assaults, and murders, and who could become a permanent threat and liability to the English people and their government.

Thus, the unprecedented crisis in Scotland would give the English king a practical motive for attempting to overthrow the great tyrant Macbeth, and Macbeth's tyranny would lead to the swelling of the ranks of the English army, which could make the difference in the military balance. Macbeth himself says in Act V, Scene 5:

Were they not forced with those that should be ours,

We might have met them dareful, beard to beard,

And beat them backward home.

What quotes from Macbeth demonstrate that Macbeth is a tyrant?

Macbeth reveals himself as a tyrant in many ways, and ordering the killing of Banquo and his young son, Fleance, certainly proves that Macbeth enjoys absolute power and is quite ruthless, especially in an attempt to hold on to his power. Because Macbeth is concerned that he has ruined his soul and weighted his conscience with the murder of Duncan only so that Banquo's issue can take his throne, he decides to kill them both. He convinces two murderers that Banquo is their enemy, saying that he is responsible for their misfortunes. He charges them to kill Banquo while he travels, as well as

Fleance, his son, that keeps him company,
Whose absence is no less material to [Macbeth]
Than is his father's, must embrace the fate
Of that dark hour. (3.1.154-157)

Thus, he arranges the murder of a child, callously and with no concern for anyone but himself and his own ambition and pride. It won't be the last time.

After his failed dinner party, when Banquo's ghost attends but Macduff does not, Macbeth tells his wife that he "keep[s] a servant fee'd" in all of his nobles' homes (3.4.164). So, he pays a servant in each house to spy for him and report the comings and goings back to him. This kind of surveillance is typical of a tyrant. Further, after the murder of Banquo and escape of Fleance, Lennox flat out calls Macbeth a "tyrant" when speaking to another Lord (3.6.25).  

Further, ordering the murder of Macduff's wife and children proves that he is a tyrant. Upon learning that Macduff has fled the country, he says,

The castle of Macduff I will surprise,
Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. (4.1.171-174)

There is no reason to kill Macduff's family; Macbeth has nothing to gain politically or otherwise by the murder of a woman and her children. He only orders the killings to injure Macduff and to prove his own power. It is ruthless and incredibly cruel behavior indicative of his tyranny.

What examples demonstrate Macbeth's "treachery" in Shakespeare's Macbeth?

[Editors with eNotes do not write essays, but offer help to students who may need assistance.]

I hope this answer about Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, gives you some ideas of how to approach your essay by highlighting some examples of treachery in support your essay's thesis.

First of all, treachery is defined as a:

violation of faith; betrayal of trust; treason

Macbeth demonstrates a great many examples of the traits listed above throughout the play. In terms of a violation of faith or betrayal of trust, the most significant example is Macbeth's murder of Duncan. Macbeth has been a valiant and ethical soldier for Duncan, and won the King's approval and affection. When Duncan visits, there are several reasons Macbeth should not take his life (beyond the obvious argument against murder). First, Duncan is his King, and Elizabethans believed that the king or queen of the country was chosen by God, or "divine right." To kill a king (regicide) was considered a mortal sin when Shakespeare was alive. (This is also the highest form of treason Macbeth could commit.) Second, Duncan is Macbeth's friend, another basis for Duncan's trust when he visits the Macbeth's home. Third, Macbeth and Duncan are related. Duncan refers to Macbeth as "cousin." Last, Duncan is a guest in Macbeth's home, which should have guaranteed the King's safety. It was considered the worst kind of dishonor to kill someone residing under one's roof. Even an enemy was guaranteed safety by his host until he left. Duncan feels quite safe entering Macbeth's home in Act I when he says to Lady Macbeth...

Conduct me to mine host, we love him highly... (I,vi,35)

We see Macbeth's continued treachery in his murder of Banquo, his best friend—and attempted murder of Fleance (Banquo's son)—at the hands of men he convinces Banquo has wronged (which is based on lies); Macbeth also sends murderers to slaughter Macduff's wife and children while Macduff is in England visiting the legitimate ruler of Scotland, Malcolm.

Macbeth becomes treacherous and cowardly by dishonorably raising his position in the Great Chain of Being (that which dictates where someone is placed between God and the lowest creature on earth in order of importance) by killing Duncan, and anyone else he can reach who stands between him and the throne of Scotland. In killing women and children, we see that Macbeth's treachery knows no bounds.