Shakespeare's Macbeth is saturated with thought-provoking situations and enigmas. Many of these enigmas are contradictions or overlapping puzzles. Equivocations, or things said alongside their opposites, occur often in the play. The presence of the supernatural also enhances the eluding effect. Finally, statements made by characters analyzing their own situations often illustrate the idea of illusion versus actuality. This theme of truth and reality opposing fallacy and fantasy is a prominent idea in Macbeth.
             Throughout the play, especially in the first act, duality and contradiction is commonly mentioned. Initially, this is seen as the witches speak in the opening scene. "Fair is foul," they say, "and foul is fair" (I, 1, 12). The Weird sisters also speak in this manner when they address Banquo. They tell him he will be "Lesser than Macbeth and greater" (I, 3, 68). Although this seems perplexing, one later finds that what they say is true; though Banquo does not become a king he is a better man than Macbeth. In the fourth act, many things "double." The witches wish upon Macbeth double the pain, and he wants to be double sure about himself. Another example of equivocation is the imaginary liar the drunken porter allows into the gates of hell. This further proves that this eluding form of speech is wicked and deserves punishment. By saying two separate things together as truth, one is unsure about the validity of the statement.
             Another confusing aspect of Macbeth is the reality of the impossible and supernatural. The witches, whether real or illusion, had an enormous effect on the lives of the characters. They make Macbeth believe he has control over his fate, and by doing so they have changed his fate. The apparitions they bring about also have great impact on Macbeth's plans and state of mind. These images contradict one another, making him be more concerned with which statement is true, than the apparitions' own
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