Preview

Fair Is Foul And Foul Is Fair In Macbeth

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
492 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Fair Is Foul And Foul Is Fair In Macbeth
The main themes in Shakespeare’s plays often present ideas with underlying meaning. In the opening of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the three witches state “fair is foul and foul is fair.” This line establishes a theme appearing several times throughout Macbeth. The idea that good and bad frequently come together influences the characters’ actions and the play’s ending. “Fair is foul and foul is fair” makes everything seem different than previously thought. Because the witches start out the play with the theme “fair is foul and foul is fair,” the audience can expect many twists and turns in the plot. The theme first appears in the murder of King Duncan by Macbeth. Although Macbeth welcomes Duncan into his home as friends, he carries out a death plan driven by his longing for the crown. The audience expects Macbeth to remain the hero of the play, but he actually becomes the villain. Fueled by the witches’ prophecies and his wife’s wicked mindset, he deceives Duncan by acting fair but carrying out a foul deed. Lady Macbeth even persuades Macbeth to “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t,” displaying the main theme perfectly. “Fair is foul and foul is fair” …show more content…
Macduff has always been weary of Macbeth, and towards the end is where the audience can see that they will never get along. In Act one, all of the people staying at Macbeth’s house keep marvelling over everything he has, Macduff stays silent. Macduff also hears that Macbeth is the new prospective king, and instead of going and talking to others about it, he goes home. Macduff always shows loyalty to his country and wants the best for it. This also portrays “fair is foul and foul is fair” because Macduff always wants the best things for his country, yet bad things keep happening that could terrorize Scotland’s
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth And Banquo Analysis
    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Macbeth And Banquo Analysis

    Once the exposition is established by the witches’ famous dialogue, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (I. i. 10), the reversal moral order is introduced as the theme of the play. This incident precedes the introduction of the diverse belief of both Macbeth and Banquo concerning the witches. Although Macbeth questions the witches’ prophecies in the beginning, he still maintains a flicker of hope that the prophecies are true. Macbeth’s belief in the witches’ predictions reveals to the audience that Macbeth is a credulous character. It only takes favourable prophecies for him to become convinced. During the first encounter between the witches, Macbeth and Banquo, Macbeth displays his anticipation to understand completely the words of the women,…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth's 'Fair And Foul Is Fair'
    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth's 'Fair And Foul Is Fair'

    The play Macbeth, was written around 1606 by the famous poet William Shakespeare. In the plot, Macbeth is told prophecies by three witches and he does everything in his power to make sure he becomes the king, as they proclaimed, including murder. In Macbeth, one theme presented is “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” meaning that things appearing to be good are sometimes bad, and things that at first seem bad can actually be good. There are many examples in the play to support this with regard to the supernatural, nature, and the play’s characters.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth vs macduff
    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth vs macduff

    Macduff was never a man of many words but he was an honest man, and because of this everyone listened when he spoke. We first see Macduff’s honesty as he expresses his raw grief at the King's murder: "O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart/ Cannot conceive nor name thee! (act 2, scene 3). His grief is so much that not even the king's own son appears to mourn the loss of the king, as much as Macduff. But not even grief was enough to keep this man from paying attention to his surroundings. He is so noble that he was only one who dared to ask why Macbeth killed the guards senselessly. Instead of wasting time on his suspicions, he decides to leave for England. Most might think that this is a cowardly act, but this is actually a brave act which was intended to aid…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Good Vs Evil Analysis
    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth Good Vs Evil Analysis

    To begin with, Lady Macbeth and Macduff demonstrate various attributes of the topic Good vs. Evil. Lady Macbeth stood out as one who was ruthless, manipulative, wicked, and a woman of words. These traits portray her as an evil character because of her desire for power just like her husband Macbeth, which also leads to the bloody deeds she commits with him. (Act I, Scene V, Line 40-54) The next character is one who follows the good characteristics and that would be Macduff. Macduff was described as a courageous, determined, well-respected, and strong-willed nobleman of Scotland. Macduff wanted to do everything in his power to purify Scotland and the reader gets to view his traits more throughout the play. (Act V, Scene VIII, Line 6-8)…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Theme Of Power In Macbeth
    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Power In Macbeth

    Macbeth, a dark and gruesome tragic play written by William Shakespeare primarily discusses the concept of greed for more authority. Emasculation and the Great Chain of Being are some core components of this play that are discussed through gothic poetry. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the main characters in the play. Through Macbeth’s catalyst, his wife, he found the strength to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth was his agent in many of the scenes in the play. Their compatible pairing lead to many “successes”, but also to their own deaths. Shakespeare brilliantly uses garment metaphors throughout the play as well as the innocent flower and crafty serpent motif to express Macbeth’s mindset and tragedy.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Character Analysis
    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth Character Analysis

    Not only to develop Macbeth’s character, but to develop multiple themes throughout the play. One of the main thing the Witches do in the play is to create the theme of evil and supernatural. They do this from the very first scene when come and talking about about meeting Macbeth and saying their famous chant, “Fair is foul,foul is fair,/Hover through the fog and filthy air.” (1.1 13-14) When they say these lines and mention meeting with Macbeth; they immediately create the theme of evil and supernatural and make the audience wonder what they are planning to do to Macbeth. The Witches also help to create the theme of ambition They do this by giving Macbeth profecias and once one comes true, Macbeth says, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical.” (1.3 38) When Macbeth says this line; it can be seen that Macbeth is thinking ambitious thoughts of killing the king to have the second part come true. Later in the play Macbeth returns to the Witches for more prophecies; they gave him deceptive prophecies that gave him false hope. These prophecies made Macbeth think he was invulnerable which made him over confident. When he found out the prophecies tricked him he says, “ Accused be the tongue that tells me so,/ For it hath cow’d my better part of man.” (5.8 17-18)He says this because he finally realises that he was deceived by the Witches. Throughout the play, the witches help the theme of evil and supernatural,…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Ambition In Macbeth
    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Ambition In Macbeth

    “I shall do so; But I must also feel it as a man: I cannot but remember such things were, That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff, They were all struck for thee!” (IV.iii 203). Macduff controls his ambition that makes him able to offer mercy to Macbeth. “Then yield thee coward, And live to be the show and gaze o’ the time:” (V.viii 2). Macbeth does not want mercy; he would rather die than be seen as a bad person. Macduff kills Macbeth not out of vengeance but for the good of the country. Macduff saves the country from being run by a crazy man and saves many other people that Macbeth would have killed in order to keep his…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Corruption In Macbeth
    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Corruption In Macbeth

    As creators of turmoil by nature, the witches catalyze changes in Macbeth that enable his transformation from a righteous military general into a committed megalomaniac. Furthermore, they inspire the awakening of Macbeth’s ambition and fool him by providing a false sense of security. This exploitation is expected from the dark and sinister creatures as they firmly believe that “fair is foul, and foul is fair.” The paradox and enigma behind this principle suggests that the witches feel disdain towards the laws of human nature, morality, and ethics. Their embodiment of pure evil allows the witches to find meaning and delight in the harshest of things while despising compassion. Furthermore, this belief shows that for them, there is a…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Effects Of Guilt And Evil In Macbeth
    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Effects Of Guilt And Evil In Macbeth

    Because of his dark and evil desires evil in Macbeth takes shape.This happened when Macbeth listens to the witches prophecies. “Fair is foul, and foul and fair” (The entire play revolves around this chant)"Fair is foul, and foul is fair" is perhaps one of the most heavily impacted lines in Macbeth. it is used to foreshadow the fact that characters in the play who seem to be good and nice (Macbeth) may actually be tainted or evil. Because he listened to the witches prophecy he had a new dark ambition.Lady Macbeth, his wife, then pushes the ambition. After the murdering of Duncan, Macbeth has gained enough ambition, willing to kill anyone (men, women, and children) who he thinks might steal his seat on Scotland's throne. Macbeth puts his own evil desires before the good of his country, and, in the end, is tragedy destroyed by his own…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth: The Power Of Evil
    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Macbeth: The Power Of Evil

    After hearing that danger is coming for her family, Lady macduff ponders on why danger is coming because she is “In this earthly world, where to do harm/ Is often laudable, to do good sometime/ Accounted dangerous folly” (4.2.83-85). By claiming the “earthly world, is often laudable” to harm, Lady Macduff is explaining how it's unnatural for the criminals to be rewarded which represents just how the power of evil has lurred Macbeth into do anything it takes to to keep his power, even if that means killing innocent…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Difference Between Fair And Foul Is Fair Macbeth
    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Difference Between Fair And Foul Is Fair Macbeth

    One essential truth in daily lives we have to know is that things are not just like what they appear to be. This theory is similar to the paradox “Fair is foul and foul is fair” which was developed in both by William Shakespeare and by Disney. is about Macbeth who was loyal to King Duncan at fist, but murdered Duncan after he knew he will be the king from witches. Except Duncan, many innocent persons also were murdered by Macbeth, like Banquo and Macduff’s family. Finally Macbeth’s guilt caused his death, Macbeth was killed by Macduff.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth Good And Evil Essay
    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth Good And Evil Essay

    Contrasting Evil and Good in Macbeth - In this essay I will look at the ways that Shakespeare has contrasted evil with good in his play Macbeth. The play revolves around the bad and wicked qualities in human nature, but Shakespeare also contrasts this evil with the power of good. This contrast between good and evil is a recurring theme throughout Macbeth. These contradictions start in the very beginning of the play, with the witches. In Act one, Scene one, line 12, the witches say, “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” This is interesting as they are suggesting good and evil as being one.... [tags: evil, good, macbeth, shakespeare,]…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth
    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Macbeth

    It all started with the statement "fair is foul and foul is fair"(act 1 scene 1) made by the three witches. Momentarily the downfall of Macbeth begins early on in the play when he and Banquo meet the three witches on the way back from the winning battle.They decide to listen to the witches out of sheer curiosity. They greet Macbeth as "Thane of Glamis" the title he already holds, and begin to tell the two nobles of things to come, and prophesies that Macbeth will become "Thane of Cawdor", and king of Scotland. Macbeth was standing but the rage of fire was ignited in his heart, the seed of change is planted.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dramatic Techniques in Macbeth
    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Dramatic Techniques in Macbeth

    Dramatic irony is employed from the beginning of the play. The repetition of the paradox “fair is foul and foul is fair” (Act 1 Sc 1) by the Witches introduces the theme of the disruption of the natural order. Macbeth echoes similar words just before his first encounter with them, “so foul and fair a day I have not seen” (Act 1 Sc lll). This draws to the audience's attention the relationship that will form between Macbeth and the Weird Sisters. Dramatic irony is employed here, since Macbeth is unaware at this stage of the importance of his words. The audience though are able to see the connection, which creates dramatic suspense. His words highlight the contribution of the Witches to the events and outcomes of the play. Foreshadowing is one of the first dramatic techniques to be used in the play. In his meeting with the witches in Act 1 Sc lll, Macbeth learns of the prophecy. It plants the idea of treason in his mind. It is Macbeth's ambition that compels him to commit regicide. Without the deliverance of the prophecy by the Witches, Macbeth would not have considered becoming king. Macbeth at this stage of the action considers the witches insignificant, lowly and evil. He is initially fearful of them and approaches them with…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair in Macbeth
    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair in Macbeth

    The quote from the three witches, "Fair is foul and foul is fair," echoes throughout the story, and is the backbone of the many 'switches' that occur between and amongst the characters and their positions. Macbeth's opening line reinforces this theme with, "So foul and fair a day I have not yet seen." He describes the day as foul after having to brutally slay so many men. The day is fair because of his absolute triumph and assured rewards. This, as with many things in the play, see-saws back and forth: his fair winnings and heightened position turn foul again by the end of the play.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics