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Witches and witch craft 16th and 17th centuries in Elizabethan England
Fair is foul and foul is fair means
Witches in the Elizabethan era
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A theme emerged in Shakespeare’s Macbeth that stated that which is fair is foul, and that in turn foul is fair. The initial meaning meant by the witches who proclaimed this unsettling prophecy is that good and evil will be confused and mistaken for each other. However, its meaning was subtly demonstrated via confusing the expected with the unexpected. This took place with the witches themselves in their appearance, as they possessed beards and an overall strange appearance not in line with the expected, and thus warping the expected and unexpected, potentially undermining that which is fair and foul. Banquo-a friend of Macbeth-warns his friend that evil powers frequently trick people with truth in order to lead them into a larger lie, and that
In the first scene of the first act, three witches plan their next meeting in which they will encounter Macbeth. It is in this scene that the motif is first presented, as the tree witches chant, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air" (1.1.11-12). The witches meet again in scene three of act one. One of the witches discusses a curse she has placed on a woman's husband, because she refused to share her food. This display of evil powers and spitefulness, suggests that the witches may have some influence in the development of the motif. Macbeth enters during this scene along with Banquo, arriving from a victorious battle. He uses the motif to describe the day as "So foul and fair a day I have not seen" (1.3.38). When Macbeth encounters the witches, they give him two predictions. One is that he will become the thane of Cawdor, and then the king of Scotland.
Our main character Macbeth is very driven by his need for what he believes to be the truth. The play starts out with the quote “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” (1.1.6) meaning nothing is, as it seems. This quote was from all three witches, who decided they were going to seek out Macbeth who at the time was Thane of Glamis and a prized solider on the battlefield. Macbeth at this time was looking for more in his life. The witches then gave him and his friend Banquo three prophecies. They were that he would become Tha...
Macbeth began this play with a great future ahead of him: a Thane to the King with a great life and many friends. Shortly after Macbeth is given the title Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth and his companion Banquo encounter a group of witches. The witches are portrayed as wicked and menacing, saying “Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Act 1, Scene 1). This quote shows that what appears to be fair and good, similar to that of Macbeth at the beginning of this play. This quote also applies to the Witches themselves. The Witches’ prophecies to Banquo and Macbeth appear to be fair and very appealing to the men, but are actually very deceiving and leads to Macbeth’s ultimate downfall. Following Macbeth’s visit by the witches, he tells Lady Macbeth of his encounter but says that he does not wish to kill King Duncan to become King. Shakespeare characterizes Lady Macbeth as an evil mastermind, using her powers of seduction to challenge Macbeth’s masculinity. Macbeth may not have murdered for the throne if it was not for the actions of Lady Macbeth, who accuses Macbeth of being too kind hearted to take the closest path to the throne. Macbeth’s downfall begins with the actions that his wife convinces him to take. Shakespeare uses characterization to show that Macbeth is a tragic hero, but these characters’ actions also cause many conflicts that lead to Macbeth’s
Gather round my brothers, a call to arms. I am Malcolm, the son of King Duncan. Before we embark on bringing justice back into this kingdom, let me offer you some words of advocacy. We come here not as individuals, rather a single force for justice and truth. Macbeth is no match for this brave hearted army. Today this turmoil ends, today we fight!
The Witches introduce the theme with the infamous phrase “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (scene 1, line 11) in the first scene. It’s functional for the Witches to say this in the beginning of the book, as they are the start of all the perplexity. They become the core of confusion when they awaken Macbeth’s ambition and transform his perspective of good and evil, making bad things look good and good things look bad. Ironically in connection with this, Banquo warns Macbeth, “Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence” (1/3/125-126). The Witches continue to speak in contradicting language, such as “lesser than Macbeth, and greater” (1/3/65) and “Not so happy, yet much happier” (1/3/66) that adds to the sense of moral confusion, by implying that nothing is quite what it seems. Banquo’s warning is fulfilled at the end of the play when the Witches had won Macbeth’s trust with prophecies that became true –‘honest trifles’- and then betray him in the things that really mattered, his life and his country -‘deepest consequence’- to win his spirit for hell.
...he king and hide their intentions and guilt from others in order to appear innocent. The witches use their appearances to trick Macbeth by telling him prophecies that appear good, but actually lead to his downfall. Lastly, the Thane of Cawdor, Malcolm and Donaldbain’s appearances hide the truth from others, including Macduff and Duncan. The witches’ statement, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” best describes the idea that appearances can be deceiving (1.1.12). Each character tricks others for different reasons, whether they purposely mislead them or not. Through different characters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, including Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, the witches and the Scottish Thanes; it clearly shows that appearances can be deceiving.
The witches also kept repeating a quote that has a lot of meaning. They continued to say “foul is fair and fair is foul.” (I.i.12) This means that what seems right isn’t really right and what seems wrong isn’t really wrong. So the whole play is about false faces and how someone who seems normal and innocent isn’t really. The witches also seem to be an illusion. They are in a way human like, but at the same time they are also fake. They talked to Macbeth and told him three prophecies, which caused him to become greedy and kill King Duncan. The first time they told him what they saw was in Act 1. They said
From the beginning, Macbeth is a play filled with contradictions. In the opening scene, the witches, who are women with beards, declare, “ fair is foul and foul is fair”(1.1.12 Shakespeare). In this disarranged and chaotic world, the conventional gender roles are sometimes unseated as well. However, when they are unseated, negative repercussions always ensue. Furthermore, in Macbeth, Shakespeare implies that traditional gender roles are the most beneficial and should be followed invariably.
The three witches open ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ with their minute scene in Act One. Shakespeare starts the play by immediately introducing them as prophets. (“When shall we three meet again…” “…When the battle’s lost and won” “That will be ere the set of the sun”). They also set the tone of the play and introduce the audience to the theme by delivering one of Shakespeare’s most iconic dialogues- “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” A reference to the fact that appearances can be decieving. Macbeth who is seen as a valient and honourable gentleman in the beginning is a cruel and ruthless king in the end. Perhaps by that logic, the ‘foul’ witches are the sense of ‘fair’ play when it comes to Macbeth’s prophecies. In addition, the three
In the play Macbeth, many different major choices are brought forth to a certain character and the decision that is chosen affects the entire play. The results of these actions or decisions can be a positive or negative outcome towards the character. Does justice always prevail in the play Macbeth? If a character decides to commit a crime, will he/she be punished? If a character does a noble deed, will he/she be rewarded? As is represented in the play Macbeth, justice always prevails due to the guilty character's developing sense of remorse and/or the character receiving fair punishment. For every action there is a reaction and whatever the result is, it is meant to happen and it is just.
One of the most important themes in Macbeth involves the witches' statement in Act 1, Scene1 that "fair is foul and foul is fair." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 10) This phrase aptly describes the macabre status quo within the character Macbeth and without. When Macbeth and Banquo first see the weird sisters, Banquo is horrified by their hideous appearances. Conversely, Macbeth immediately began to converse with these universally known evil creatures. After hearing their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considered the witches to be "fair" when in reality their intentions were quite "foul." Macbeth's possession of the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland came by foul means. Macbeth became the Thane of Glamis by his father Sinel's death; he became Thane of Cawdor when the former namesake was executed for treason; and he was ordained King of Scotland after murdering the venerable Duncan. Thus, Macbeth has a rather ghastly way of advancing in life.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair” which means that ugly will become beautiful and vice versa, foreboding the actions to take place in the play, although the beauty is not considered to change physically, but rather mentally. The play has various examples of rhyme, but this one seems to rise above the rest. The reason being because of the text placement, which is at the very beginning of the tragedy. As the play continues on, the witches enter again to tell Macbeth that he will be king. The first witch says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, Scene 3) Without using rhyme necessarily, Shakespeare uses rhythm in the witches voice to make you direct it inversely with a sort of wicked enchantment as they speak. They may not be actually doing a spell, but it creates an image of one being made to entertain the audience. Without the use of rhythm in a play, the tone would be offset because of the lack of beat while the reader is
In the tragedy, Macbeth (1623), William Shakespeare implies that not everything should be easily trusted because some things can have really bad intentions but they are just good at hiding it. The author supports this claim in many ways one being how the witches’ prophecies and apparitions seem to benefit and be good for Macbeth when in reality they only trick Macbeth into letting him think what he wants them to think by only giving him half of the story. The author’s purpose is to show that not everything should be easily trusted in order to show it was this mistake that many of the characters such as King Duncan and Banquo made when they trusted Macbeth too easily and it lead to their murder. The intended audience appears to be those who trust things too easily whether it be people or other things such as in this case the witches’ prophecies which only brought chaos due to the fact that Macbeth trusted what he was being told too easily.
In Macbeth, there are some very nasty witches. They have warts growing all over them and very manly beards. Banquo and Macbeth first meet these witches in the beginning of the book after they get done fighting in a battle. They give Macbeth three prophecies that end up all coming true. “ [1st witch] All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Glamis! [2nd witch] All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Cawdor! [3rd witch] All Hail, Macbeth! You'll be king one day!” (pg 31) Directly after the witches vanish,
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the protagonist becomes torn between destiny and ambition, between fate and desire. Told simply of what could be, he motivates himself to commit terrible and violent acts. By doing what he believes he must, he ultimately destroys himself in the process. Wrong becomes right, and right becomes wrong. For this reason, the theme "fair is foul and foul is fair" remains constant throughout the tale.