The Theme Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair in Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The witches in a "barren heath" are the first to mention Macbeth -
thus indicating that he, the main character of the play, has, or will
have a very strong tie to them and evil. Shakespeare opens the play
with a dark and mysterious atmosphere, setting the mood of the play
using a thunderstorm, an example of pathetic fallacy, a device used
effectively throughout the play. This opening suggests that a battle
is going on between good and evil; the witches reinforce this
suggestion: 'When the battle's lost and won'. This play immediately
gives the impression of deceit and evil scheming because as the
witches riddle relates 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'. This is the
play's main theme - appearances can be deceptive. The use of
alliteration here accentuates and heightens the feeling of the
mysterious atmosphere, boding ill for the future with the suggestion
of foul play.
Throughout the beginning of the play Macbeth is not seen, but others
describe him as valiant and 'brave Macbeth' in stark contrast to
already established link with evil. Whilst the captain is reporting
the battle to the King, he mentions the courage with which Macbeth
fought, 'Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel.' Fortune,
personified as the enemies' weapon is captured by Macbeth and is now
on his side. The King marvels at Macbeth's bravery and, hearing of the
deceitfulness of the Thane of Cawdor, he immediately appoints Macbeth
to his title. Our opinions of Macbeth are already framed as we get a
picture of an almost God-like, military hero. His character is
depicted as good and hone...
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... to the play and reappears throughout Act One, most notably
through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who appear to be
"fair" but are plotting "foul" things.To others they appear as the
"innocent flower"; however to themselves, and in reality they are the
"serpent underneath it". This deceitful, hidden image is repeated
throughout the play, from the opening chant of the witches to the
traitorous nature of the previous Thane of Cawdor and the carefully
concealed evil of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare's use of
imagery serves to reinforce the theme and how it is portrayed in the
characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth later pronounces those
same opening lines: "Fair is foul and foul is fair", a paradox which
indicates how appearances may be deceptive: an innocent image may
conceal a "foul" reality.
In William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, imagery is found throughout as it is demonstrated in clothing, blood/murder, and finally lightness and darkness. It reveals different things about characters in play such as suspicion of Banquo and Macduff of Macbeth on how he became the King of Scotland, to Macbeth’s fear of losing the crown which revealed his evil side to commit murder to try and protect what he has wanted all of his life. Macbeth’s choices put his life in jeopardy. In life, there are little things people look over that may just open their eyes and see the world from a new
in full honesty with each other. When this scene starts, Macbeth does not know who the witches are. During the course of the scene, the witches are responsible for sparking Macbeth's murderous ambition to become king. The witches seem to have control over Macbeth. This is shown when, at the end of the first scene in the play, the witches penultimate line is "Fair is foul."
William Shakespeare draws Macbeth as an ambitious usurper who nevertheless has certain virtues: courage, righteousness, and a devoted love for his wife. In doing so, Shakespeare shows he understands the dual nature of human beings. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous and noble warrior, who valiantly fought for his King, until he finally meets the witches. “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name”, (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 16). Dramatic irony is tied in as only the audience know that Macbeth will soon betray the king – displaying his duplicity. Macbeth is praised for his courage in battle by the Sergeant. “O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!” replies Duncan, and we, the audience see the esteem Macbeth is held in and the nobility he has shown as a loyal solider and kinsman. This leads to Macbeth being ennobled with the Thaneship of Cawdor which later engenders in him hope for inheriting the crown. Soon, Macbeth meets the witches and they prophesise that Macbeth will be crowned king of Scotland – unleashing his passion for ambition whi...
The play Macbeth contains many hallucinations. The hallucinations in the play were trying to make the characters realize the things they were doing was wrong. It is making them conscious of their miss doings. I believe this story is to teach people that they should do the right things at all time because if not there conscious will hunt them down. Throughout the play Macbeth there is a couple of characters hallucinating about so many scenes going on in this play. Here are the things they hallucinate about in this play. Macbeth sees a dagger, Macbeth imagines a voice that warns him “Macbeth shall sleep no more,” (2.2.35-36) and he imagines that the sleepers could see him listening to their exclamation of fear, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, the three apparitions from the witches, and Lady Macbeth sees blood on her hands. I am going to talk about the many of hallucinations that were in the play.
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...
Initially, the Elizabethan audience consider Macbeth as a respectable and well like character. We do however learn that appearances can be deceptive which corresponds with the main theme; 'Fair is foul, Foul is fair' which is referred to a lot throughout the play. This theme is first introduced in Act I, Scene I where the witches foretell the struggle between the forces of evil and good in which Macbeth is to be involved. It is also an indication that all will not be as it seems. This portrays a character as being much worse if the audience's first impressions of that character were positive.
Before Macbeth enters the stage his reputation as a prestigious general is established. In the second scene of the play men who have fought with Macbeth rant about his courage in battle. The first account of Macbeth’s bravery comes from an injured captain. He says: “ But all’s too weak/for brave Macbeth (Well he deserves that name)/ Disdaining fortune, with his brandish steel/. (1.2.17) The rest of the scene consists of other recounts of Macbeth’s success; the thane of Ross informs the king that Macbeth has successfully suppressed the joint efforts of the thane of Cawdor, and the king of Norway. Furthermore, in this scene the king announces that Macbeth is to be promoted as the new thane of Cawdor. In this scene Macbeth is portrayed as a mighty, patriotic, warrior and a loyal subject to the king. However as the play progresses Macbeth deviates from these traits. Macbeth’s encounter with the three witches confuses him. He begins to decide on a course ...
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
Initially MACBETH is seen as a great soldier, a fearless fighter who has loyally defended his King against a treacherous rebellion. However, he is corrupted by evil in the form of three witches and their supernatural prophecies, and by ambition, not so much his own at first but by Lady Macbeth's ambition for him to murder Duncan, thus attaining the crown of Scotland.
Through the course of the book Macbeth transforms from an honorable and noble man to a selfish and hateful person. His bravery is apparent to all and a captain reporting to the king put it best when he said, I must report he was a cannon overcharged with double cracks (Act I, scene II). Macbeth also shows a great deal of loyalty when he is greeted by the king, as thane of Cawdor (Act I, scene IV) . The Captain boldly explains to the king how Macbeth fought with such valor and loyalty for the King. The King is excited with joy and happiness for Macbeth and sends two knights to inform Macbeth of his new title thane of Cawdor. Macbeth receives the news with a shock saying that the thane of Cawdor is still alive and well, the knight responds telling Macbeth that the thane of Cawdor has betrayed the king.
Darkness evokes feelings of evilness and a disturbance in nature. Macbeth's statement, "Now o'er the one half-world / Nature seems dead" (Lines 49 - 50), might mean that the world seems dead everywhere he looks, or it might give him the idea that the murder he is about to commit will have far-reaching repercussions. In Act V, Scene i, Line 10, the doctor says, "A great perturbation in nature," while talking about Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking, emphasizing how nature is disturbed by human doings. The witches' chorus on Act I, Scene i, Line 10, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair," is a paradox and a prophecy that makes the reader think about the line to find some meaning for themselves.
Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" is considered one of his great tragedies. The play fully uses plot, character, setting, atmosphere, diction and imagery to create a compelling drama. The general setting of Macbeth is tenth and eleventh century Scotland. The play is about a once loyal and trusted noble of Scotland who, after a meeting with three witches, becomes ambitious and plans the murder of the king. After doing so and claiming the throne, he faces the other nobles of Scotland who try to stop him. In the play, Macbeth faces an internal conflict with his opposing decisions. On one hand, he has to decide of he is to assassinate the king in order to claim his throne. This would result in his death for treason if he is caught, and he would also have to kill his friend. On the other hand, if he is to not kill him, he may never realize his ambitious dreams of ruling Scotland. Another of his internal struggles is his decision of killing his friend Banquo. After hiring murderers to kill him, Macbeth begins to see Banquo's ghost which drives him crazy, possibly a result of his guilty conscience. Macbeth's external conflict is with Macduff and his forces trying to avenge the king and end Macbeth's reign over Scotland. One specific motif is considered the major theme, which represents the overall atmosphere throughout the play. This motif is "fair is foul and foul is fair."
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.
I play the Roman fool, and die / On mine own sword? Whiles I see
The. Line 46) which makes clear vision impossible', as a way to cover up his evil deeds. Foreshadowing of evilness' which is also a theme in the play is also created when the witches, before leaving the first scene, cried in unison that "Fair is foul and foul is fair" (Act I. Scene II. The.... ... middle of paper ... ...