Macbeth is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. Written sometime between 1603 and 1606, the play is strongly written with King James the first’s of England’s interests in mind; the supernatural. Because of this we are introduced to the idea of the paranormal and witchcraft straight way in the play with the three. This would have scared a Jacobean audience as they feared the supernatural; it also foreshadows the likeliness of disturbed characters to be introduced later in the play.…
Significance: The purpose of this well known quote is to communicate to the audience the witches’ intentions. The witches chant this line all together over a concoction they are preparing and the purpose of this is to increase the dramatic tension and visually portray how purely evil they can be. The translation of this line is to increase the hardships and misfortunes of the mortals (human beings) around them. The witches repeat this line thrice in this scene; the number three associating with evil and the witches clearly intending to want to increase the hardships of mankind for their mere satisfaction and entertainment.…
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair." (Act I, Scene I, line 10) With this opening paradoxical quote, Shakespeare opens the tragedy of Macbeth. Macbeth is the tragic hero of this tragedy, as his ambitious actions place him in a downwards spiral until he loses everything that was once precious to him. He sacrifices his innocence, his conscience, and his peace of mind for the endless power and control he pursues. The introduction of the play begins with the description of a king under the pressures of war. Duncan, the king of Scotland, hears of Macbeth's bravery in battle against a Scot who took sides with the enemy. Scotland is currently at war with the King of Norway, and the country is rather divided, as traitors begin to surface. One such traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, was promptly arrested (and later hanged). As a reimbursement for his courageous demeanor, Duncan gives the title to an unknowing Macbeth. Meanwhile, Macbeth and Banquo are on their journey to the castle and find themselves with three witches, who greet Macbeth as the "Thane of Cawdor." Immediately interested by this prophecy, Macbeth urges them to speak more...and his suppressed dreams of power begin to arise. It is this, Macbeth's aspirations of greatness that thrust him into power and his eventual death.…
There are many motifs in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but one of the most important is the recurring disassociation of appearance and reality. The entire motif is introduced in the first scene when the witches say “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1,i,12). This is then reiterated as important when Macbeth says, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” (1,iii, 39). Drawing parallels and comparing two polar opposites, such as foul and fair, sets the stage for the dissimilarity between appearance and reality. This motif changes as the characters change, however, and it moves from the main characters not knowing what to believe or trust, to the main characters using the variance to their own advantage and hiding their true motives, to finally causing the main characters to go insane. Throughout the entirety of Macbeth, what the characters have seen and what the readers know to be true have often times been contrasting. This divergence between appearance and reality grows and develops with the characters throughout the play.…
William Shakespeare produced the tragedy Macbeth in roughly 1606. The protagonist, Macbeth, is rivalled with several challenges throughout his journey to achieve the title as the King of Scotland. He acknowledges these challenges with immoral actions, as advised by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Through his responses, Macbeth’s character flaws are revealed, such as his deteriorating moral judgment, corrupted sanity and his most fatal flaw of all, ambition. Macbeth’s mental health and moral judgment attribute to his character flaws, promoting the concept that human nature consists of both positive and negative aspects.…
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”, a simple quote, yet it tells the story of a strong, brave, and noble solider who gone bad due to his huger for power. “Macbeth” one of Shakespeare’s famous tragedies demonstrates the lust for power, through fate, quest for blood, and forceful woman…
Everyone as a human being has both good and bad characters, and they will also change as they grow old and some people also learn from their mistakes. In the play, “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, the character of Lady Macbeth depicts both good and evil tendencies, particularly her evil tendencies can be seen at the beginning of the play. Over the course of time, Lady Macbeth changes adequately from the lust of power to more of an anguished person. The consolidation of the fatal influence by the witches and Lady Macbeth on Macbeth is what mustered for a disaster.…
The quote “fair is foul” and “foul is fair” are paradoxical statements as they mean the same…
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…
In Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows a good side, and a bad side of a person. At the beginning of the play, three witches mentioned “ Fair is Foul” and “Foul is Fair” ( 1.1.13). Macbeth felt that his cousin Duncan are king was unfair to him, however, Duncan felt it was acceptable. In order, to right what Macbeth felt was foul he killed Duncan to make it Fair in his eyes. Their apparition are simply true and they have Macbeth thinking that anyone will hurt him. Macbeth had a taste of power, and he is willing to do anything to keep it.…
Macbeth is a play whereby perversion of values take place. Like the witches' chant of "Fair is foul and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air", it suggests that they are chanting the curse on Macbeth- from a good man to an evil man, who thinks that doing good is evil and doing evil is good.…
Good and evil is a major theme that is found in all forms of literature from the past and in present day. This theme is often progressed from the transition of a good character to an evil one. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the vital character, Macbeth is first seen as a noble, brave and trustworthy hero but is later seen as a horrific inhumane murderer. The causes to his change is not because he is naturally born evil, but is due to the influences of others surrounding his environment. Other critical sources such as Imagination by Henry N. Paul and The Tragedy of Macbeth by Elizabeth Montagu, support the notion that Macbeth’s actions were solely caused by external factors. Led by the prophecies told upon Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s manipulative…
The text Macbeth is asphyxiated in themes of treachery, dishonesty, deception shown by the quote “Fair is foul and foul is fair”. This quote shows that despite the fact that something appears to be devout and pure it may underneath be treacherous and evil. The text is smothered in lies and betrayal from various characters. Shakespeare portrays this theme through the Witches and Hecate’s meandering of Macbeth’s prophecy which tricks Macbeth in to believing he is insuperable and he then goes forth to live with no fear. We can also see this through Macbeth’s murders of his spurious friends in which he looks to befriend them yet perfidiously murders them. Macbeth also conveys this through his murder of Macduff’s family. This theme is also expressed through Lady Macbeth by her assisting Macbeth through his murders and lies. She cons him into doing so through his time of doubt and wishes she could take his place. She sits quietly in the background yet plays a major role in Macbeth’s actions.…
“Fair is foul and foul is fair” which happens to be a famous quote from the tragedy Macbeth(I,I,l.10). This line sets the stage perfectly for the rest of the play and the events throughout. It sets the stage for the central theme of appearance versus reality, which stays heavily emphasized throughout the play. Also in Hamlet appearance versus reality remains represented by the main characters in the play. In both the characters stay completely unaware of what could actually be behind the outside picture. The characters think that just because something looks like it represents good it may actually represent bad behind the scenes. The overall idea is that regardless of the way things look and how promising…
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…