The Theme Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

The theme of ‘Fair is foul, foul is fair’ permeates throughout the play 'Macbeth.' Explain what it means, providing examples from the play to support your answer:

In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth undergoes many emotional and psychological changes. Shakespeare uses motifs and numbers to show Lady Macbeth is stoic and unrepentant in the beginning, but becomes desperate for death by the end because she is frantic and overcome with guilt.

There are many reasons why Macbeth deserves no sympathy, as he chose to forsake his own soul for the crown. First of all, Macbeth killed King Duncan after he honoured him with the title, “Thane of Cawdor” for being the hero who crushed the invasion in the beginning in the story. Macbeth reciprocates these kind and grateful feels of King Duncan with betrayal, and stabs him repeatedly for no apparent reason after King Duncan is already dead. Secondly, by killing the king, Macbeth kills part of himself that made him known to all as the brave, loyal, and honourable Macbeth. He also allowed his own greed and malevolent thoughts control him, which makes him call for the death of Banquo, and his family. After being greeted with the news of Banquo’s death at the feast, Macbeth jokes around with Banquo’s death to all the other lords; shortly after the joke, he loses total composure of himself once he sees the ghost of Banquo in the feast.

The reader/Audience member can see that the purpose of the irony has shifted from comical to more grave and intriguing, trying to draw the reader in and with light foreshadowing want to know how this great tragedy will end.

"Fair is foul and foul is fair" this quotation is stated in line 10 by the witches in the opening of the play.This quotation is very important because it introduces what the whole play is going to be about. How what is fair to them might not be fair to others. This quote is magnificent because it provides a wonderful example of paradox by letting the audience know that even tough something bad might occur it will benefit someone else.

Every one of Shakespeare 's plays are heavily imbedded with motifs. A motif is any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature. (motif) I chose to examine the play Macbeth. It is a very intense play full of violence, betrayal, and even the supernatural. It is well known to be saturated with themes and motifs that are repeated throughout the play. These motifs are important because they often foreshadow events on the play. They also create a atmosphere that helps shape the events of the play. I am going to focus on two motifs that seem to play a heavy role in the storyline of Macbeth. The two I have chose to focus on are the motifs of blood and nature. Since Macbeth is know for its violence blood is a very important part of the play. Nature also is representative of things to come and upsetting the natural balance of things. These are only a fraction of motifs that are present in this tragic play.

Can ambition and pride excuse senseless murder? Recently, Macbeth ascended to the top of the hierarchy in just a short period of time. I suspect that his latest success is due to dishonorable methods necessary to secure the throne. Rumors verify that Macbeth met with instruments of supernatural forces, had Duncan in residence at his time of death, and lost all sanity during a banquet. I speculate that Macbeth and his wife hatched a plan to murder King Duncan in order to gain the power for themselves. Macbeth is guilty, and at the very least unfit to rule, because of his quick rise to the throne, information regarding Duncan’s death, and his inability to maintain mental stability.

‘Macbeth’ a Scottish play known as one of Shakespeare’s best plays was written in 1611 by William Shakespeare, during that time King James the 1st was the king of Scotland, the Jacobean times was a time where people had a fascination with witches and witchcraft, ‘Daemonolgie’ was a book written by King James the 1st himself, this was about ways to spot a witch, which intrigued people. Since ‘Macbeth’ has a Scottish theme Shakespeare may have written this play to please King James since there is references to Banquo which is a direct descendant of King James, also it is said that Banquo wasn’t a very nice man but Shakespeare presents him as very loyal and kind person

In the middle of the play Macbeth realizes the power he has and abuses. He makes a lot of decisions that are fair at the time to turn out to be poor. One of these choices are he hires two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. This has a fair effect on Macbeth at first because then he stays king until he is slain. The murderers only kill Banquo and Fleance flees. This the takes a foul turn on Macbeth, at his banquet for his dinner he sees Banquo's ghost and freaks out. No One else could see the ghost but Macbeth was freaking out. Lady Macbeth told the thanes not to worry he’s been having these fits since being a kid. Another example of the paradox in the middle of the play is when he sends people to kill Macduff. This is fair because the witch’s

Shakespeare uses dramatic irony and expositions to illustrate that Macbeth’s downfall occurred because of fate. The three witches telling Macbeth his destiny did not alter the course of his fate, but it prompted his downfall. Lady Macbeth and later Macbeth interprets the witches prophecy as Macbeth needs kill those who stand in his way. Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in Macbeth’s downfall as does Macbeth’s ego.

As the late English poet William Shakespeare said, “suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” In other words, the fear of getting caught is always a persistent thought in the mind of someone who is guilty. William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe both utilize literary devices to portray the theme of guilt in their stories and to show how a guilty conscience can lead to insanity.

Evilness itself is a betrayal of the habitual human nature of any person. The natural tendency of a person is morality; however, that inclination can be corrupted and influenced into twisted malevolence. A common image in the play representing this evil is the serpent, shown to be a conniving, wicked tempter. This symbol takes many forms throughout the story, beginning as a comparison of the ideal character Macbeth should strive to be and finishing as yet another threat to Macbeth’s quest for glory. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have to defy their own human nature to accomplish their desires, namely murdering King Duncan. This action forever changes their mentalities and morals by its test to the strength of their ethics and the loyalty of the relationships to which they belong.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Shakespeare Act I Scene I 12-13). The Weïrd Sisters utter these lines in unison in the first scene of the play. Shakespeare thus establishes the backdrop for a story full of paradoxes and mysticism. Not all is how it appears to be. Deceit and betrayal take center stage in the play, paving the way for Macbeth’s ascendancy to kingship, and eventual downfall. Good versus evil is present in nearly every scene. As in most literary works, the author develops different themes expressed in various ways. Symbolism is often the most effective way to express central themes. In Macbeth, Shakespeare creates contrast to effectively strengthen the overriding message of good versus evil.

Theme of Fair is Foul in William Shakespeare's Macbeth 'Fair is Foul' is the major theme in Macbeth and is present throughout the play in both the characters and the events. ' Fair is Foul' refers to the contrast of good and evil in the play, since Macbeth commits many evil murders for what seem to be good reasons. There are several false and secretive characters, such as the Witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, because of the contradiction of good and evil. Therefore the theme of 'Fair is Foul' is also linked to the theme of appearances being deceiving. As a result of this theme lots of chaos, lies, secrets and total disorder are caused.

Macbeth is without a doubt a play about evil. The play revolves around the bad and wicked qualities in human nature, but Shakespeare also contrasts this evil with the power of good. In this essay I will explore the ways in which Shakespeare contrasted good and evil in Macbeth.