“Fair Is Foul”
“Fair is foul”
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is a play in which the central character, Macbeth, is vulnerable as well as heroic. Before Macbeth even appears in the play we learn of his vulnerability through the witches, who plan to meet Macbeth after the day’s battle;
“When shall we three meet again in thunder, lighting or in rain?”
“When the hurlyburly’s done, when the battles lost and won.”
“That will be ere the set of sun.”
“Where the place?”
“Upon the heath.”
“There to meet with Macbeth.”
When we first get an insight into Macbeth he is a national hero but in time he is swayed by the witches, who plant ideas into his head and by his wife who persuades him to carry out his plans. The development of Macbeth; the words he speaks and the actions he commits, affects how we respond to Macbeth’s final fate. The play opens with three witches and we learn that they plot to corrupt, Macbeth:
“Fair is foul and foul is fair; hover through the fog and filthy air.”
To these three witches what is evil is good and what is good they cannot stand. So, who better to corrupt than “noble Macbeth”? These words spoken by the witches show that Macbeth is vulnerable from the start. To these “secret, black, and midnight hags” corrupting Macbeth is what they do best. Shakespeare also establishes Macbeth’s bravery and heroism within the opening scenes. “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour’s minion carved out his passage, till he faced the slave; which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, till he unseamed him from the nave to the chops, and fixed his head upon our battlements.” This is our first insight into Macbeth’s character. Macbeth’s heroism is greatly established within the opening scenes. The captain recalls the battles against the Scottish rebels, from the Highlands and Islands and the foreign invaders, the
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is a play in which the central character, Macbeth, is vulnerable as well as heroic. Before Macbeth even appears in the play we learn of his vulnerability through the witches, who plan to meet Macbeth after the day’s battle;
“When shall we three meet again in thunder, lighting or in rain?”
“When the hurlyburly’s done, when the battles lost and won.”
“That will be ere the set of sun.”
“Where the place?”
“Upon the heath.”
“There to meet with Macbeth.”
When we first get an insight into Macbeth he is a national hero but in time he is swayed by the witches, who plant ideas into his head and by his wife who persuades him to carry out his plans. The development of Macbeth; the words he speaks and the actions he commits, affects how we respond to Macbeth’s final fate. The play opens with three witches and we learn that they plot to corrupt, Macbeth:
“Fair is foul and foul is fair; hover through the fog and filthy air.”
To these three witches what is evil is good and what is good they cannot stand. So, who better to corrupt than “noble Macbeth”? These words spoken by the witches show that Macbeth is vulnerable from the start. To these “secret, black, and midnight hags” corrupting Macbeth is what they do best. Shakespeare also establishes Macbeth’s bravery and heroism within the opening scenes. “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour’s minion carved out his passage, till he faced the slave; which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, till he unseamed him from the nave to the chops, and fixed his head upon our battlements.” This is our first insight into Macbeth’s character. Macbeth’s heroism is greatly established within the opening scenes. The captain recalls the battles against the Scottish rebels, from the Highlands and Islands and the foreign invaders, the