An analysis of the line, “Fair is foul and foul is fair”, from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth how to write essay for college pdf.
This paper examines how the oft-repeated and most popular line in the play Macbeth, ?Fair is foul, and foul is fair,? is the playful chant of the three witches predicting the fate of Macbeth, as he rises and falls to power because of his greed and treachery. It looks at how this line in the play embodies the wholeness of Macbeth?s demise, where his actions, which eventually led to his downfall, are characterized as a set of conflicting acts that bring about victory and defeat in his pursuit to become the king of Scotland. It also discusses how the role of paradox, that is, self-contradicting meanings, determines the behavior and actions of the main character in the play, Macbeth.
It can be noted that the line, Fair is foul and foul is fair, is a two-fold statement, illustrating the rise and defeat in power of Macbeth. The first meaning of the statement, fair is foul, is construed to illustrate Macbeth’s rise to power, as the Three Witches prophesied that he would become Thane of Cawdor, and eventually, King of Scotland. The second part of the statement, foul is fair, predicts the defeat of Macbeth in the end, when Macduff and Malcolm’s forces curb his tyrannical rule. In addition to these meanings, the statement also provides an analysis of the powerful role Fate plays in the lives of the characters in Macbeth. Thus, fair is foul may be meant by the Three Witches as the future of Macbeth as determined by Fate; it is vital that Fate is best left alone to fulfill its designs than be interfered with human actions.