Fair is Foul: Oppositions in MacBeth Opposition in Shakespeare’s MacBeth, is displayed almost immediately, when the witches croak the foreboding lines “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (I, i, 11). This theme recurs throughout the play, constantly challenging the expected and disrupting the natural order of things. MacBeth fights an ongoing struggle between choosing right over wrong, often wondering if the risk of murder is worth the reward of kingship. In contrast, Lady MacBeth breaks the mold of a perfect wife, one who should have a kind and fair heart, through her constant acts of greed and malice. Finally, the fate of the characters are both fair and foul, The patterns of opposition are ever-present in the lives and thoughts of the characters,
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MacBeth murders many, yet ironically suffers the most. He eventually wishes he were dead, so that he could sleep and put his mind at ease. Being King should have put his mind in a fair state. Instead, it put him in a foul state of restlessness, where he envies the deceased. He declares, “Better be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy” (III, ii, 22-25). A catharsis is finally reached once MacBeth is dead, not only for the people of Scotland, but also for himself. “The [time] has been/ That, when the brains were out, the man would die,/ and there an end” (III, iv, 94-96). Lady MacBeth, as well, manipulates death into something fair when she takes her own life. She escapes from the anxieties and foul worries she faces in life. Pertaining from the act of betrayal, fair is foul and foul is fair. The thane of Glamis is executed for deceiving the king to gain his trust. Through Duncan’s trusting eyes, he is a worthy thane and fair companion, but is later revealed to be a foul traitor to be killed. This betrayal of appearing fair but having foul intentions, is also true of MacBeth. Once again, Duncan places his trust in him, thinking he will treat him fairly, but also has a foul heart driven by greed.
Shakespeare weaves countless paradoxes into MacBeth, particularly pertaining to the “Fair is foul and foul is fair” theme. “Normal” can never be trusted in this play where irony and deception rule and the unexpected becomes the norm. The theme is amplified through MacBeth’s inner turmoil over fair and foul, Lady MacBeth’s inner evil masquerading as the lovely wife, and ultimately death, inevitable and unwanted, becomes the fair escape from the fouls of
MacBeth murders many, yet ironically suffers the most. He eventually wishes he were dead, so that he could sleep and put his mind at ease. Being King should have put his mind in a fair state. Instead, it put him in a foul state of restlessness, where he envies the deceased. He declares, “Better be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy” (III, ii, 22-25). A catharsis is finally reached once MacBeth is dead, not only for the people of Scotland, but also for himself. “The [time] has been/ That, when the brains were out, the man would die,/ and there an end” (III, iv, 94-96). Lady MacBeth, as well, manipulates death into something fair when she takes her own life. She escapes from the anxieties and foul worries she faces in life. Pertaining from the act of betrayal, fair is foul and foul is fair. The thane of Glamis is executed for deceiving the king to gain his trust. Through Duncan’s trusting eyes, he is a worthy thane and fair companion, but is later revealed to be a foul traitor to be killed. This betrayal of appearing fair but having foul intentions, is also true of MacBeth. Once again, Duncan places his trust in him, thinking he will treat him fairly, but also has a foul heart driven by greed.
Shakespeare weaves countless paradoxes into MacBeth, particularly pertaining to the “Fair is foul and foul is fair” theme. “Normal” can never be trusted in this play where irony and deception rule and the unexpected becomes the norm. The theme is amplified through MacBeth’s inner turmoil over fair and foul, Lady MacBeth’s inner evil masquerading as the lovely wife, and ultimately death, inevitable and unwanted, becomes the fair escape from the fouls of