So they will "hover" in the fog, and in the dust and dirt of battle, waiting for the chance to do evil. Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair" is a paradox, a statement that appears to be contadictory but actually expresses the truth. The witches are foul, but they give fair advice. Macbeth seems like a hero, but he is a plotter and dastard. It is quite interesting to note that the words of the witches will have an echo in Macbeth’s “So foul and fair a day I have not seen”.
The witches are objective figures but Macbeth's first utterance in act 1, scene 3 suggests that he shares a similar thought with the witches. When he says that he has never seen such a fair and a foul day, he seems to echo the maxim of the witches--"Fair is foul foul is fair". This is before his encounter with the witches. As the fair-foul maxim goes, the play presents to us evil in all its shades--the mutually interchangeable nature of good and evil as a critique of the morality play simplicity of the divide. So, evil is not just supernatural, but human too.
(70-71) In Everybody's Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies, Maynard Mack explains that the witches are associated with fate: Except in one phrase (I.3.6) and in the stage directions, the play always refers to the witches as weyard - or weyward - sisters. Both spellings are variations of weird, which in Shakespeare's time did not mean "freakish," but "fateful" - having to do with the determination of destinies. Shakespeare had met with such creatures in Holinshed, who regularly refers to the supernatural agents with whom Macbeth has dealings as "the three sisters," or "the three weird sisters," i.e., the three Fates.
The unifying function of the paradox is sustained by Shakespeare on different levels in the play, through techniques such as juxtaposition and irony. At first reading, the witches seem to insinuate that what appears good is evil and what appears evil can be good, implying that noble values of goodness and beauty are reversed in the confused atmosphere (“fog and filthy air”). The really frightening word is “is”. According to the three witches what is fair – good, beautiful, right – is foul – ugly, shameful, wicked. The two things are identical.
Now from those brief descriptions we can already see the difference in the characterization of all three characters. Although Abigail’s character appears to be one that is instantly dislikeable because of her selfish ways, she is by no means stupid. She knows how to manipulate other people into acting the way that she wants them to act and her control over them is what makes her an effective antagonist. Mrs. Putnam on the other hand appears not to have been as well educated as Abigail. She instantly jumps to the conclusion that witchcraft is afoot, which is apparent when she states “Mark it for a sign, mark it!” when Betty thrashes in her “trance.” She is also paranoid by the fact that there must be some paranormal reason as to why her babies have perished.
lost and won,” (37) to be followed shortly by the famous “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” (37) Here, particularly in the latter oxymoronic example, we see acutely the power of the paradox, forcing us to seek a context in which the contradiction does not contradict. The repeated use of paradox throughout Macbeth suggests that there is something in the device itself which seemed wholly appropriate to the content of the play: the paradox presents something which is not, says something which it does not say, concealing the truth from the superficial glance. Accordingly the paradox in itself, aside from what it might 1This is a major rewrite. All sections have been either corrected, expanded or replaced in there entirety. K. Waddington 2 eventually render as the true meaning, underlines the deceptiveness of appearances.
In another instance, it is used as defense against greater harm, as in Othello. And of course, let’s not forget the instances when deception takes the form of well-planned tactics in the hands of evil characters, as in Julius Caesar. In comparing any two plays, such as Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for example, one can easily list many dualities– tragedy and comedy, an unhappy and happy ending and seriousness and mockery. But when it comes to similarities, the repeating patterns of deceit should be the first to come to one’s mind. A short essay cannot investigate all instances of this occurrence in all works of the author, but could provide the reader with the major categories.
Initially, Macbeth does not find reason in the Sisters’ fortune, but their prophecies mystify him, and he wants to hear more. The Sisters say, “All hail, Macbeth: hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” (1.3.51). Macbeth cannot believe the Witches call him the Thane of Cawdor because the title belongs
Appearance vs. Reality in Macbeth The theme of appearance and reality is first introduced in Act 1 Scene 1, when the witches say: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,/ Hover through the fog and filthy air.” This paradox warns the audience that deceit is a major theme of this Shakespearean tragedy and hints that the characters who appear to be “fair” are in fact “foul” beneath their facades. The reference to “fog” suggests that the “foul” characters succeed in obscuring their evil intentions through convincing fronts making it unclear for the other characters to pick up on. The first character to fall under Macbeth and his wife’s deceit is King Duncan who even says in Act 1 Scene 4 “There’s no art/ To find the mind’s construction in the face.” He is referring to the “gentleman” Thane of Cawdor whom he had “absolute trust” in but ended up betraying him. This is ironic because right after this Duncan puts all his trust in Macbeth who ends up killing him – the king appears to have his vision clouded by the “fog” which prevents him from singling out betrayal (he is a poor judge of character).
Dark versus light is apparent throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth’s evil darkness intensifies as his light and goodness diminish. The witches are the root of evil, and as Macbeth interacts with them, his journey into the darkness begins. If this evil had never perished, the world would be utter chaos. Lady Macbeth’s darkness cannot completely over take her life because within Lady Macbeth a glimmer of light must always be evident.