Fair and Foul

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair: / Hover through the fog and filthy air" (1.1.11-12), chant the Weird Sisters as they go to wait for the battle to be over so they can deliver their seductive prophesies to Macbeth. [Scene Summary]

"So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come / Discomfort swells" (1.2.27-28), says the sergeant who is telling of Macbeth's battle against the rebels. He means that just when the coming of spring makes us think that the weather is going to be fair and give us "comfort," foul weather can bring extreme "discomfort." The sergeant then goes on to tell how this same kind of thing happened in battle. Just as Macbeth had defeated one enemy, a new one attacked. [Scene Summary]

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen" (1.3.38). These are Macbeth's first words in the scene in which the witches deliver their prophecies to him. [Scene Summary]

Just after he has been named Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is wondering if he can believe the rest of the witches' prophecies, and Banquo remarks, "oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray's / In deepest consequence" (1.3.123-126). Banquo is warning Macbeth that the witches could lure him to great evil by telling small truths. Macbeth either does not hear Banquo, or doesn't want to hear him, because he ignores Banquo's warning. Instead, he

tells himself that "This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good" (1.3.130-131). Of course, Banquo has just said that it is ill, even though it may appear good. [Scene Summary]

After receiving a report on the execution of the Thane of Cawdor, King Duncan says "There's no art / To find the mind's construction in the face" (1.4.11-12). He's commenting on the fact that he trusted the Thane of Cawdor absolutely, and had no idea he would become a foul rebel. [Scene Summary]

Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to "look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (1.5.65-66). This is just before King Duncan's arrival at their castle. Macbeth's wife wants him to look fair, the better to hide his foul intentions. [Scene Summary]

"Away, and mock the time with fairest show: / False face must hide what the false heart doth know" (1.7.81-82). With these words to his wife, Macbeth ends the scene in which he has serious second thoughts about the plan to murder King Duncan. He means that they should go to a feast and pretend to be the King's loving subjects, even though they plan to kill him that night. [Scene Summary]

In the scene in which the bloody corpse of King Duncan is discovered, Malcolm and Donalbain, the King's sons, fear that they'll be the next victims

of murder. "Where we are, / There's daggers in men's smiles" (2.3.139-140), says Donalbain. Just afterwards, they flee Macbeth's castle. [Scene Summary]

In his first appearance as King of Scotland, Macbeth's first words are addressed to Banquo: "Here's our chief guest" (3.1.12). Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth treat Banquo with elaborate courtesy, but later in the scene Macbeth arranges the murder of Banquo. [Scene Summary]

After he becomes king, Macbeth suffers from sleeplessness and bad dreams. Also, he is afraid that Banquo's children will be kings of Scotland, as the witches prophesied. Apparently all these stresses show plainly in his face, because his wife pleads with him to be a better hypocrite: "Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks; / Be bright and jovial among your guests tonight" (3.2.27-28). However, Macbeth resents the necessity of putting a fair face on his foul thoughts. He's already arranged for the murder of Banquo, but he tells his wife that she needs to be a good hypocrite, too, particularly in front of Banquo: Let your remembrance apply to Banquo; Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue: Unsafe the while, that we Must lave our honours in these flattering streams, And make our faces vizards to our hearts. (3.2.30-34)

The key phrase in this passage is "unsafe the while." It's Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who are unsafe, because Banquo could suspect that they killed King Duncan, and also because of the witches' prophecy. They are King and Queen,

but they have to make nice to Banquo, as though he is better than they are. [Scene Summary]

After he becomes king, Macbeth puts on a banquet for the nobles of Scotland, and plays the genial host. During the banquet he makes a big point of showing his regard for Banquo, saying such things as "I drink to the general joy o' the whole table, / And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss" (3.4.89). Macbeth's guests don't know that he has just had Banquo murdered, but the bloody Ghost of Banquo appears to show Macbeth (and us) the foul reality behind the fair appearance. [Scene Summary]

In the scene after the scene in which Macbeth says that he will visit the witches again, Hecate comes from the underworld to tell the witches she is angry at them. She wants to know how they dare to mess around with Macbeth without including her. After all, isn't she the one who can "show the glory of our art?" (3.5.9). Hecate, like the witches, thinks that doing bad is good, and she thinks she is the best at doing the worst. A little later, Hecate tells the witches that she will prepare illusions that will make Macbeth "spurn fate, scorn death, and bear / His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear" (3.5.30-31), because, as they know, "security / Is mortals' chiefest enemy" (3.5.32-33). "Security" is a sense of safety. In short, the idea that we are bulletproof will kill us. [Scene Summary]

Sometime after the banquet at which the Ghost of Banquo appeared to Macbeth, Lennox comes to understand the foul reality behind Macbeth's

hypocrisy. He says, "The gracious Duncan / Was pitied of Macbeth: marry, he was dead" (3.6.4). This bitter joke describes both Macbeth's facade -- that he was sorry for King Duncan -- and the truth about Macbeth, which was that he was sorry for King Duncan only after he killed him. Then Lennox proceeds to ridicule Macbeth's version of everything that has happened to this point. [Scene Summary]

Macduff appeals to Malcolm for his support in a war against Macbeth, but Malcolm is very cautious, because for all Malcolm knows, Macduff could be a double agent. After Malcolm expresses his suspicions, he half-apologizes and says, "Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell; / Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, / Yet grace must still look so" (4.3.22-24). The "brightest" angel was Lucifer, who fell and became Satan. Malcolm means that although a fair appearance may hide a foul heart, and one who looks like an angel may be a devil, that does not mean that every angel is a devil. Although the foul want to look fair, the fair still look fair, and it's not fair to the fair to suspect the fair of being foul. In order to further test Macduff's honor, Malcolm tells him that he (Malcolm) would be an even more wicked king than Macbeth is. When Macduff is about to depart in disgust, Malcolm reverses himself and tells Macduff that he, too, is an honorable man, and that he is ready to fight Macbeth. At this, Macduff falls strangely silent. When Malcolm asks why he is silent, Macduff says, "Such welcome and unwelcome things at once / 'Tis hard to reconcile" (4.3.138-139). In this instance, what seemed foul -- Malcolm -- is suddenly revealed to be fair. [Scene Summary]

As the time of Macbeth's last battle approaches, he reflects that his life is not worth living, because that which makes old age good, "As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28). Thus hypocrisy, which Macbeth used to his advantage, tortures him, now that he is on the receiving end. [Scene Summary]

Macbeth Navigator: Index of Themes and Motifs

Fair and foul. To the Weird Sisters what is ugly is beautiful, and what is beautiful is ugly: Fair is foul and foul is fair. Throughout the play, fair appearances hide foul realities. Equivocation. This theme is closely related to the Fair and Foul theme, because to equivocate is to lie by saying something that sounds fair, but which has a hidden, foul meaning. Nature and the Unnatural. In Macbeth the word nature usually refers to human nature, and one might say that the whole play is about Macbeths unnaturalness. He kills his king, his friend, and a woman and her children. In the end he is destroyed when nature itself appears to become unnatural: trees walk and Macbeth has to fight a man not of woman born. Blood. In the second scene of the play, the report of Macbeths heroic victory is delivered by a bloody man. Thereafter, we see and hear of much more blood. Hands. We associate hands with many different kinds of experiences. We walk hand-inhand, are caught red-handed, give a helping hand, have a hand on the throttle, fear someones heavy hand, and say that the left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing. In Macbeth all of these senses of the word hand come into play, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both have scenes in which they are transfixed by the sight of blood on their hands. Sight, Light, Darkness, and Blindness. Much of Macbeth takes place in the dark, and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem to believe that the dark can hide their crimes, perhaps even from themselves. Manhood. In different ways, the play repeatedly asks what it means to be a man. Babies and children. Shakespeare doesnt often portray children, but theres one in this play, and there are repeated references to babies and children. Sleep. We often say that we need to sleep on a problem, but what do you do when you murder sleep, as Macbeth does? Birds. There are many birds in the play, most of them of ill omen. Kingship. Duncan is a true king, gracious and kindly; Macbeth is an usurping tyrant, false and murderous. Heaven and Hell. In Macbeth both of these places seem very close to earth.

Act I:
This Act opens with the three Weird Sisters setting up the entire theme of the play: Fair is foul and foul is fair. A war is taking place against Scotland (the setting of this play) and Norway. Scotland is victorious due to the valiant efforts of Macbeth. The traitorous Thane of Cawdor is captured and executed. King Duncan decides to reward Macbeth with the title of Thane of Cawdor to show his gratitude. The scene shifts to the battleground where the three Weird Sisters confront Macbeth and Banquo, telling Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually king. Macbeth soon learns of his new title, fulfilling the first part of the prophesy, and sends word to his wife. King Duncan plans on staying the night at Macbeth's home. Lady Macbeth receives the news and immediately plots the death of King Duncan so her husband will be king. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into following her plans, and he reluctantly agrees to murder Duncan. By the end of Act I, Macbeth is determined to follow through with the plan.

Act II:
Macbeth again has some doubts (and visions), but he soon talks himself into following through with the murder. Macbeth freaks out so Lady Macbeth finishes the rest of the plan by wiping blood on the drunk guards. The next morning, Macduff and Lennox arrive at Macbeth's, and Macduff discovers the dead body of King Duncan. All are shocked and Macbeth plays his role to perfection. The guards are immediately suspect and Macbeth kills them "in a fit of sorrow and rage." Malcolm and Donalbain, the King's sons, flee the castle because they are afraid that they will be blamed for the murder of their father. The king is soon buried.

Act III:
Banquo begins to suspect Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan and Macbeth in turn feels that Banquo will reveal that it was he that killed the King. Therefore, Macbeth sends out some thugs to murder Banquo and his son, Fleance. Banquo is murdered, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Lennox, Ross, and other lords attend a banquet. The ghost of Banquo presents itself to Macbeth. Macbeth begins to rant and rave, making the other guests uneasy. Lady Macbeth tries to cover up the situation by saying Macbeth is prone to fits. By the end of this Act, we learn that Macduff has not attended the banquet because he has gone to England, looking for aid because he is suspicious of Macbeth.

Act IV:
Macbeth confronts the three Weird Sisters and they show him more visions. The visions lead Macbeth to believe that he cannot be killed by any man, giving him a false sense of security. He

then plans to send murderers to the castle of Macduff (who is in England ) in order to kill his family. Meanwhile, Macduff is in England begging Malcolm to return to Scotland and seize the throne from Macbeth who has become a tyrant. Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty to Scotland and himself, and after being satisfied with Macduff's responses, he agrees to wage war against Macbeth. Malcolm's uncle will also aid in the attack.

Act IV:
Lady Macbeth has finally gone mad with guilt over the murders. The once strong and ruthless woman is now a scared child. Doctors are unable to help her. Some of the Scottish lords are discussing Macbeth's state of mind and have come to the conclusion that they will help Malcolm and Macduff fight against Macbeth. Of course, Macbeth isn't really concerned because the prophecy, he believes, insures that he cannot be killed by any man born of woman. Macbeth soon confronts Macduff and learns that Macduff was ripped from his mother's side and not born naturally. Thus, Macbeth is killed by Macduff, just as Macbeth had conquered the other Thane of Cawdor. Malcolm then becomes the rightful King of Scotland

Lady Macbeth is portrayed as an innocent lady who faints when she sees Duncan dead, but she is actually the master mind behind the plot to murder Duncan.

"Fair is foul and foul is fair"

Act: I i Speaker: all three witches To: themselves Significance: its inversion in values. good is bad and bad is good

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."

Act: I iii Speaker:Macbeth To: Banquo Significance: he has never seen such a good and bad day at the same time

"...oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betrays In deepest consequences"
Act:I iii Speaker: Banquo To: Macbeth Significance: he is warning macbeth that the witches predictions may contain just enough truth to mislead him into great harm

"There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face."

Act:I iv Speaker: Duncan To: Malcom Significance: its not possible to judge what is in a person's mind (their intentions) by looking at the face they wear

."Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the mild of human kindness to catch the nearest way"
Act: I v Speaker: Lady Macbeth To:herself Significance: she knows/fears that Macbeth is too kind to be cruel enough to take the ruthless way and kill the king

"Your face, my thane is as a book where men may read strange matters... look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't"
Act: I v Speaker: Lady Macbeth To: Macbeth Significance: Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to deceive Duncan with his countenance , pretending to be loyal, but all the while planning to betray and kill him:

" If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly."

Act: I vii Speaker: Macbeth To: himself Significance: if i'm going to do it get it over with quick

"We fail! but screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll fail not"
Act: I iii Speaker: Lady Macbeth To: Macbeth Significance:If you are ambitions and courageous we will not fail

" False face must hide what the false heart doth know."
Act: I vii Speaker: Macbeth To: Lady Macbeth Significance: deception is required to do the deed, instructing and agreeing that they mus hide true feelings and evil intentions behind hypocritical happy faces (he has adopted her mentality)

"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The hands toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee. I have thee not and yet i see thee still."
Act: II i Speaker: Macbeth To: Himself

Significance: He starts to go mad and hallucinate seeing a dagger. He takes it as a sign that he is supposed to kill the king

Alack, I am afraid they have awaked, and 'tis not done, The attempt and the deed confounds us"
Act: II i Speaker: Macbeth To: himself Significance: the guards awakened too soon when he attempted the murder... thinks all is lost

"Methought I head a voice cry: 'Sleep no more! Macbeth doth murder sleep'."
Act: II ii Speaker: Lady Macbeth To: herself Significance: she fears that the guards have awakened before the king could be murdered in his sleep... also a prophesy that he won't be able to sleep

" will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red"
Act: II ii Speaker: Macbeth

To: himself Significance: he feels so guilty that not even an ocean could wash the blood from his hands, instead he would taint it

"Confusion now has made his masterpiece"

Act: II iii Speaker: Macduff To:himself Significance: Duncan's murder makes no sense - his death is unjustified and causes utter confusion as to why

"To be thus is nothing; but to be safely thus"

Act: III i Speaker: Macbeth To: himself Significance: he does not feel safe as king he is afraid of Banquo and Fleeance b/c Banquo could expose him and also b/c of the prophesy

"Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; Thou has no speculation in those eyes which thou dost glare with"
Act: III iv Speaker :Macbeth To: Bloody Ghost of Banquo

Significance:Macbeth is hallucinating again, only he can see the ghost and his guilty conscience has brought this on

"It will have blood they say, blood will have blood."
Act: III iv Speaker:Macbeth To: Lady Macbeth Significance:Hi is totally paranoid and when he sees the ghost and is afraid it wants revenge

"...I am in blood. Stepped in so far that , should I wade no more, Returning were a tedious as go o'er."
Act: III iv Speaker: Macbeth To: Lady Macbeth Significance: he is in so deep that going back is impossible and he will not change but continue in his bloody ways

" Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble."
Act: IV i Speaker: 3 Witches To: themselves/ the charm Significance: winding up the spell

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes"

Act: IV i Speaker: 2nd witch To: other witches Significance: when she feels a prick in her thumbs something evil is coming... its ironic b/c the witches are already evil but they are calling Macbeth evil

" I am in this earthly world, where to do harm is often laudable, good is sometime accounted dangerous folly"
Act: IV ii Speaker: Lady Macduff To: her son Significance: she's commenting on the state of a fallen world

"Out dammed spot! Out, I say! One, two: Why then tis time to do't"
Act: Vi Speaker: Lady Macbeth To: herself Significance: guilty conscience makes her relive the aftermath of killing King Duncan

" Now does he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giants robe upon a dwarfish thief."

Act: V ii Speaker: Angus To:Meteith and Caithnes Significance: calls Macbeth a thief and a dwarf who is wearing a giant kings robes... can't live up to Duncan

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps this pretty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time"
Act: V iv Speaker: Macbeth To: himself and Seyton Significance: time inevitably passes and ends in death ... no meaning to life

"Out, out brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"
Act: V v Speaker: Macbeth To:Macbeth Significance: himself/ Seyton

" My soul is too much changed with blood of thine already."

Act: V viii Speaker: Macbeth To: Macduff Significance: have shed the blood of his family, doesn't want to fight.