Fair And Foul Is Fair In Macbeth

In the tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses a handful of themes to develop the plot. One theme is "fair is foul and foul is fair". The witches originally say this and it echoes throughout the whole story. It means that nothing is what it really what it seems, bad things can turn out to be good, and good things can turn out to be bad. This line points towards the play's inconsistency between appearance and reality. Something that looks and seems trustworthy and safe could end up being the total opposite. that seems The motif "fair is foul and foul is fair" is conducive to understanding how the characters, such as the witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth, manipulate others and interfere with each other's beings. The witches are the physical

She enters the story by reading a letter from Macbeth about the witches' prophecies. She immediately begins to think of how Macbeth will get the throne. She decides that she wants Macbeth to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth realizes that her husband is uneasy about this and decides to use fair is foul to persuade him. She says that he should "look like th' innocent flower, / But be the serpent under 't," (1.6.76-78). She’s telling Macbeth to act like he’s innocent and appear like he always has, kind, brave and fair, but actually be a cunning, cruel, ambitious person in order to become king. This is where her manipulative persona comes in to play. She is mistaking his goodness for weakness, and her ultimate goal is to create a two-faced murderer. Even though Macbeth is a generally decent character, he still has the capability to influence people and tell them what to do using fair is foul. Once Lady Macbeth convinces him to kill Duncan, he says that her "false face must hide what the false heart doth know," (1.7.95-96). He is telling her to put on a front and pretend that all is well, when in reality they both know that they are liars and