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Macbeth Fair Quotes

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The statement by the witches in Act I, Scene I, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1,1,12) continues to echo throughout the story and accurately describes the theme of the play. This paradox meaning “nothing is what it seems” is the backbone of the many changes and switches which occur between characters throughout the story. Later on in the first act, Macbeth himself has a very similar quote to the witches, regardless of the fact they are yet to meet. In Act I, Scene III, Macbeth says, “So fair and foul a day, I have not seen”. (1,3,40) Repeating this line again makes the reader stop and think and realize, it is going to be a major theme of the play they are about to read. This quote only introduces itself in the first act; it continues to …show more content…

These witches are the first characters we are introduced to in the play, so we immediately know their actions and roles will be essential to the main storyline. One of the first lines they say is “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”, and this quote immediately sticks with the reader. At this point, the meaning of this quote is still unknown, yet we know it sticks out against the other quotes within the story. Later in the scene, these witches come across Macbeth for the first time. These characters have a way of seeing the weaknesses of the characters they come in contact with and working upon those soft spots. When they meet Macbeth, they make predictions for his future which cause him to lose sight of where he was originally. As a result of these predictions, Macbeth’s actions begin to change and we see the first effects of the paradox “foul is …show more content…

The theme “nothing is what it seems” definitely comes into play in the life of Macbeth. His character experiences many changes regarding both his emotions and his personality throughout the story, but many of his motives and feelings are left undisclosed leaving the reading wondering who Macbeth really was. Throughout the story, Macbeth wears many masks and the reader is left questioning many of his feelings and actions. In Act I, Lady Macbeth calls him a coward herself out of frustration with her husband. She says, “And yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou'ld’st have, great Glamis,” (1,5,10). From this moment on in the play, he seems to strive to remove that cowardly reputation. However, he seems to do it in the wrong way. He is covering his cowardly actions with even more cowardly

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Kingship In act 1 scene 4 Macbeth says “stars hide your fire, let not light see my black and deep desires”. This rhyming couplet conveys the emotion that Macbeth has at this point, he is determined to kill the king with his wife’s support. ‘Stars’ symbolise fate but if they hide his fires then it’s not his natural favour he is choosing. He wants to construct artificial fate that the witches have prophesied for him in the start of the play therefore we know that Macbeth feels that he is more powerful than a god and he can decide the outcome rather accept what he has been given to him at birth as Thane of Glamis.

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955 Words | 4 Pages

In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, a tragic hero faces a tragic downfall when he meets 3 witches who gives him prosperous prophecies and his greed and want for more morally corrupts him. This causes him to go on murderous sprees to achieve want he wants and believe he is untouchable. One of the themes from William Shakespeare's Macbeth is appreciate the things given to you and life and don't let it change how you act. there are many quotes and topics to support this theme and in this paper it will explain how those tie into this theme and support this theme with evidence and reasoning The first quote shows how confident Macbeth is that he will stay untouched by Malcolm who is the son of one of the firsts of Macbeth's victims,

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174 Words | 1 Pages

Another reason this is an important quote is that it shows the witches true personality and what they know. This quote sets the mood for the entire play. Macbeth said this to Banquo in Act 1 Scene 3. Macbeth is saying that if fate is telling him he’s going to be king why should he mess with fate.

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848 Words | 4 Pages

“Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many”. This quote was written by a Roman poet, named Phaedrus around 370 BCE, long before Shakespeare’s time. Thousands of years later, Shakespeare incorporates many deceiving motifs in Macbeth that put the words of Phaedrus into action. The use of ill-fitting clothes, sleep, and bloodshed is all examples of imagery used to illustrate that not everything that looks genuine is so. Just as clothes appear to fit well, they can be very uncomfortable at the same time.

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297 Words | 2 Pages

Within Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the witches chant the phrase “[f]air is foul, and foul is fair” with one another. This phrase can be interpreted as holding many miscellaneous interpretations. First of all, the word “fair” can be defined as meaning plausible, seductive, or flattering depending upon the usage of the word. Conversely, the definition of the word “foul” can differ from plain-looking, detestable, and ugly to false, hypocritical, and shameful. Therefore, these phrases could be divided to discover each individual phrases’ meaning.

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168 Words | 1 Pages

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, some of the most well known characters, the three witches, state that “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”. This quote is the theme of the play and helps set up the rest of the story. What this quote means is nothing is as it appears, that looks can be deceiving. In Act 1 when Banquo and Macbeth meet the witches, the witches tell them that Macbeth shall be Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, and that he shall be king of Scotland. They also tell Banquo that his sons shall be kings.

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431 Words | 2 Pages

Macbeth has many forces acting upon him. Most of them are negative in a modern day viewpoint. There is a circular pattern in the play Macbeth. It starts with the knowledge of prophecy. Then a thought of action followed by support for the act.

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The Bible was written in three different languages on five different continents and the most copied book written of all time. The Bible contains 66 books written by 40 authors about both groups of people and individuals. Some individuals were notorious for being evil, wicked people and some were acknowledged for having hearts out for God. One man who was evil and wicked actually turned his heart to God and became one of the most prominent evangelists of all time. This man’s name was Paul.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

Sometimes, equivocations in Macbeth are meant kindly, as when Ross tries to spare Macduff’s feelings by telling him that his wife and son are “well.” Macduff initially takes this to mean that his family is alive and healthy, but Ross means that they are dead and in heaven. More often than not, though, such ambiguous statements lead to harm. The witches’ deceptive prophecies are perhaps the most destructive instances of

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455 Words | 2 Pages

Hamartia is the fatal flaw of a tragic hero. Macbeth’s hamrita is being too ambitious. One if the time that Macbeth showed his ambition is when he killed Duncan. Macbeth killed Duncan because he wanted to be king, but before that, Duncan, the King of Scotland had just pronounced his son next in line for king. Macbeth says this to himself when he is preparing to kill Duncan.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

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990 Words | 4 Pages

What readers perceive Macbeth to be in the beginning of the play is far from whom he really is, reinforcing that what we see is not always what we get. Appearance vs. reality is a subtle, underlying; but nevertheless important theme in Macbeth. Readers can observe this theme in Macbeth’s appearance contradicting with his character, or Lady Macbeth’s mask of innocence while greeting Duncan. “Is this a dagger I see in front of me, with its handle pointing toward my hand? (to the dagger) Come, let me hold you.

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1194 Words | 5 Pages

“All that glisters is not gold; Often have you heard that told ; Many a man his life hath sold; But my outside to behold ; Gilded tombs do worms enfold.” ― William Shakespeare. Everything that we see might not be true, in the inside it might be completely a different thing. Appearance is a visual outward form of what we see, where reality is what is actually going on or the inward appearance. Believing blindly on what we see, or hear is not a smart choice.

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1025 Words | 5 Pages

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 12) is a quote said by the three witches in the beginning of the play. It explains that what is fair or pretty will become ugly or what is ugly will become pretty. Macbeth was once fair and innocent but corruption turned him ugly by the end of the play. The witches gave hints of what's to come with that quote. By the end, Macbeth was becoming more of a megalomaniac.

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1756 Words | 8 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, as edited by Sandra Clark and Pamela Mason, we are presented with a convoluted universe revolving around the main character Macbeth, a man who seemed to be at first a man of honor, but slowly slipped into a chasm of cruelty. While he was pushed by outer forces, such as Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, to attain power and sink further into darkness, it can be argued that everything actually stemmed from him. While he may have appeared to others in one way as an honorable noble who was worthy of leading the country, his inner thoughts hidden away from the rest of the world drove him down a dark path in a quest for power. With such dual and conflicting natures, this ultimately breaks Macbeth until the

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