Fair is Foul, Foul is Fair Analysis in Macbeth

A Brief Introduction to Macbeth

Macbeth is inarguably the most famous tragedy by William Shakespeare. The playwright was inspired by the real events of the 11^th-century King of Scotland, Macbeth, which he found in the Chronicles by Holinshed. Shakespeare takes some liberties with the original story and creates a masterful tragedy filled with deceit, intrigue, supernatural and nail-biting action.

Macbeth: Plot Summary

The play begins with the iconic scene of the three witches conjuring potions and uttering the line that sets the entire stage for the play – “Fair is foul, foul is fair.” As Macbeth, a competent soldier in King Duncan’s army, and Banquo return from successfully curbing the brewing of a civil war, they encounter these Witches.

The Three Witches provide Macbeth with three prophecies, one of which states that he will become the King of Scotland. However, another prophecy states that Banquo will father descendants who will rule Scotland. After the Witches disappear, Banquo warns Macbeth not to pay heed to their words. But once one of the prophecies is fulfilled, Macbeth can’t help but hope to become the next King of Scotland.

So, when King Duncan nominates his son Malcolm instead of Macbeth as the next king, Macbeth is fueled by his ambition and informs his wife of the prophecies. Lady Macbeth is quick to suggest that the only way to fulfill the prophecy is to murder King Duncan.

The fulfillment of the prophecy –

The opportunity comes to their door when King Duncan pays an official visit to Macbeth's castle. Though initially hesitant to commit regicide, Macbeth gives in to his own desires and his wife's suggestions and murders King Duncan in his chambers.

When King Duncan’s murder is discovered, Macbeth swiftly kills Duncan’s sleeping guards to avert suspicion. But Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain suspect treachery and flee Scotland. With both sons away from Scotland, Macbeth is crowned the king, thus fulfilling the prophecy.

Macbeth’s life as king –

However, Macbeth is reminded of the Witches' prophecy that Banquo's descendants will be kings of Scotland. So, he plots to murder Banquo and his son Fleance. He arranges a banquet and hires mercenaries to murder the son and father as they arrive for the banquet. In the scuffle, Banquo dies, but Fleance manages to escape. Back at the banquet, Macbeth starts showing the first signs of a breakdown when he sees Banquo’s ghost.

Afterward, Macbeth visits the Three Witches for consultation. They confirm that Banquo's sons will rule Scotland after him and presents three new prophecies – that Macbeth will be invincible until Birnam Woods moves to Dunsinane Hill, that someone "not born of woman" will be able to vanquish him, and that he should beware Macduff.

Macbeth is convinced that he is invincible since it is impossible for a forest to move, and no human is “not born of woman.” However, he is so far gone in his path of villainy that he decides to kill Macduff to be safe. Upon learning that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm’s advancing army, Macbeth murders Macduff’s wife and children.

Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, unable to bear the guilt of killing King Duncan, takes her own life. Macbeth loses his only ally and almost loses his will to continue fighting. However, Macbeth is a soldier at heart, and he doesn't want to wait in his castle.

Macbeth meets his end –

He is confident that he cannot be defeated, but realizes the true nature of the Witches’ ambiguous prophecies when Birnam wood does come to Dunsinane Hill. Malcolm had instructed his army to tear of branches and hold them up while advancing to hide their true numbers. From afar, it seems like the entire Birnam wood is progressing to Dunsinane.

Still, Macbeth puts his faith in the final prophecy and meets Macduff in battle. After gloating to Macduff that he cannot be killed by someone born naturally of a woman, he learns the truth of Macduff’s birth. The soldier had been taken out of his mother’s womb before the due date. Therefore, he is technically “not born of woman.”

When the realization dawns on him, Macbeth is resigned to his fate. He finally meets his end at Macduff's hands, thus fulfilling the final prophecy. In the end, Malcolm is crowned the King of Scotland. View Examples

A Critical Analysis of “Fair is Foul, Foul is Fair” in Macbeth

The sentence “Fair is foul, foul is fair” is introduced in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play, when the Three Witches meet in thunder and lightning at a deserted place. These Witches signify chaos and disruption to the natural order. They represent lawlessness and the overturning of moral values. The Witches worship the Devil – to them, that is fair. Through their chant of "Fair is foul, foul is fair," the Witches set the precedence for the eventual blurring of the lines of good and evil in Macbeth's mind.

Macbeth is a brave and ambitious soldier in King Duncan's army and is well-loved by all his peers, subjects, and the King himself. However, the Witches’ prophecy spurts the seed of ambition within Macbeth and lets it bloom into a poisonous vine that consumes his inherent goodness. Macbeth, who was once King Duncan’s most loyal and trusted subject and a good friend of Banquo’s, turns into a cold-blooded murderer. By the end of the play, he becomes the subject of everyone’s hatred.

Instances of the subversion of foul to fair and fair to foul can be seen throughout the play.

Instance #1: The first encounter with the Witches

When Macbeth and Banquo encounter the Three Witches for the first time while returning from quelling a rebellion, the Witches present the two with certain prophecies.

They claim that Macbeth will be the King of Scotland. Meanwhile, they address Banquo and claim that he will never be as happy as Macbeth but will be happier. Initially, the Witches' predictions seem absurd. After all, Macbeth gets the fair end of the deal because he is to become the king, while Banquo is prophesized to be unhappy.

However, after Macbeth murders King Duncan and becomes the King of Scotland, he sees no peace. He is constantly afraid of people finding out about his treachery and seeps deeper into villainy as he plots to kill Banquo and Macduff. Despite becoming King, Macbeth is never happy.il

Meanwhile, Banquo, who doesn't pay much heed to the Witches' prophecies, doesn't lose his sleep over forcing his sons to become king after Duncan's death. Even when Banquo is murdered, his son Fleance flees, and the Witches confirm that Banquo's descendants will be kings of Scotland in the future.

Thus, even though it seems that Banquo gets the foul end of the prophecy, he gets the good end of the deal because his name isn’t sullied like Macbeth’s.

• Instance #2: King Duncan’s visit to Macbeth’s castle

After being informed of the Witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth’s ambition to become the Queen and see her husband take the throne increases. She urges Macbeth to throw away his misgivings and murder the king to fulfill the prophecy.

When King Duncan pays an official visit to Macbeth's castle, Lady Macbeth instructs her husband to act jovial and be the perfect guest to his hosts so that no one can suspect an ounce of the treachery that brews in their minds. Lady Macbeth is a model host, taking care of the King's needs and showing him around the palace. King Duncan is so pleased with his hosts that he gifts Lady Macbeth jewels for her kindness.

However, what seems fair in the King’s eyes turns out to be foul because Lady Macbeth and her husband plot to kill the King that night while he lay asleep in his chambers.

Instance #3: The banquet scene

In order to celebrate his ascension to the throne, Macbeth decides to throw a banquet for his honored guests. However, what seems like a congregation of noble guests to celebrate and have a jovial time is a front to murder Banquo.

Banquo, who had been present with Macbeth when the Witches had made their prophecy, is bound to suspect Macbeth of foul play. Furthermore, the Witches had claimed that Banquo's sons would inherit the throne. Therefore, Macbeth decides to hire assassins to kill Banquo and his son Fleance.

At the banquet, he has a jovial time with his guests, drinking merrily and remembering Banquo in his absence. To the other dignitaries present, Macbeth seems like the perfect host. But they do not know the foul intentions that lie beneath the fair display of revelry.

Instance #4: The change in Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth coerces her husband to commit regicide once she finds out about the prophecies. Even though Macbeth initially shows reluctance to murder the King whom he has vowed to protect, Lady Macbeth urges him on.

After attaining the title of the Queen of Scotland, it seems that all should be fair in Lady Macbeth’s life. However, the lady who was once known for her ruthlessness and ambition turns into a husk of guilt late on in the play.

She has been guilt-ridden ever since King Duncan’s murder, and the guilt manifests in her as sleepwalking. Every night, she washes her hands in her sleep, trying to get the blood off them. Eventually, unable to bear the weight of the guilt, Lady Macbeth ends her own life.

Thus, even after Lady Macbeth achieves her ambition to be the Queen of Scotland, the fair outcome turns out to have a foul ending.

Instance #5: Macbeth’s second visit to the Three Witches

Once Macbeth fails to kill Fleance, he visits the Three Witches and demands to know more about his future. The Witches present Macbeth with three prophecies –

• That he need not worry until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill
• That the only person who can defeat him is a man “not born of woman”
• That he must beware Macduff

Initially, the first two prophecies seem to be in Macbeth's favor. After all, it is not possible for an entire wood to start walking. Secondly, all men are born from women. So, Macbeth is convinced that he is invincible.

However, the reality of the situation dawns on him when he sees Malcolm's army advancing towards Dunsinane with tree branches and twigs in their hands to hide the real number of soldiers. From a distance, it seems as if the entire wood is walking toward Dunsinane.

Finally, when engaged in a duel with Macduff, Macbeth learns that Macduff was not ideally “born of woman” because he was taken out of his mother’s womb before the due date.

Thus, the prophecies that seemed fair to Macbeth were actually foul in nature, and Macbeth’s blind faith in them leads to his downfall.

Instance #6: King Duncan’s interpretation of Macbeth’s castle

When King Duncan visits Macbeth's castle, he is amazed by the beauty of the surroundings. The gardens are mesmerizing, and the peaceful atmosphere that prevails over the castle is quite "gentle," according to Duncan. To him, the castle seems like a fair place to rest and recover from the stress of the rebellion in his kingdom.

However, the castle becomes his deathbed, for he fails to detect the foul intentions that the castle’s owners harbored in their minds.

Instance #7: The chamberlains, Malcolm and Donalbain

Most of the instances of the line “Fair is foul, foul is fair” in Macbeth are of seemingly fair things that turn out to be foul. However, the opposite of this is the chamberlains, Malcolm and Donalbain.

When King Duncan’s murder is discovered, Macbeth immediately kills the chamberlains who had been guarding Duncan. He tries to pass off the blame on their shoulders and kills them before they can defend themselves.

Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, suspect treachery and do not believe that their father’s guards would kill him in his sleep. So, they flee from Scotland, which sparks rumors that the two might have been involved in the King’s murder.

Thus, the characters who are genuinely good and fair are accused of murder, and their reputation is fouled.

In conclusion,

The line “Fair is foul, foul is fair” is a dominant theme throughout the play. It signifies the hypocrisy of everyday life. King Duncan, who trusted Macbeth the most of all his subjects, ends up being killed by Macbeth instead. Therefore, the chant “Fair is foul, foul is fair” reminds the readers not to judge people or situations by their covers. After all, things might not be what they appear to be.