"Fair is foul and foul is fair
Hover through the fog and the filthy air."
Not much plot in that--so what have we learned about what this play will be about?
To add to what Laura said, we also said that it sounded like a spell because its was a chiasmus known as an antimetabole. We also said that "fair and foul" could represent good and evil and the fact that it is a chiasmus means that the witches don't care about sides. We also said that it created a sense of moral ambiguity meaning that the story might not be black and white.
This chiasmus might also be foreshadowing for what is about to happen in the play. Also since Macbeth is know as a tragedy than we can predict that something will change a character's life thus leading to his death, like Othello and Oedipus for example.
The chiasmus/oxymoron "Fair is foul and foul is fair" could be hinting at moral ambiguity to come later on, and mean that some things are not exactly as they seem. Because if literally what is beautiful is bad, and what is bad is beautiful, things are definitely not right. It could also be hinting at deceptions--maybe characters or situations which at first seem ideal will turn wrong--it's the same theme of appearance vs. reality which was so present in Othello last year. It seems as though there'll be some kind of extreme inversion somewhere in the story.
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ReplyDeleteWe all agreed that "Fair is foul and foul is fair/Hover through the fog and the filthy air" sounded like a spell. So it's about witches...
ReplyDeleteTo add to what Laura said, we also said that it sounded like a spell because its was a chiasmus known as an antimetabole. We also said that "fair and foul" could represent good and evil and the fact that it is a chiasmus means that the witches don't care about sides. We also said that it created a sense of moral ambiguity meaning that the story might not be black and white.
ReplyDeleteThis chiasmus might also be foreshadowing for what is about to happen in the play. Also since Macbeth is know as a tragedy than we can predict that something will change a character's life thus leading to his death, like Othello and Oedipus for example.
ReplyDeleteThe chiasmus/oxymoron "Fair is foul and foul is fair" could be hinting at moral ambiguity to come later on, and mean that some things are not exactly as they seem. Because if literally what is beautiful is bad, and what is bad is beautiful, things are definitely not right. It could also be hinting at deceptions--maybe characters or situations which at first seem ideal will turn wrong--it's the same theme of appearance vs. reality which was so present in Othello last year. It seems as though there'll be some kind of extreme inversion somewhere in the story.
ReplyDelete