In Shakespeare's Macbeth, paradoxes and oxymorons are utilized to emphasize the ideal that not everything is what it seems. An event may seem positivity and swell, when under the facade, a negative connotation is lurking. Shakespeare illustrates the unsettling mood of the play by including these opposing statements, such as, fair is foul and foul is fair.
Examples From Macbeth:
- The prophecies Macbeth and Banquo receive are a direct representation of the motif, fair and foul:"This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good" (1.3.130-131). - Banquo warns Macbeth that the witches could be persuading him to do foul work by giving him fair truths. - Lady Macbeth tells her husband to, "look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (1.5.65-66).
Examples From Trackbeth:
- MacKenna Macbeth and Bailey Banquo are given 'fair' prophecies from a foul character. - MacKenna won her races (fair), but she feels uneasy (foul). - At the meet, the weather was bright and sunny, but later turns foggy. - Mom Macbeth encourages her daughter to become foul and injure Daisy to obtain her goal (which is fair), and that goes against her natural fair nature.