ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Third Witch: There to meet with Macbeth. Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.

Detailed explanation-2: -The phrase “Fair is Foul, Foul is Fair” (Act 1, Scene 1) is chanted by the three witches at the beginning of the play. It acts as a summary of what is to come in the tale. Shakespeare uses the phrase to show that what is considered good is in fact bad and what is considered bad is actually good.

Detailed explanation-3: -The actual meaning of the ‘fair is foul’ couplet is fairly straightforward. Essentially the witches are stating their upside down view of the world: what is good, or ‘fair’ to others is evil or ‘foul’ to them, and vice versa. The ‘fog and filthy air’ presumably refers to the type of environment in which they thrive.

Detailed explanation-4: -The ‘fair and foul’ tool refers to sudden contraries, or reversal: something seems fair and then is revealed to be foul, or something seems foul and then we realize it’s fair. Let’s put this tool into practice by looking at several of the most famous moments in Macbeth. Banquo and Macbeth are confronted by the witches.

Detailed explanation-5: -It was common belief that bad luck comes in threes. It is the traditional belief that if one dies the death is usually followed by two more deaths will occur. The same things had happened in the play Macbeth too. The first use of number three relates to the number of witches.