Transcript Chiasmus in Macbeth PP

“Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair”:
Chiasmus in Macbeth
Chiasmus is a parallel created by inverting the
grammatical structure of the second clause of a
sentence:
Ask not what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country
Chiasmus is a parallel created by inverting the
grammatical structure of the second clause of a sentence:
It’s not the men in my life,
It’s the life in my men.
The witches’ common use of this linguistic
structure (among others) conveys their moral
ambiguity.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”
More importantly, though, this structure also
appears as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth move in
opposite directions in regards to their mental
strength, moral sensitivity, and masculinity.
Macbeth starts the play doubtful, sensitive, and
easily manipulated by Lady Macbeth. She starts
evil, almost terrifying, and certainly powerful.
Lady Macbeth
Macbeth
By the end, however, it is Macbeth who is powerful
and evil, and Lady Macbeth who has gained moral
sensitivity, but lost all strength, and indeed, sanity.
Macbeth’s progression:
1.2: “For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that
name-- . . . unseam'd him
from the nave to th’
chops, / And fix'd his head
upon our battlements.”
1.3: “My thought, whose
murder yet is but
fantastical, / Shakes so
my single state of man
that function / Is
smother'd in surmise.”
State of Mind:
Brave, bloody, a little
unstable
Tempted, but horrified at
even considering it
1.7 “…we but teach /
Bloody instructions,
which, being taught,
return / To plague th’
inventor.”
By the end of the scene…
“I am settled, and bend
up / Each corporal agent
to this terrible feat.”
State of Mind:
Rallying his decency
and logic
Has to force himself to
do the murder
[Murder #1: Duncan]
2.2 “I have done the
deed. Didst thou not
hear a noise?”
State of Mind:
Confused, paranoid, a
little unhinged
3.2 “O, full of scorpions
is my mind, dear wife!”
3.4 “Now I am cabin'd,
cribb'd, confined, bound
in / To saucy doubts and
fears.”
“I am in blood / Stepp'd
in so far that, should I
wade no more, /
Returning were as
tedious as go o'er:”
State of Mind:
Tormented, conscious
of his evil
Tormented, paranoid
[Sees ghost]
Weary of evil, but
resolute and grim
[Murder # 3:
MacDuff’s family]
5.3 “let them fly all. . .
The mind I sway by and
the heart I bear / Shall
never sag with doubt nor
shake with fear.”
5.5 “To-morrow, and
to-morrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this
petty pace from day to
day / To the last syllable
of recorded time.”
State of Mind:
Resolute, fearless
[Lady Macbeth
commits suicide]
Despairing, but not
losing focus
5.5 “Blow, wind! come,
wrack! / At least we'll die
with harness on our
back.”
State of Mind:
Brash, beyond caring
Captive, still brash
5.7 “They have tied me
to a stake; I cannot fly, /
But, bear-like, I must
fight the course.”
[Macbeth kills many]
5.8 “Lay on, Macduff, /
And damn'd be him that
first cries, 'Hold,
enough!’”
Not willing to give up,
even when he knows
it’s hopeless.
[Macbeth dies]
On your own, find 6 quotes that show Lady
Macbeth’s progression, and how it contrasts with
her husband’s.
Arrange them in your comp book in a doubleentry journal. The left side will include the quote
and the right must include your commentary.
Your insights should focus on Lady Macbeth’s
progression as a character and what that lends to
our understanding of her motivations.