Discussion Topic
Examples of Ambiguity and Antithesis in Macbeth
Summary:
In Macbeth, antithesis and ambiguity are key literary devices. Antithesis is evident in contrasts like "fair is foul," Macbeth's hallucination of a dagger, and Lady Macbeth's contrasting blood on her hands with Macbeth's perceived cowardice. Ambiguity is prominent in the witches' prophecies; Macbeth misinterprets "none of woman born" and "Birnam Wood" moving as assurances of his invincibility, only to be undone by Macduff's birth by Caesarean section and soldiers camouflaged with branches.
What are some examples of antithesis in the first three acts of Macbeth, excluding the witches in the first scene?
Antithesis is a figure of speech created by the expression of contrasting ideas or opposites in a grammatically parallel way. Thus, "fair is foul and foul is fair" is a good example of this definition of antithesis. In Act 2, scene 1, Macbeth hallucinates a dagger just ahead of him as he makes his way toward Duncan's bedroom. He attempts to snatch it from the air, but he is unable to touch it because it is only a vision. He says, "I have thee not, and yet I see thee still" (2.1.47). The two ideas presented in this quotation are I have thee not, and I see thee still. Both begin with "I" followed by a verb—"have" or "see"—and end with a word describing the dagger's presence or lack of it. Macbeth tries to grasp the knife, which he can see, but he cannot touch it, and...
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it is this contrast that allows him to realize that the dagger he sees is illusory only and seems to betray how overtaxed his mind is by the knowledge of what he's about to do.
Antithesis, however, can also refer, more simply, to a contrast between two things in close proximity to one another. After she's returned the bloody daggers to Duncan's chambers, having scolded Macbeth for his cowardice and thoughtlessness, Lady Macbeth says, "My hands are of your color, but I shame / To wear a heart so white" (2.2.82-83). She contrasts the literal color on her own and Macbeth's hands, the red from Duncan's blood, to the figurative color of Macbeth's heart, suggesting his fearfulness and weakness.
Macbeth is a play of contrasts and conflict, especially between good and evil and appearance and reality. The witches comments of
fair is foul
are cemented by Macbeth himself
So foul and fair a day I have not seen (I iii 39)
There is a struggle by Macbeth between achieving his ambition and behaving in a good and moral manner. Macbeth is considered a tragic hero by most and antithesis is needed to create that balanced contrast.
and nothing is
But what is not. ( I iii 41)
He is uncertain about the witches' words and has an opportunity to discount them
This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill, cannot be good (I iii 141-142)
but it does not take long for Lady Macbeth to convince him of his purpose.
Lady Macbeth is the epitome of antithesis. She and Macbeth have a
genuine, if distorted, bond of love holding the two together
The reversal of roles and values - Lady Macbeth 'desexing' herself and being the driving force behind Macbeth to the point where she will completely remove any maternal instinct as she
..dashed out its brains..
The execution of the Thane of Cawdor, an acceptable occurrence in the day for acts of treason, reinforces the common thread that this play is a contradiction:
Nothing in his life
became him like the leaving of it.(I.iv.7-8)
Refer to the eNotes study guide and pages to see examples of the ambivalence and themes of Macbeth which reinforce the use of antithesis.
What are examples of ambiguity and antithesis in Macbeth?
A major instance of ambiguity comes in two of the second set of prophecies the witches offer Macbeth in Act IV, scene 1. When he visits the witches as his reign appears to be unravelling, they tell him the following:
Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of women born
Shall harm Macbeth
The Third Apparition says:
Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care . . .
Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great
Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.
The Second Apparition tells Macbeth that nobody born of a woman will hurt Macbeth, but, as will later learn, the words "of women born" are deliberately ambiguous, having a double meaning. Macbeth takes them to mean that no human can harm him, because he assumes all people are born of women. However, by "born of women" the Apparition means born vaginally, not through a Caesarean section: one born by Caesarean section, Macduff, will defeat Macbeth.
The Third Apparition states that Birnam Wood would have to move to a nearby hill for Macbeth to be defeated. Macbeth interprets this to mean that since a forest can't transplant itself, he will be victorious. However, the meaning is again ambiguous. The forest can't transplant itself, but Macduff's troops can disguise themselves with branches from Birnam Wood as they climb Dunsinane, as happens. In this meaning, the "woods" do move.
Antithesis comes early in the play, In Act I, scene v, as Lady Macbeth tries to "unsex" herself in order to harden her heart to the murder of Duncan. For instance, she asks that the maternal milk from her breasts be turned to "gall," the antithesis or opposite of nourishing and sweet tasting mother's milk.