Control In Macbeth And Oedipus

In the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Banquo are visited by the three weird sisters. They both receive a few prophecies about their future, then the sisters leave. Macbeth’s prophecies were that he would become Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King. Shortly after he receives these prophecies, he is made Thane of Glamis and then Thane of Cawdor. This is where Macbeth could have chosen to take the prophecies as a crazy coincidence and let fate guide the way. But he became

In Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, the witches, along with Macbeth’s ambitions, are in control; Shakespeare reveals that control through the paradoxes in the witches’ prophecies and through Macbeth’s thought process, all of which work to develop the idea that death is inevitable.

Throughout the play, Macbeth proves that there is a destiny, it just a matter of how one chooses to attain it. Destiny is a thing to be achieved, through choices. Fate has no bearing over what choices are made. Yet, Macbeth may not have made the same choices

If the prophecy is considered correct, the two king’s men are likely to possess power of kingship. But power corrupted one (Macbeth) and led him to his doom whereas other (Banquo) remained so loyal to the king and kingdom as it was his realization that time will bestow everything to him. If he is fated to be the father of the king, the time will automatically provide this opportunity to him. But in the case of Macbeth, this prophecy worked differently. It is the concern of the study of this

From the beginning, Macbeth chose to follow the witches instead of letting things just naturally occur. Banquo serves to show how the predictions were not just destiny and did not control his life. Even when he sees that many are becoming true, he states, "may they (witches) not be my oracles"(Act III, sc.i, 9). He is stating that he will just let events occur and not try to fulfill the prophecies. Macbeth also had this same choice. If he had taken the same approach as Banquo, a claim could be made that it was destiny that Macbeth would murder Duncan. However, Macbeth lived on account of the prophecies, not the reverse.

In many stories fate is said to determine the paths that people lead in their lives. However, even though some events can seem like fate to the people experiencing them, these people always made their own decisions that led to them. Although some of the events in the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare may lead readers to believe that fate determined many of Macbeth’s actions, the truth is that Macbeth made all of the decisions in the story through his own free will.

You may think that MacBeth is one hundred percent guilty and should receive a heavy punishment for his actions. But, have you ever considered the possibility that he may not have been responsible for them? Because he should not be held responsible for something he had no control over. I would like to point out that it was the Weird Sisters who told him prophesies which he then believed. It was his wife, Lady MacBeth, who pressured and convinced him to go through with the killings. And tell me, would any sane person commit the amount of crimes that MacBeth has? He has a mental condition that makes him go insane and start seeing things that are not actually there. These hallucinations are just one of the many causes that contribute to his

In the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, chases after power by going after the king position in Scotland. In the play, Macbeth changes from basically not worrying about whether or not he will be king, to going after the king so that Macbeth will rule the kingdom. At the very beginning, Macbeth encounters the evil witches and the witches greet Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King hereafter. The funny part about this is that Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis but, not the Thane of Cawdor because the current Thane of Cawdor is still living, and Macbeth certainly is not the king of Scotland because King Duncan is king. The things the witches say to Macbeth gets into his head and this is where the desire for power originates. Macbeth decides to kill the current King and Macbeth continues to murder people. Macbeth hires goons to kill Banquo and Banquo’s son, Fleance, because the evil witches hint that Banquo will not be king but, Banquo will heir kings. Macbeth is a character that struggles to free himself from chasing after power due to him wanting to rule the kingdom and Macbeth will do whatever possible to keep the throne. Macbeth performs multiple murders just to keep his throne from falling into somebody else’s hand.

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, manipulation is an effective device used throughout the play to achieve control and influence behaviour. In the play, Macbeth falls victim to this and becomes controlled like a puppet by his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the three witches. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was a loyal and well-respected general, but, later, becomes a treacherous murderer, fulfilling his desires to become king. The puppeteers were pivotal in Macbeth’s eventual downfall in the tragedy and pulled the strings that led Macbeth to his self-destruction. However, Macbeth in himself was a mentally weak character, adding to the ease of manipulation. These factors proved fatal for Macbeth as his death unfolded at the end of the play and his reign diminished. Shakespeare takes on the underestimated power of control that manipulation plays on characters throughout the dramatic performance.

Although Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a good example of how the concept of “fate” effects people, Gladwell’s Outliers proposes a more compelling argument for the idea of the amount of control one has in their life. Malcolm Gladwell’s novel, Outliers: The Story of Success, describes the amount of control one has in their life better than Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the Weird Sisters to tempt Macbeth’s fate. They give Macbeth prophecies, foretelling his future as king by saying, “thou shalt be king hereafter!” However, in Outliers, Gladwell uses how own research and findings from various psychological studies to come up with a simple equation: “Achievement is talent plus preparation.” In Macbeth, all events are the

morality and better judgement. The call of “destiny”develops this temptation further and makes for a power desperate Macbeth. As a result, Macbeth murders more than a handful of innocent people in order to ensure his desired royal fate. The only fate that Macbeth receives is the one that he forged for himself under the influence of ambition and greed that was granted by the ominous beings. It is because of this that Macbeth and an abundance of other characters meet their self fulfillment, their deaths or

Macbeth is already the thane of Glamis and a high Scottish general, but his wife lady Macbeth contributes to him being a tragic hero as she often encourages him to do bad stuff for a good outcome. The good outcome has to do with getting more wealth and power thus, an act of greed because Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to feel he deserves more. When Macbeth considers the murder he states, “if it were done when ’tis done, then ’there well It were done quickly . . . He’s here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself (act 1 s7) Later on when his greed tones down as he realizes nothing motivates him to kill the king other than his own ambition lady Macbeth states “When you durst do it,” she says, “then you were a man” (1.7.49) this urges Macbeth to want immediate power and

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character’s goal is to become the king. Macbeth seeks to gain as much power as he possibly can and this ultimately leads to his demise. He hears the prophecy of the witches and becomes so obsessed with fulfilling the prophecy because it states that he will eventually become king. Having this information, Macbeth goes out of his way to force the prophecy to come true. He becomes so power hungry that he tries to force fate leaving him with an undeniable guilt for his actions, the loss of love from the people who once loved him, and a harsh death in the end.

An example of a prophecy given at the start of the play by the witches is, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (I.iii.54-55). This prediction can be seen as a foresight into the future but is only a push to make Macbeth take action and fulfill his fate merely with free will. With the motivation of his future dangling right in front of him, Macbeth is pushed to take action in order to get what he wants, to be king. Another, example of Macbeth wanting to let fate take it’s course is when he says, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir. (I.iii.157-159) This shows that he is okay with letting fate take it’s course and not taking action in order to reach his destiny. The play Macbeth illustrates the theme of fate throughout but ultimately the plot is controlled through free

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a