Many people believe in ‘Fate’, and argue over the role of ‘Fate’ in everyday life. Does Fate control us, or are we masters of our own fate? Many people have wondered over this question for decades, centuries even. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare tries to shed a light on the answer. Are Macbeth’s actions predetermined, or are they his own choice?
The three witches seem to represent ‘Fate’, or ‘The Order of Things’, and know about events that have yet to happen. For example, in Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 49 and 50, the Witches say “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to Thee, Thane of Cawdor!” and “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” This tells Macbeth and Banquo that Macbeth will be King and Thane of Cawdor, even though the Thane of Cawdor, and the King, still live. Do the three witches have the power to move through time, like we flip the pages to look through the play? The power to travel through time would certainly enable the witches to know what they know! But role do the witches play? Are they responsible for Macbeth’s traitorous rise to kingship? Or are they simply responsible for planting the ‘seeds’ of betrayal in Macbeth?
At first Macbeth does not believe the
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The only reason that Macbeth became king was because Malcolm, next in line to the throne, became suspected because of his leaving Scotland to mourn Duncan’s death. This was something Macbeth couldn’t anticipate, why would Macbeth kill the king if it wasn’t certain that he would become king? Had Malcolm stayed in Scotland, and somehow proved himself to the people of Scotland, Macbeth would be the suspected person instead, because the king was killed in his home, leaving Macbeth worse off than he started. Maybe our ‘free will’ doesn’t force fate one way, but rather our ‘free will’ changes how we arrive to our fates. After all, even though Malcolm is pronounced prince, there was a chance that later in his life Macbeth might have become
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is a question as to whether or not Macbeth is driven by fate or free will. The three weird sisters approach Macbeth with prophecies that will all come true in the end. It would appear that Macbeth is just following destiny at first. However, Macbeth always had a choice throughout the play to choose his own fate. Macbeth journeyed to his murderous doom through his own free choice.
"Macbeth" is a tragic play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600’s. It revolved around the character Macbeth and his urge to become king of Scotland. Macbeth had to do anything possible to become the king including murder, lying, and deception. However, Macbeth committed these evil deeds due to some influential people in his life. Between Macbeth’s wife persuading him to do anything to become king and the witches prophesying over him causes Macbeth to try and bury the past and control the future.
Destiny "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." (William Jennings Bryan) Are we in control of our own destiny, our own fate, or are our lives really already planned and mapped out for us? Does Macbeth willfully choose evil in order to achieve his "destiny"? Or, is his "destiny" doomed by the witches' prophecies? Macbeth may not have made any of his same choices, if the three Weird sisters hadn't come to him. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Macbeth is no pawn of fate. Although Macbeth was destined to become king, the path he chose to take to achieve his aspiration of obtaining the throne was of his own free
Decisions you make can lead to the death of innocent people. In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, examines the elements of fate and free will by the actions of others lead to the bloodshed of the innocent people in the play such as Banquo, Duncan and Lady Macduff and her child. Consequently even though Macduff's actions are for the greater good to stopping Macbeth, it comes at the ultimate cost of the life of his wife and child.
Yet after his encounter with the witches, his mind was going back and forth trying to figure out how he should act upon the prophecy of becoming king! It was by then that the idea of fate had been planted into his head, and with such good title to come with it, why wouldn’t he want to believe his ‘fate’? Something that I found very interesting about the witches was that looking closely at line 24-25 when one of the witches says, "Though his bark cannot be lost, yet it shall be tempest-tossed." From what I seemed to understand, these lines seemed to really show the limitations to the witches’ powers, because they were basically saying that they could only make life rough for the clueless captain, but they could not kill him. I think that this is really important to all the people who thought that the witches had ‘written out’ Macbeth’s fate because in the same way as the previous stated scene they can tempt Macbeth with predictions about his future, but they cannot make him choose evil. Meaning that in this scene, one of the conflicts is obviously fate vs. free will! All the witches really did was find a way of stirring up evil, by tempting Macbeth into choosing to opt for evil instead of good. “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir.” (Act 1. Scene iii. Line 10). Here, Macbeth seems content to leave his future to "chance." If "chance" will have
In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.
Fate vs Free Will is one of the most oft used literary techniques in writing. It is never more evident than in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The major theme of the story Macbeth is whether or not the story is fueled by the free will of Macbeth, or by his fate. Are the events in Macbeth a result of his mentality and outlook on life, or were they going to happen no matter what? Almost every major event that takes place can be traced back to this question. It can be viewed in different ways, and most people have their own opinions. Dissecting this question is a part of what makes teaching Macbeth still have so much value to this day. But there is a clear answer to this question upon further dissection. The story of Macbeth is fueled by his free
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, changes happen. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a well liked and good man of Scotland, who turns into an evil, cold hearted, murderer by the end. His rewards and punishments could have been predetermined by fate, but the actions he took to get to get those rewards and punishments were determined by Macbeth’s free will. In Macbeth, he attempts to control the future and hide the past by listening to other people and committing multiple murders of innocent people.
Fate is one person's destiny, it cannot be understood by mere mortals but a greater power beyond human comprehension. Fate is so powerful that it controls a person's outcome on life before it happens. Many people become victims of fate in which they catch a glimpse of what their future is going to look like, but do not totally grasp the outcome. Macbeth cannot fully comprehend the possible outcome of his fate because he is mortal, and therefore is a victim to his power driven quest and his ultimate fate. Many have been said to agree with this statement. For example, as stated in Shakespeare A to Z, "The Witches are an enactment of the irrational. The supernatural world if terrifying because it is beyond human control, and in the play it is
Fate is often times used as a way to address things that have occurred or is about to occur. Macbeth, the main character, takes fate very seriously believing it lead to his own downfall when in fact, the actions he was taking in the name of fate were of his own free will. Macbeth was never coerced into committing the crimes he had committed to stay on the throne because of “fate”. He committed the crimes knowing what he was doing. In the earliest parts of the play, Macbeth’s traitorous thoughts are revealed, even before he believed in his “fate” as told in the witch’s prophecy, this shows that Macbeth simply uses “fate” as a clutch to justify his actions to himself and others.
In Shakespeare’s Tragedy Macbeth, it is very debatable if fate, or freewill is what causes Macbeth to do the things he does through out the tragedy. Freewill is at work most through out the tragedy because Macbeth is convinced he can change or speed up the fate the three weird sisters prophesized for him at his own will. Throughout the play, Macbeth slowly begins to think he can modify his fate by using the prophecies told to Macbeth by the weird sisters and attempting to change them by his free will.
Throughout history it has been many cultures’ and people's beliefs that fate, a silent force that guides action and acts as a lingering motive, can control a person’s destiny. The other school of thought is that fate can manipulate thinking; however, the things a person does are contingent on a willingness to do so, known as free will. In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, these two ideas clash as a nobleman makes his rise to king. Although some people may disagree, Macbeth’s ascension through the ranks is fueled by free will, not fate. Macbeth chooses his own destiny based upon his ambition and desires.
During several soliloquies and asides Macbeth expresses his "black and deep desires" (1.5.51) to become King and gradually overcomes his moral reluctance and foreboding long enough to kill Duncan. The independence of Macbeth in this decision is best described when he states:
Throughout life, many of us will find ourselves in some of the worst situations that leave us wondering who’s to blame. The truth is that the misfortunes that befall us are due to our own actions and sometimes due to fate or bad luck. Fate is one person's destiny and it can not be understood by simple mortals but a greater power beyond human comprehension. Fate is so powerful that it can control a person's outcome on life before it happens. Many people tend to become victims of fate in which they catch a glimpse of what their future is going to look like, but do not totally take hold of the outcome. Macbeth can not fully realize the possible outcome of his fate because he is human, and therefore is a victim to his power driven
According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?