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Examples Of Fate In Macbeth

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The Trap of Destiny Throughout the play Macbeth by Shakespeare the characters battle with a constant struggle between what is fate and what is their own free will. Macbeth, a war hero in the eyes of his own countrymen, is told two prophecies that change everything. He believed everything the three witches told him and made decisions accordingly, eventually causing his own demise in the process. Once Macbeth learns about his supposed fate, all of his decisions reflect the prophecies, had he chosen to live his life the way it was and forget the prophecies all together he would have been able to avoid the situation he ended up in. Before Macbeth was told about the possibility of him becoming king, he had no desire to kill king …show more content…

Macbeth sought them out after he felt the first three prophecies had been dealt with looking for more guidance In Macbeth saying “ I conjure you, by that which you profess, howe’er you come to know it, answer me”(Shakespeare,4.1.52-53). Macbeth thought he had made true the prophecies that helped him, and ended those that did not. Fate does not work this way, the witches simply planted ideas into Macbeth’s head. The witches had complete control of Macbeth, they were able to tell him anything and he would either try to make it a reality or stop it from hurting him. Once Macbeth becomes king, he becomes paranoid, due to the third prophecy given by the witches, which says that Banquo will become the father of kings. When both the prophecy that the Macbeth would be king of Cawdor and that he would become king came true Macbeth was worried that Banquo and his son Fleance would try to overthrow him. Due to this paranoia Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo and his son, they are unsuccessful in killing Fleance, but they kill Banquo. Macbeth goes insane after Banquo is murdered and sees his ghost. It had been Banquo’s supposed fate to be father to kings, yet it would have also been Macbeth’s fate to kill Banquo, it can not be both. There are many instances of contradictions like these in the play.

It is important to realize that fate is not something that is predestined, it is

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