Examples Of Free Will In Macbeth

Macbeth’s own ambition precedes the proclamations of the witches on the heath in act 1 scene 3. The witches only served as mirrors on which Macbeth could see his own mind.

The first prophecy the witches tell Macbeth is, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (Shakespeare, 1.3). This startles Macbeth, but it also catches his attention and spikes his interest causing him to desire to become king and to want to know more about the witches’ prophecies. As this spikes his attention, he begins to plan how he can take over the throne. This leads him to the conclusion of killing King Duncan, which allows him to be king because he is second in command. This shows his free will because he is thinking for himself and planning his future actions.

Whether it be the choice of what breakfast cereal to eat in the morning, what college to attend, or what career to pursue, choices are a fundamental part of the human experience, and they have been written about since the inception of literature. Jean Nidetch once wrote, “It’s choice - not chance - that determines your destiny. The concept of destiny and free will has been argued throughout history, and this concept is exemplified in the story of Macbeth. Macbeth perfectly exemplifies this maxim, as his conscious choices throughout the story determined his destiny. Macbeth’s fate was not set in stone, he made the conscious choice to commit the atrocities he did.

Fate and free will are two main themes in Macbeth. Though they are opposites, fate and free will are both represented in the events of the play. In this play, these themes are intertwined. The free will of Macbeth is affected by his knowing of his fate/future. It was Macbeth's belief in his foretold fate that justified him and his wife to do anything to attain the crown.

At first, it almost seems like Macbeth is just a pawn of fate with such external influences like the witches and his wife pushing him towards murder and evil. Later on however, Macbeth proves to be a man of free will. He consciously chooses to let external factors influence his decisions. Although the Witches, and Lady Macbeth try to push Macbeth into his actions, he ultimately made the final decisions, therefor he acts as an agent of free will Lady Macbeth, and the witches convince Macbeth towards regicide, but this influence they had on him did not control his actions.

The ideas about fate versus free will are constantly debated throughout Macbeth. The main reason behind Macbeth’s actions is the idea of fate that caused Macbeth to use his own free will. Shakespeare is the puppet master with the character Macbeth by dangling fate in front of him, but at the same time, it is Macbeth’s own desire and intellectual views that lead him to suffer his foreshadowed fate. Macbeth had his fate going one way, but through his own free will he was able to take a different turn.

Macbeth was completely driven by his own free will in making the choices that he did in Shakespeare's Macbeth. If he were controlled by destiny, he would not have felt so guilty of his actions. The witches may have predicted the future, but they are not the direct reason that made Macbeth so ruthless on his journey to the crown. His ambition is what caused him to make such blatant choices. He set himself up for his dramatic downfall through his own decisions.

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth’s life is governing by conscience which is portrayed through his free will and decisions. Initially, people have the choice whether or not to listen to what other people tell them to do. Witch three says, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.50). Macbeth was told he was going to be king, but it was his choice whether or not he was going to earn it or cheat his way.

Ayn Rand, a Russian-American philosopher have quoted that “[m]an is a being with free will; therefore, each man is potentially good or evil, and it’s up to him and only him (through his reasoning mind) to decide which he wants to be”(Rand). In the play Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, have been praised for the good man he was, but still betrayed those who praised him with his own will. He was a great man with a great mind, however, not until the words of him becoming king came out of the weird sisters, which are also known as the three witches who predicted and told Macbeth that he will be king, and have made him have second thoughts on whether to kill the king to be king or not. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare suggests that human beings

Macbeth Analysis Humans are affected by everything and everyone around them regardless of who or what it is. They are affected by others in the choices they make, the foods they eat, where they go, and who they will be. Because people are affected by everything and everyone, do they ultimately have free will? Free will is "the ability to choose how to act" (Merriam-Webster, para 1). The Tragedy of Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, attempts to understand to what extent humans have free will.

At first, viewers see Macbeth as a man who would like power, and by the end they see a selfish man who is willing to do anything to remain in power. The three witches had a very strong influence upon him, being that they could predict Macbeth’s future. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.53) The third which tells Macbeth that he will become king.

Originally derived from the Greek Goddesses Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, fate is believed to be something that no mortal power can change while free-will is completely up to oneself. The story of Macbeth by Shakespeare focuses on the aspect of fate and how free-will affects that. The main character, Macbeth, gets numerous prophecies throughout the story that are described to be his fate. On the other hand, how he fulfills the prophecies are solely up to him. Shakespeare utilizes the prophecies told by the three witches as an initiative to Macbeth’s actions, for the prophecies are Macbeth’s fate but his actions are based on free-will which illustrates that fate influences the decisions made through free-will.

Macbeth’s actions, even though from free will, are induced by the witches’ prophecies since he wants them to be fulfilled, proving that fate is stronger than free will. In the first encounter between Macbeth and the witches he becomes aware of the near future fate: he would become king. For this to happen the king at the time, Duncan would have to die. Induced by his fate and the power it would bring him, Macbeth kills the king. Following this event, he comes to meet the witches a second time, and they tell him more about his fate. Now Macbeth thinks he has total control of what happens to him. Blinded by power, Macbeth not even considers the possibility of the new prophecies being true, and that is what got him killed. Both, the strong belief

He begins to doubt how he will get away with all of this so he pays the witches another visit. As he asks for more of their prophesies, Macbeth acquires somewhat comforting news stating that “…none of woman born shall harm Macbeth…shall never vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” (4.1.125-127). These statements are actually riddles. These riddles were given so that Macbeth believes he is safe. This will obviously affect his decision-making.

William Shakespeare remains a powerful literary force to this day, and few of Shakespeare 's works are as well-known as Macbeth. The play 's epic tale of ambition and greed never fails to captivate audiences. The major themes of this quintessential work are hackneyed in the world of literary criticism: the role of ambition in Macbeth 's demise, the role of spirits and witches in carrying out evil, the corrupting of human morals, and many other similar themes. However, another equally important theme is the struggle of fate and free will. In Macbeth, fate is the dominant force; the characters ' brief attempts to exercise self control almost always fail to alter the unyielding weight of fate. Fate is the dominant force in the play, and this