Fate Vs Free Will In Macbeth

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 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

   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

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.

Fate has sundry meanings. One of the meanings of fate: power that predetermines events. Destiny’s definition suggests that events will occur and do not change. Whatever unravels in life cannot change by mankind. The statement has undivulged meanings; fate has the opportunity to change if the person wants events to end differently. However, wrong decisions will only seal fate. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, The fate becomes confirmed through Lady Macbeth wanting more power, Macbeth’s inner conflict, and the three witches tricking Macbeth and leading him to his demise.

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.

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

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.

Fate always plays a dangerously important role in the lives of men, and knowing their destinies can make people do things that may be good or bad. Although Macbeth was a good general, fighting with the interest of protecting his country from invaders, his destiny forbade it and he was changed into cold, heartless tyrant. Even when he tried to resist his fate, the very thing he did, was what caused his death in the end. This illustrates the unsurmountable power of fate and the path set out for us. We can’t avoid it, and no matter what we do , we are always drawn back to what was meant to be. Often, this is what causes people to do unnatural (bad) things out of desperation.

Throughout the story of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth acts in a much despised manner: he becomes a murderer and later, when king of Scotland, a tyrant. Many who have read or seen the play are left wondering how a man’s whole approach to life can change; how Macbeth turned from the hero whom all adored, to the tyrant who was hated and ended up a lone man, fighting for his life.

When each event or instance occurs, the centralised thought among thinkers would be whether it was meant to happen or was a result of something previous.Free wiil played such role in filling out what happens to who.Such a in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde where he, elaborates the concept .In the novel Dr Jekyll & Mr hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.”It was worse when it began to be clothed upon with detestable attributes; and out of the shifting, insubstantial mists that had so long baffled his eye, there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a fiend. (2.1)”(Stevenson) A crazy scientist creates a potion that

Humans love excuses. From the classic “my dog ate my homework” to “the FBI confiscated my essay on my way to school this morning”, excuses are almost as much a part of day-to-day life as language itself. Like most things that are apart of everyday life, excuses have also found their way into literature. However, while procrastinating high school students have “my pet gerbil, Wallace, made a nest out of my worksheet” , authors, especially those writing tragedies, have fate. The question of whether or not each individual truly chooses what happens in their lives is one that has been addressed in various works of literature time and time again. This battle of fate vs free will is especially prominent in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the idea of fate is ubiquitous. In the first act, Shakespeare introduces the audience to the three witches, whose ominous prophecies set the tone for the dark play and suggest that fortune will be a mainstay in the work. Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Macbeth, consistently challenges and defies fate as he pleases. His irreverent attitude toward fortune is highlighted when he says, “Come fate into the list, / and champion me to th’ utterance!” (3.1. 74-75). In this case, Macbeth refers to the fate concerning Banquo’s sons, and he brazenly declares that he will fight against it to the limit. He carries this attitude throughout the play, showing no respect toward fate by acting upon it instead of letting

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

You hear a woman mumbling to herself in her slumber as she rinses her hands, but it is spotless. What could possibly be going on in her head? Little did you know she was an accomplice to the murder of the late king of Scotland. And when she accidentally confesses her sins, you realize that she imagines her hands are stained with his blood. The tragic play of Macbeth by William Shakespeare revolves around the struggle of Macbeth, who is determined to be and remain as the king of Scotland. After being convinced to fulfill his prophecy requiring him to kill King Duncan, Macbeth proceeds with his plan and soon claims the throne; but this soon leads to his downfall. Shakespeare utilizes various literary devices that evolve as the story develops. These details establish the moods of certain scenes, add to the characters’ thoughts, and more, in order to make the story more