Fate and Free Will in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Essays

First, what began Macbeth’s downfall was the witches’ prophecies. “All hail, Macbeth that shalt be King hereafter!” (I.III.51). The witches told Macbeth that he will become King and soon after Ross and Angus brought news that showed that the witches were right. Banquo however, knew something wasn’t right with the witches and these predictions. Witches

At the very beginning of knowing his fate of becoming king, he forgets his own moral sense and let Lady Macbeth persuade him into murdering Duncan to become king when he could had work his way to be king since he was a cousin of Duncan. Throughout the first half of the play, Macbeth let Lady Macbeth opinion of him decide his own fate which will be his own free will for listening to her. Macbeth downfall begins at the thought of murdering Duncan to take the throne and letting his wife decides everything for him and instigating his mind of not being man enough to murder. “From this time such I account thy love. Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would,’ like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?” (Act 1 scene 7 line 38-45) The words that Lady Macbeth said to Macbeth started his own downfall because he could had chose not to listen to her and listen to his own conscience when he decided not to kill Duncan. He was a cousin of

Do you have the power to choose your fate or the people around you choose for you? In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth’s fate is from his own choosing. Although the witches influenced the choices he made, he made them himself. No one can make anyone do anything. They can persuade that person and try to make them do what they want, but it boils down to what that person decides. You choose your own decisions and choices and this is what Macbeth did.

When Macbeth figures out that Banquo’s son could be a future threat to him, he declares, “[...] Fleance his son, that keeps him company, whose absence is no less material to me than is his father’s, must embrace the fate of that dark hour” (III.i.134-137). This hints at the belief of fate already being determined as Macbeth thinks he has a chance of changing it, but fails. He learns that he has no control over what is happening and that all of the prophecies given will come true in some

After the witches give Macbeth a glimpse into his future, they turn to Banquo and tell him that his children will inherit the throne. When Macbeth hears this, he feels a little threatened by the fact that his children will not become king. The third witch tells Banquo “Though shalt get kings, though thou be none” (Macbeth. 1.3.67). The plot advances further after the witches tell Banquo the good news by foreshadowing future events. Lee Jamieson says in their article that “Macbeth sees Banquo as a threat and employs murderers to kill him and his son,”

In the Shakespeare story, Macbeth, Macbeth dealt a lot with fate or free will. Starting from when he was in the forest with the witches and the time where he was struggling with whether or not he was willing to do whatever in takes to reach the top. I believe that the events in Macbeth’s life occurred because of the witches prophecy as well as because of the choices that he made.

He immediately acts on this information, vowing to no longer think about his actions. Either Macbeth has simply given in to fate or the witches now have full control of him, but given the many events that have occurred outside of Macbeth’s control, it seems the Sisters have simply been strategically showing Macbeth pieces of his fate in order that his fate actually come true; in other words, the Sisters must show Macbeth the future in order for the future to happen as they know it will. But, either way, the witches have completely altered Macbeth’s life from how he envisioned it at the beginning of the

Fate can be defined as the development of events beyond a person's control, often in historical mythology fate is determined by a supernatural power. In the play Macbeth we see a protagonist, Macbeth, who receives his predetermined destiny from 3 witches. Scottish General, Macbeth, gets a prediction from a trio of witches that one day he will progress toward becoming King of Scotland. Devoured by desire and prodded to activity by his significant other, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish position of royalty for himself. He is then wracked with blame and distrustfulness. When odds aren't in Macbeth’s favor, he decides to take his destiny in his own hands to get things done. Now in the novel Macbeth is utilizing the witches as

Thinking back to the predictions the witches made, Macbeth is bothered by the predictions they made about Banquo’s future. The first witch says “Lesser then Macbeth, and greater.” Then-fore the second witch continues with “Not so happy, yet much happier.” and the third witch finishes the prophecy after stating “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none, so all hail Macbeth and Banquo!” Macbeth believes that Banquo will hinder his progress to becoming king and prevent him from achieving such a position because of the witches prophecy.

This wouldn’t have happened if Lady MacBeth, and MacBeth just ignored the prophecy, and just went on living their normal lives. MacBeth heirs murderers to kill Banquo. “[the tree murderers attack] Banquo: O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou mayst revenge—O slave!”(III.iii.Lines18-20). In this scene, Banquo gets murdered, and his son is supposed to, but he gets away. “Macbeth:See, they encounter thee with their hearts’ thanks. Both sides are even. Here I’ll sit i’ th’ midst. Be large in mirth. Anon we’ll drink a measure the table round. [Approaching the Murderer] There’s blood upon thy

There is not a clear decision on whether Macbeth was controlled by the witch’s fate or if this was purely his free will, however there is a clear line drawn. He becomes his own murderer in the end of the play, deciding his own fate by killing those around him and/or driving those he loves to kill themselves. The tragic hero is in complete control it seems throughout the play but Shakespeare is never quite clear whether he was in complete control or not. This play is one that not only ends tragically but starts in tragedy as well, and because of this it is considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, and one of the most fantastic tragedies of time, still being taught in today’s

Victory has sworn upon Macbeth and Banquo after the defeat of the king's traitor Macdonwald. Shortly in the mids of returning home Banquo and Macbeth halt when three suspicious ladies came into view. One by one they told Macbeth his upcoming abundance of power. In an instant, Macbeth looked like he was scared. (Banquo says to Macbeth) "My noble partner/You greet with present grace and great prediction/Of great having and high hope,/That he seems rapt withal. To me, you speak not./If you can look into the seeds of time/And say which grain will grow and which will not,/Speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear/Your favours nor your hate."(Chapter 2-10) At this moment, Banquo reveals his greed by wanting his prediction to be just as good as Macbeth's, Instead, the witches told him that his descendants would be in power and not him. When the night of Duncan's death took place, Banquo seemed suspicious of Macbeth. (In Banquo's head) "As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine/Why by the verities on thee made good,/May they are not my oracles as well,/And set me up in hope?" Logically, Banquo kept the information a secret because it would mean his prophecies will never come true, When in fact if he did act upon his greed then it would have prevented the king's death at the hands of Macbeth.

First of all, Macbeth indicates his unsteady skeptical attitudes towards the witches ' prediction. According to the three witches, Macbeth shall one day be "King hereafter", and Banquo shall "get King", though he would"be none [king]"(I. iii. 50, 66). After hearing this astonishing prophecy, Banquo manifests with neither ecstasy nor fear, but with rational cautiousness. He exhorts Macbeth that sometimes "the instruments of darkness tell truths"and "[w]in

The witches are the ones who are responsible for Banquo’s death due to their part in the prophecies. On this page, Macbeth talks about how it’s good that Banquo is dead and that he doesn’t have to worry as much. Macbeth says, “Better thee without than he within. Is he dispatched?” (3.4 38) Before Macbeth was asking people to kill Banquo they were good friends. Banquo and Macbeth were in every scene together. After the power was introduced of the prophecies they stopped being friends slowly. They stopped talking after a while and didn’t appear in scenes as much. Macbeth started to fear Banquo since they were the only two that knew the prophecies. But if the power wasn’t even put out there or the thought of it; then, it would have never happened. So, without the Prophecies/the witches Banquo would still be alive, and able to take care of his

In Act 1, Macbeth was described as a virtuous man and a genius in combat; However, that soon changed when he and Banquo had an encounter with the three witches. The witches told Macbeth that he will be king one day and the Thane of Cawdor and they told Banquo that his sons would be kings. They took these prophecies lightly at first, but they were convinced of their authenticity after Macbeth was named as the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth instantly was astounded with this news and hid how he truly felt over the witches' prophecy. Banquo even said to Macbeth, "If you trust what they say, you might be on your way to becoming king, as well as Thane of Cawdor. But this whole thing is strange. The agents of evil often tell us part of the truth in order to lead us to our destruction." (Shakespeare V. iii 122-124) As you can see, Banquo is initially skeptical over the news and advises Macbeth not to trust everything the witches tell him.