The Deception of Predestination

In the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s conscience was still honest, but that was soon to change. After his heroism at the battle against the Irish, Macbeth and Banquo walk into some witches. The three witches call Macbeth the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor and the future king. Macbeth is confused because he does not know that Duncan named him the Thane of Cawdor after the original one betrayed him. Macbeth also thinks that the idea of being the future king sounds good and he likes it. The witches vanish and Ross and Angus enter. Ross tells Macbeth that he is now the Thane of Cawdor because the

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the story of an ambitious royal turns into the followings of a murderous tyrant. The Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, is motivated by his fear that his deep desires will not come true, and his tyrant, gender role-breaking wife, Lady Macbeth, to kill off various successors to the throne. Macbeth is introduced as an ambitious heir to the the throne, but is quickly displayed as a raging king. In William E. Cain’s essay “Murderous Thinking in Macbeth”, he describes the relationship between the audience and Macbeth as “sympathetically connected.” Macbeth is seen as a vicious tyrant to the rest of the characters, but his deep desires are seen by the audience or readers. The audience is shown Macbeth’s guilt and remorse throughout the play, up until he kills Macduff’s family. Macbeth obtains the mindset of a power hungry, murderous tyrant when he kills Macduff’s family.

To begin, the witches are the catalyst to Macbeth’s crimes because the convince him that he will become king. Macbeth first meets the witches while returning from a gruesome battle and it is safe to say that they greet him with some audacious titles. They initially greet him as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor, but it is their final greeting which has the greatest effect on Macbeth. The witches hail Macbeth as someone “that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.53). This ignites a fire inside Macbeth, who is an immensely ambitious person. He begins to fantasize about the luxurious life he would have if he were the king of Scotland and he suddenly has the temptation to kill King Duncan. Although the witches’ prediction is favourable, Macbeth has no reason to believe them, at least until one of their other predictions turns out to be true. This

Macbeth, a highly revered Thane, was a huge war hero and feels that this is who he is meant to be. Upon returning from war, he meets 3 witches who start his prey drive towards the other members of the kingdom. Our witches reveal that Macbeth will become Thane of a second region, but will not just stop at being a Thane. He will one day be king. Macbeth reveals this to his wife, who quickly becomes the force behind the madness. She insists that the only way for Macbeth to become king is to murder the current king who just so happens to be coming to stay with the Macbeth’s that very night. It is here that Macbeth turns himself into a force of direct suffering.

In the first act, Macbeth met the witches whose prophecies claimed Macbeth would be made thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. At the same time, they claimed Banquo, who was with Macbeth, would be the father of kings. Shortly after, Macbeth and Banquo were greeted by two noblemen who announced that King Duncan had appointed Macbeth the new thane of Cawdor for his brave actions. Macbeth became consumed with the witches’ premonitions. Their vision for the future coupled with his ambition drove Macbeth to make choices that ultimately destroyed him. With significant influence from Lady Macbeth, he decided to take action and murder King Duncan. As part of their plan, they get the King’s attendants drunk so they’d black out then they could blame them for the murder. Macbeth ends up killing them the next morning when Duncan’s murder is discovered, pretending he is enraged by their crime. When Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo, he decides to visit the witches again. More prophecies are cited including that Macbeth must beware of Macduff. When Macbeth learns Macduff fled to England to meet up with Malcolm, King Duncan’s son, he orders Macduff’s wife and children killed to tame his anxieties. This ultimately led to his demise as Macduff sought revenge and ends up killing Macbeth in battle. This choice of blood and battle to feed his ambitions of

Macbeth's ambition led him to lose all the trust and loyalty from his army and thanes, as he becomes greedy and overconfident of himself. The witches’ prophecies have led him to think that no one can kill him. The prophecies showing truth are next to impossible. The apparitions shown to Macbeth by the witches include (Act IV Sc. I): He is told to beware Macduff, the Thane of Fife (Apparition 1 - an armed head),

Throughout the play “Macbeth” Shakespeare uses multiple examples of strong diction, paradox, metaphors, and imagery to demonstrate the theme that fate is inevitable. These examples also help emphasize that the witches are in control of Macbeth's severe and hostile actions throughout the tragic play. Without the witches prophecies the idea of murder would have never crossed Macbeth’s mind. After the witches informed Macbeth that he would soon become king he was willed to do anything to make sure this bizarre prophecy would come true.

He meets three random strangers and does not bother to think that perhaps they received word that he was now Thane of Cawdor and were using that information to trick him. For all Macbeth knew, they were enemies from rival countries come to instigate a civil war. Macbeth was like a dog with the possibility of earning a treat being dangled in front of him. In this case, the treat is becoming King and all the power treat accompanies it. Macbeth ran straight for the prize without giving a second thought. He repeatedly behaves in a way that supports the controlling idea, that is, we as humans are thoroughly obsessed with power. When it comes down to it, with the possibility of gaining enormous power in sight, Macbeth abandons all loyalties, morals and

The apparition had told Macbeth to beware Macduff, however Macbeth is so confident in assuming that Macduff can’t kill him because he believes he is born of a woman. Macbeth says, “Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of thee?”(IV.i.81). This indicates that Macbeth is not thinking realistically and is allowing his ambition to be controlled by the prophecy that is negatively impacting him. Macbeth kills Macduff’s innocent family while he searches for Macduff in thoughts of killing him. After meeting the witches Macbeth mentions, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls” (IV.i. 149-151). This illustrates that Macbeth is ruthless and what he is capable of doing for his own advantage. Macbeth’s ambition led him to become egoistic and selfish towards his nation which then results in his own death in the end. Macduff walks with Macbeth’s head and states, “Hail, king! For so thou art. Behold where stands the usurper’s cursed head. The time is free” (V.xi.21-22). This shows that Macbeth’s selfishness in keeping power is what led him to his death by Macduff. Macbeth’s desire to preserve his power for himself and his future sons illustrates the struggle he faced in maintaining and securing his

Macbeth discovers that Macduff has found out about his role in Duncan’s death and believes that he must keep his secret a secret, no matter the cost.”Beware Macduff, beware the Thane of fire. The power of man, for none born of woman, shall harm Macbeth”(4.1.73-74). Shakespeare’s use of threatening language and repetition gives Macbeth’s personality very serious and threatening edge to his character. Macbeth’s personality and actions represent every human’s ambition and that once an ambitious person with malicious and evil intent has their eyes set on a goal, nothing can deter them from their

The witches confront Macbeth and state that they foresee he will rise to power. The title Thane of Cawdor holds many possibilities for Macbeth. With it comes the opportunity for a more comfortable life with his wife. However Macbeth understands that to make this fantasy possible he must kill the now reigning king, Duncan. He ponders the witches fortune and realizes his true desires “Let not light see my black and deep desires,” (1:4:58).

Each action made by an individual is nothing more than a step closer to his or her death. In fact, the approach one takes towards his or her death is the result of either fate or free will. This concept of fate and free will in a person’s life is best explored in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In the play, the protagonist Macbeth allows external influences such as the witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth, to rule his actions which leads Macbeth to his ultimate demise and the demise of everything around him.

After Macbeth murders King Duncan, he feels queasy and tells his emotions to Lady Macbeth, but she chides him by saying fear is foolishness: “Who was it that thus cried? Why, / worthy thane / You do unbend your noble strength to think / So brainsickly of things” (II.ii.43-46). Macbeth recounts his regicide and worries that someone will find out about the murder, but Lady Macbeth deceits him by saying that the assassination does not exist. She succeeds by manipulating Macbeth to remove any proof that makes him guilty. Macbeth’s lust for power escalates further by the three witches’ misjudgment of his omens. The First Witch conjures the second apparition that shows him the unrealistic but promising future. From this illusion, Macbeth underestimates MacDuff’s power: “Then live, MacDuff: what need I fear of thee? / But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, / And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live” (IV.i.82-84). As the second apparition tells him his prophecies, he convinces Macbeth that MacDuff will not be able to harm him, and this misleads Macbeth by saying he has no reason to be scared of MacDuff and should slay him anyway. The three apparitions leave a deleterious impact on Macbeth’s way of thinking, and he starts to ponder about maintaining his power as King of Scotland: “The castle of MacDuff I will surprise; / Seize upon

In Shakespeare play called, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare has being considered one of the most important plays. With this being said; one of the most important roles in this act is represented by fate vs. free will. Fate is defined as a destiny that every person will have in the future while, free will is defined as a choice that every person choose to do it. In this Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth the main character of the play including Lady Macbeth and Banquo fate plays an important role in the life’s of this three characters. But most importantly Macbeth have being consider also a free will person since the beginning of the play because the witches prophesy said that he will became the King of Scotland and Thane of Cawdor. While Banquo will be considered the father of kings. If Macbeth didn’t believe the witches prophesy the play would be a different play.

As the play opens, we see Macbeth receiving prophecies from the three witches determining his fate. His is baffled by their predictions and is humbled by them when they refer to him as “Thane of Cawdor”. This act is the only time we see Macbeth as an ambitious but still humble soul. Furthermore, after Macbeth receives their reading he develops an overwhelming desire for prestige and power. His wife, Lady Macbeth, supports him in his endeavors, but once she discovers that her husbands “fate” for power could be blocked by Duncan she deems him a dead man.