The Free Will of Macbeth Essay

In many stories fate is said to determine the paths that people lead in their lives. However, even though some events can seem like fate to the people experiencing them, these people always made their own decisions that led to them. Although some of the events in the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare may lead readers to believe that fate determined many of Macbeth’s actions, the truth is that Macbeth made all of the decisions in the story through his own free will.

The story of Macbeth, a tragic hero with an extreme ambition, written by William Shakespeare included the suffering of Macbeth by free will. Macbeth actions showed that he seemed to be a victim of his own desires. Although the witches did give him prophesies he molded his own way of getting them. "if chance will have me King/Why chance may crown me/ Without my stir."(1.3.144-149.) Showing that if the future given to him is destined he shouldn’t have to influence it by any chance for it to become true.

With the first prophecy coming true, Macbeth believes that the witches truly know his destiny, though he goes out of his way to make them happen. In reality it is purely coincidental. Before the two murderers leave to kill Banquo, Macbeth says “Rather than so, come fate into the list,/ And champion me to the utterance! (3.1.70-71). At this point, Macbeth is confronting fate head on. He wants to fight his destiny until the very end, no matter how bitter it may be. At the end of this scene, Macbeth explains that Fleance also “must embrace the fate/Of that dark hour” (3.1.136-137). Macbeth feels that Fleance’s fate is that he will be murdered as well. Macbeth takes the witches’ prophecies literally in all instances, when he should have interpreted them more, such as the “born of a woman” prophecy. Rather than thinking through what the Weird Sisters tell him, and letting events pan out as they will, he (and those around him) take matters into their own hands and try and manipulate the situation to make the prophecy come true. Because of this, it is unclear whether or not these are self-fulfilling prophecy. We’ll never know whether or not Macbeth would have become king without murdering Duncan, or if Banquo’s descendants would be king. Most of Macbeth’s actions are also controlled by others, such as Lady Macbeth, though the fact that Macbeth

While Macbeth frequently blames the misfortune in his life on fate, it is obvious that he is making conscious decisions with repercussions. When Macbeth is informed that Duncan has named Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, he makes a resolute decision. He decides that he is not going to wait any longer for his

Macbeth’s doubts in his fate that the witches deliver to him begins to disappear after he was later awarded the title of thane of Cawdor. This is the first example of fate influencing Macbeth’s life.

The idea of Free Will has been around since the beginning of time, notable texts from the Bible to works of William Shakespeare reference the idea. During the last few months we have studied the play ‘Macbeth’ written by William Shakespeare. In the play Shakespeare highlights the theme of ‘Fate and Free Will.’ As readers we must question whether it is Macbeth's fate to be a traitor and a tyrant? Or did he freely choose his actions. Did Macbeth have a choice in following the prophecy given to him by the three witches? Or was Macbeth always power hungry and the prophecy only sparked an idea inside Macbeth. The final option is that fate and free will worked together to secure Macbeth's destiny. But what exactly is free will anyways? Free will is defined as the ability to do whatever we want, as individuals, independent from determining factors, such as genetics, or supernatural forces. However, the existence of free will cannot be easily proven and

General Statement: Some people believe that everyone’s destiny is already written in the stars, while others believe that everything that happens to a person is based on their previous actions. One of Shakespeare’s famous plays, Macbeth demonstrates the tragic downfall of the main character (Macbeth). The play contains many supernatural aspects. An ongoing debate is whether or not Macbeth’s downfall is the result of fate or freewill. Although a lot of things interfere with Macbeths decision making, ultimately Macbeth is responsible for his ignorant actions, that lead up to his death. Fate cannot be put to blame.

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, fate and choice is a recurring theme. Throughout the play it is evident that while something may be fated to happen, it is the character's own free will that choices that make this happen.

Fate is often verbalized to be fine-tuned and fortune is by one’s own chance. The witches express to Macbeth he is going to be king but, what they do not tell him is how he will achieve the denomination of the king. His destiny is to become king but how exactly he goes about becoming the king is all up to him. Fate may dictate what is going to happen but destiny comes by chance. The way Macbeth chooses to become king is by his own free will.

Written during the early 17th century, literary tragedies of the time often have a protagonist with power and insight, yet he or she has an imperfection that in to blame for their downfall. In order to popularize his work, William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is believed to be made to curry favor King James I due to the inclusion of the supernatural witches. The play’s namesake, Macbeth, encounters the three witches and learns that he will become the King of Scotland with supernatural help; but not without ambition.

Fate versus free will is a common theme explored in many plays, just like in MacBeth. It makes the reader ask the question: Do I have control over the events of my life or not? In MacBeth, this theme begins to be explored when the three witches approach MacBeth and warn him about his future as being a thane and after that a king. I believe we have the free will to control until a certain point the things that happen in our lives. if MacBeth was not so greedy and had a stronger personality he would not be willing to do anything to become a king, and would have not become one and lost his life. He was responsible for becoming a thane, not because the witches told him, but because he was a great warrior and made great accomplishments. The reason

The idea of fate is a strange concept. No matter what decisions you make, it will always have the same outcome. It is hard to grasp, and if Macbeth had been given a different destiny by the three witches, then he might have reacted in a different and more frantic manner.

Might be the be-all and the end-all here”. In Macbeth, the witches tell Macbeth he’s going to become King, however the current King is still alive, so he had the choice to wait it out or to kill the current king and his successors. This shows what destiny has predicted, but in Macbeth’s free will he did something different which is a result of ambition. Individually people understand even if things are predicted people choose rather to be what is predicted or not which is free will.

The characters searching for power in Macbeth show us through their actions that the decisions we make determine our destiny.

Might be the be-all and the end-all here”. In Macbeth, the witches tell Macbeth he’s going to become King, however the current King is still alive, so he had the choice to wait it out or to kill the current king and his successors. This shows what destiny has predicted, but in Macbeth’s free will he did something different because of ambition. We see even if things are predicted we choose rather to be what is predicted or not which is your free will. “After all, if everything is predetermined,