The comparison between Fate and Free Will has been going on for centuries. Fate is like what is pre-decided for what is going to happen in the future. Everyone wants to have a choice in life and be free. Sometimes having the opportunity to choose something can make it harder for that person. Throughout the play, Macbeth fights himself on whether or not to go through all of these horrendous courses to become king. He knows it is not the right thing to do, but he has Lady Macbeth telling him to do everything, even when it’s wrong. The three evil sisters are not much help either. They keep feeding him these predictions and make him believe that he has control over what is to come. Macbeth becomes very torn, but winds up listening to his wife and the three witches. He has no excuse for his actions because he had many chances to fix or change them. Macbeth's ruinous decisions and actions are initiated by free will and eventually leads to his death.
The witches predicted many things including that Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis. When the three witches are together they express these predictions: “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (I. iii. 48-50). These profound words help illuminating the idea that the three witches came up with a prediction that Macbeth will indeed become not only king, but also Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis. Some may feel that there is no way that these three evil sisters can foresee the future. The only way to find out if they are telling the truth is to wait and see what the outcome is. Clearly, Macbeth is listening to the witches because who wouldn’t want to hear that he...
... middle of paper ...
...rom wrong anymore because he does not know who is wrong and who is wrong.
Fate vs. Free Will is a huge theme in Macbeth. Many people argue over whether or not Macbeth has power over the witches and Lady Macbeth. He freely chooses to kill Duncan and also kill every other character that died. The three evil sisters did affect his decision making, but not at all told him what to do. Therefore, free will overpowers fate in this play. Some may say that Macbeth took control of his fate, but that is the same thing as having free will. As the reader can see, Macbeth is not an independent individual. He needs to learn how to say no when someone tells him to do something. All of Macbeth’s decisions and actions are the result of free will. Sometimes it is not advantageous to have free will because the decisions made during that time can come back and haunt someone.
Throughout the story Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth seemed to just be a victim of “fate”. But, in the end it was clear that his character gained power over that “fate”, at least he gained power over
...ueled by the debate of Fate vs. Free Will. It is unclear at first whether the events that take place, occur because they are supposed to, or because Macbeth makes them. Through further investigation it becomes clear that Macbeth is corrupting his own idea of fate, by using his free will. He thinks that his fate is something he is able to control, and continually takes steps to ensure that. While he may think what happens to him is fate, it is not. He completely takes his life into his own hands, and makes it his own. He hears what the sisters have to say, and makes his own judgments accordingly. Macbeth is a character that hears a profound destiny for himself, but shapes it in his own way.
Literary critics take issue over the quantity of leverage in which fate is utilized on the Macbeths in the Shakespearean drama Macbeth. Fate was quite prestigious, but it did not damage their free will; they remained free moral representatives who determinedly and voluntarily relinquished themselves to the evil propositions of fate. The three weird sisters approach Macbeth with prophecies that will all come true in the end. It will appear that Macbeth is just following destiny at first. However, Macbeth always had a choice throughout the play to choose his own fate. Did Macbeth journey to his murderous doom through his own free choice, or fate. Even if there is a choice that Macbeth had, he always had a gut feeling I assume, and that I see as fate.
In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth acts on free will as opposed to fate. The definition of free will is having the ability to make a choice; including the possession of options, logical reasoning for choosing each option, as well as understanding the consequences of each decision. Macbeth obeys all the criteria, using “fate” as an excuse to act like a murder-crazy lunatic, ultimately resulting in his demise.
In Macbeth Fate vs Free Will is firstly is shown when the Sergeant says “And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution,” ( ) the sergeant implies that Macbeth should have been killed but he was somehow stronger than his own fate. However, the sergeant continues to say that he may have defeated his own fate now, but it will soon catch up to him later. This is foreshadowing his inevitable demise proving the theory of fate. Although, it would also be misleading to say that the sergeant understands fate, instead he could have thought logically because after all Macbeth did undergo a hard battle and so the sergeant could have been surprised he
In the tragedy “Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare, Macbeths free will is shown as he tries to take what is his. “Macbeth” is about a Scottish troop (Macbeth) and his friend Banquo. Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches whom tell them about a prophecy that involves Macbeth and Banquo’s son. One of the prophecies was that Macbeth would become king. The prophecy makes Macbeth’s mind corrupted making him pursue dark actions to overthrow King Duncan. Macbeth’s free will is exhibited by the way he has the inspiration to control what he does throughout the tragedy. People may say that it is fate because the prophecy states that Macbeth will be king, but it also states that Banquo’s sons will be kings in
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Fate and free will both have a strong rooting in the play Macbeth. The role of fate was to tell Macbeth that he was one day to become king of Scotland. Fate was not the cause of Macbeth’s downfall. The actions made under Macbeth’s free will are the sole reason for his own downfall. Macbeth was afraid that he might not become king, so he took matters into his own hands to be absolutely sure he would attain the throne. He decided to leave out chance and take the throne for himself by killing Duncan. By leaving out chance, Macbeth left out the chance for fate to bring his downfall.
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 therefore symbolic of the unpredictable force of human motivation." The magic of the witches is thus an image of human moral disruption. Through their own uncertain nature, they demonstrate- and promote- the disruption in the world of they play.
Fate also plays a role in the death of Macbeth. Because the witches were right about Macbeth's life the first time, he believed them a second time, which led to his death. They told him that he should watch out for MacDuff, that he could not be harmed by any man who was born of a woman, and that he would reign until Birnam wood came to Dunsinane hill. This gave Macbeth a false sense of security and made him think that no one could ever harm him. However, the weird sisters' twisted words gave fate the chance to cause Macbeth's ruin when an army concealed by the branches of Birnam wood came to Dunsinane hill to bring Macbeth down.
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s destiny is determined by the choices he makes. The first hint to the reader of Macbeth’s choices comes as a warning from Banquo to Macbeth about believing the witches, or Weird Sisters. Once Macbeth starts to believe the witches, this belief facilitates his decisions to take certain actions. Macbeth’s choice to believe the witches also gives them control over him, which further illustrates how Macbeth’s destiny is fated by his choice to believe them. Throughout the play Macbeth has opportunities to stop believing in the witches, thereby choosing actions that might avoid a harmful fate. It is Macbeth’s free choice to believe the witches or not, and it is this choice and his resulting actions that leads to his fate.
How much of an influence does fate have on the ideals of a person? Is Macbeth acting out the selfish desires of his own accord? Fate is thought to be unavoidable, and all the paths of life lead to a destiny that is inescapable. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, not only is Macbeth’s hand forced in committing a murder, his fate is expedited in the process. Macbeth is in control of his own destiny, but is spurned into decisions by the Witches and his wife. Although Macbeth believes he is controlled by fate, a more thorough inspection reveals his control over all his actions.
...his wife caused Macbeth to kill the King, kill his best friend Banquo, and kill his counterpart Macduff’s family. These choices eventually caused his downfall; in the form of a beheading by Macduff. The concept of fate against free will is often examined in Macbeth, which is what Shakespeare wanted people to do, and in real life. Many people believe that everyone controls their own destiny; that the outcome of their life is based upon the decisions they make. Others conclude that people have a set path through life. Some conceive the idea that life is a mix of both, where people’s decisions have an impact on their life, just not on the outcome. The concept of “fate vs. free will” will continue to be examined, and plays like Shakespeare’s Macbeth allow people to do that.
The first argument for Macbeth being predestined arises in the first Act when the witches called themselves the “weird” sisters: “The weird sisters hand in hand” (I.iii. line 32). At the time of Macbeth’s writing, weird did not mean strange or unusual as it does today. Weird was derived from the Old English word wyrd, meaning fate.1 Essentially, the witches were calling themselves the “fate” sisters. As defined by Merriam-Webster, fate is “an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end.” 2 Based on this definition, the women of fate appear to have either been controlling the way history played out, or they had the ability to see what was going to happen. Either way, Macbeth had no control over his life so he was basically a pawn on a bloody chess board moving about under the control of “fate.”
Whether or not the concept of fate is legitimate is regularly debated by many people. Some believe that the events of one’s life are predetermined by a supernatural power, out of human control. Others believe that free will allows us to create our own fate, and that one’s decisions determine how the events of one’s life play out. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, both fate and free will are predominant themes in the play. The ever-present supernatural aspect of the play can create an interesting debate over whether or not Macbeth’s downfall could have played out differently, or even been avoided completely. The witches’ prophecies had an impact on Macbeth’s actions, however, it is ultimately free-will that causes his downfall.