The Inevitable Fate or the Result of Free Will

Disraeli’s quotation, “Circumstances are beyond the control of man; but his conduct is his own power”, means that people can express free will, can make their own decisions, and can express their own personality, but they do not have control of their fates. In Oedipus the King and Macbeth, the eponymous characters hear their own prophecy. They have free will, but they cannot alter the prophecy.

One of the themes in Oedipus the King is that characters fight against their fates. However, their efforts do not stop the prophecy from being fulfilled. For example, the prophecy states that Laius and Jocasta’s son will kill his father and marry his mother. Therefore, Laius and Jocasta choose to defy fate. They injure Oedipus’ knee and abandoned him so that he would not come back home, but the prophecy still comes true. This shows that although the characters have power to make their own decisions, they do not have enough power to stop the prophecy from being fulfilled. Oedipus hears from a drunken man that he is not his father’s son and decides to hear the truth about his birth from the oracle of Delphi: “And so, / unknown to mother and father I set out for Delphi” (868-9). It is Oedipus’ own choice to confirm the validity of the rumor; however, he only learns about his tragic fate. After hearing the prophecy, he chooses to run away from Corinth to defy the prophecy. This shows that free will is limited such that characters do not have enough power to change their fate. Characters in Oedipus the King persistently try to alter the prophecy, but their efforts do not change the prophecy.

Oedipus is responsible for his own flaws; his fate is only a consequence of his behaviors. Another theme in Oedipus the King is that excessive ...

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...by saying that if the murderers were real men, they would have the courage to kill Banquo. Thus, the murderers ruthlessly kill Banquo. Young Sidward is a bold, yet daring son of the English Commander. He decides to ask Macbeth for name. Therefore, he believes that if he kills the tyrant, he will be a man. Although he does not succeed in killing Macbeth, he is courageous to face the king, yet ruthless because he wants to slay the king. His ruthlessness and courage deemed him to be a man: “he only lived but till he was a man” (5.8.45). Young Sidward chooses to fight against Macbeth, but the prophecy did not change. Young Sidward is unsuccessful because he was born from a woman’s womb.

Characters in Oedipus the King and Macbeth have the power to choose their own actions, but they do not have control over their fate. The choices they make are from their own free will.