Macbeth: Free Will or Pre-Determined?
If you have read any of William Shakespeare’s plays, you may have wondered if the characters’ destinies have been pre-determined or are being altered by the characters’ actions. For instance, when you read “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, you may have wondered if Macbeth’s destiny is pre-determined or if it is self-altered. Some people believe another force controls Macbeth’s life, and that everything is pre-determined. While the other side believes his destiny has been pre-determined. The book supports both sides but one side outweighs the other with the amount of evidence it has. Let us take a look at the first side, the people who believe that Macbeth’s free will is deciding his destiny.
The main claim of the first side is that Macbeth’s destiny is being altered as he makes decisions throughout “The Tragedy of Macbeth” instead of being
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They may have evidence about Macbeth’s destiny being altered and determined by his decisions but they are not seeing the amount of evidence that the other side has. The side that believes that Macbeth’s destiny has been pre-determined outweighs the other side with the amount of concrete evidence it has. A quote that supports Macbeth’s destiny being controlled by something else is “First Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Glamis!/Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor!/Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.51-53). This quote tells us that the three witches are making a spell and making a prophecy that Macbeth will become ruler of Glamis, Cawdor, and Scotland. They are controlling his destiny in this quote by creating a prophecy that tells us what is going to happen to Macbeth in the end. We know that they are writing his destiny because we have seen them use their supernatural powers earlier in the
Throughout the play, the witches’ control over Macbeth developed into a strong tie with his choices. By prophesying to him, the witches essentially planted the seed that grew to dominate Macbeth’s mind. This is shown when Macbeth says, “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (1.3.70). Once Macbeth notices the prophecies becoming a reality, he starts to think about becoming king, thus fulfilling all the prophecies. Aside, Macbeth says,, “Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme” (1.3.128-129).
Throughout the story, Macbeth is haunted by visions that symbolze his guilt and fear of punishment. these visions are a result of his own choices and actions, which lead him down a path of destruction. Although the witches prophecies do set Macbeth on a certain path, it is his own actions that lead him to murder and ignore the moral and ethical considerations that would have stopped from doing so. The prophecy may have played a role in his initial decision making, it was ultimately Macbeths own choices that determined his fate. The prophecy delivered by the 3 witches was the driving force behind his
Importance of control elsewhere in the play • How control is shown • Reasons for control within the play Control is a recurring theme in the play "Macbeth" as it warns the audience of the repercussions of trying to control your fate. The first key event where control features in a significant way is the witches' prophecies. They tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland which establishes the importance of fate. Shakespeare conveys the witches as agents of evil that are deceptive and dangerous, "oftentimes to win us to our harm/the instruments of darkness tell us truths," showing that they use truth itself to influence a horrible outcome (Macbeth's tragic demise.) Their message is compelling and attractive and we
Fate or choices; it is often argued which of the two should be credited for the way life is played out. When it comes to Macbeth all of the events within his life are caused by fate. Some people might disagree, but it is true. If the text was analyzed deeply the answer are right there. Fate is the one that should be credited for the events in Macbeth’s life, not choice.
Caliana Hoffmann Mr. Knapp English, Per 6 21 March, 2022 Macbeth Essay Is free will a choice, do you decide for yourself if you are going to let something control your life or are you going to take control and make decisions for yourselves? The concept of free will has been questioned throughout recorded human history. Shakespeare gives an example of this in his play Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth the three witches play an important role.
Macbeth sees these apparitions to be sweet omens. Well, he deceives himself when he says that. The witches plan to make these apparitions seem like sweet omens to Macbeth yet at the same time the truth. And it consequently comes true for Macbeth.
In many circumstances it can be hard to understand why something happened, especially whether it was fate or free will. If it was fate then what was going to happen was already decided, and if it was free will then whatever the character chooses will result in a different ending. In Macbeth, a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, Lord Macbeth receives multiple prophecies that end up coming true which leads many to believe that all of his actions are a result of fate, but along the way it is shown that Macbeth tends to make his own decisions showing that it could also be a result of free will. Even though Macbeth wasn’t able to escape his fate or prove that the witches prophecies were false, Macbeth's downfall was a result of free will, seeing that he made
Free will is an individuals own ability to choose what happens next, it is their own decision and can be seen in humans as early as a toddler who is told by their parents to not touch something. It’s that little child ’s free will that is put to the test and some will listen and not touch the item while others cave into the desire and do the opposite of what’s told. The focus of William Shakespeare's Macbeth is on a Scottish soldier named Macbeth who becomes engrossed with the prophecy from three witches which says he will be crowned as king.
" In other words, the witches may have laced their prophecy with truth in order to make Macbeth sin. Furthermore, when the witches
Firstly, the witches could have complete power over Macbeth’s destiny while he has no control whatsoever. On the other hand, there is also the argument that Macbeth carves his own path due to his ambitious nature. However, the witches cannot control the fate of Macbeth because we control our own fates, and our own actions in the present are what shapes our future. Macbeth is seen as a very ambitious character from the start of the play while fighting against the rebels, to the end when he is slain. How he decides he uses his ambition
Many people have the ability to choose between different courses of action throughout their life. Along with everyone else, Macbeth had the same opportunity to make choices out of free will rather than letting fate carve a path for him. In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is aware of his fate due to the prophecies of the three witches, but he rather take matters into his own hands to challenge his fate. After Macbeth recognizes his urge to become king he kills Duncan with the help of his wife, Lady Macduff. After killing Duncan, Macbeth has a guilty conscience that is taking over him.
At the start of the play, Macbeth visits the witches with Banquo at the closing of the battle. The witches speak to Macbeth and Banquo and get the idea of a prophecy in Macbeth’s mind. “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” (1.3.46-48). When the witches get the prophecy in Macbeth’s mind, he believes it will come true and misunderstands the prophecy of the witches. Although the witches make Macbeth believe in the prophecy of becoming the King, Macbeth is responsible for his downfall because they do not recommend Macbeth to kill Duncan.
Macbeth cannot control his paranoia and hallucinations, but he can control his actions towards the prophecies he 's given in the beginning. By the end of the play, his paranoia led to his lonely demise which showed how he believed in the prophecies. Macbeth’s control over his destiny reflects on what the play is teaching us overall. A way Macbeth is in control of his destiny is when he believes in the prophecies.
If Macbeth had not have his own free will, they wouldn’t have all of these trouble. “Hell is murky!-Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?-Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” (5.1.30-34). Murder of Macduff’s family and Banquo has weigh heavily on lady Macbeth mind and become mentally ill and no doctor can cure her.
Free Will over Fate in Macbeth This theory is obvious in a scene, where Macbeth is consciously deciding to kill king Duncan. In Act 1, Scene 3 he states: - “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function, is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is, but what is not” (Macbeth 1.3.138-141). We observe his conscious unstable thought processes about contemplating and planning the murder of Duncan emerging shortly after hearing the prophecy, and before Lady Macbeth could hear the message and influence his decision.