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Fate And Free Will In Macbeth

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Throughout all of the history of literature, themes have been the backbone of every story ever written. From ancient epic poems, to modern day stories, authors have always had a reason for writing or telling. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses multiple themes to to teach a lesson. They include Macbeth’s ambition to become king to his downfall, to fate and free will, as well as the transformation of guilt and conscience. Shakespeare uses these to subtly give a hidden meaning and is able to do it very effectively. A very prominent theme throughout Macbeth is his greed and downfall. In the beginning of the play, he starts out a very humble character. He is a thane that is not very significant. However, after saving the Scottish from being defeated by …show more content…

Is there a fate that is unavoidable or can we change the future? By the way Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, it seemed that he saw fate as inevitable. In the start of the play, the witches tell Macbeth, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”. They also tell Banquo that his descendants shall be kings. The thing is that they do not tell how it will happen. As a result, Macbeth in the next chapter kills King Duncan. This leads to Macbeth becoming king as Malcolm and Donalbain are suspected of murdering the king for their own gain. For years, Macbeth remains the King of Scotland. He eventually becomes a tyrant, and is taken down by Malcolm and Macduff. The other part of the prophecy is that Banquo will not be king, but his descendants will. Although we never see Banquo’s son become king, we can infer it through the ending of the play. After Banquo realizes that Macbeth killed Duncan in order that he would become king, he is killed, so that he never becomes the king. However, Macbeth plan was to kill both Banquo as well as his son Fleance. The plan fails, as Fleance escapes the assassination attempt, and leaves the prophecy to be fulfilled. Fate, as the play tells, is something that cannot be fought with and won. However much Macbeth wanted for his descendants to have the throne, they would not. It was destined for Banquo’s

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Themes in Macbeth Macbeth is play about craving power, contemplating your gender, and being defeated by your own ambition. These three themes in Macbeth have one general word in common its, Macbeth. Not only was Macbeth a power-hungry man defeated by his own ambitions, but also got look down upon especially by his wife for his unmanliness. He had one main goal in mind, to be king, and he wouldn’t let anyone or anything get in his way, even if that meant killing everyone in his path.

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Although Banquo would never be king, his son Fleance would be named head of the throne in the future. Macbeth became very jealous and thought that his friend, Banquo might suspect him of killing Duncan. Banquo is a brave and wise man. These qualities allow Macbeth to see Banquo as a rival.

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946 Words | 4 Pages

Additionally, the source heard discussion that “[Banquo] shalt get kings, though [Banquo] be none” (1.3.70). The only person besides the witches and Banquo to know that prophecy is Macbeth. It makes perfect sense. Macbeth kills Duncan to make Banquo believe Fleance will obtain the throne. As soon as Banquo becomes suspicious of Macbeth's actions, Macbeth kills him.

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778 Words | 4 Pages

The debate of fate vs free will controlling our decisions has gone on for centuries. It is also a prominent subject in William Ernest Henley 's poem Invictus, which strongly promotes the idea of free will in the midst of challenges, and in William Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth goes through a mental deterioration, due to his actions in his quest to become king. At first, Macbeth meets three witches who give him a prophecy that he would be king, with some uneasiness and some help from his wife he kills the king and takes the throne and then continues to kill all of his threats. Fate can not be a reasoning for his actions; the idea of fate is rather a disguise for one’s results.

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1525 Words | 7 Pages

William Shakespeare is considered as one of the best play writers in history. One of his most well known plays is Macbeth where a Scottish general named Macbeth has a strong desire to be king which leads him to betray and murder his king, Duncan. He also kills the nobles who have been loyal to him in order to maintain his title as king. Throughout this play, Shakespeare uses the motif of ambition, guilt, and fate to characterize the characters, show the different themes present within the play, and how the motifs are still relevant today.

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1532 Words | 7 Pages

Lady Macbeth makes our protagonist feel like little of a man, who, found in a sea of doubts and confused ideas, makes the decision to kill Duncan and become the new sovereign. So do witches have the power to predict the future? Or is it simply the ambition of both Macbeths that ended up happening what the witches expected? These ideas of "fate" are similar to what Luther said in "An Attack on Free Will."

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263 Words | 2 Pages

In the play Macbeth, the story and characters are largely affected by the concept of self-fulfilling prophecies. One way the story is changed through this is when a person hears of his fate, and choosing not to do anything about it. Out of all the people, this only happens with Banquo. He is told that his descendents will become Kings, and then moves on, not twisting his actions in any way to force the events to come true. While it isn’t quite as expected, it provides an interesting comparison against an individual who does try to fulfill the prediction.

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771 Words | 4 Pages

Second, an example of fate working was the murder of Banquo. In the text, the witches told Banquo: “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none...”(Act I, scene III). Macbeth thought that Banquo would steal his throne; yet he didn't want to do the deed himself, so he hired three murderers to kill Banquo. However what the witches said was true, then Banquo didn't have the chance to become king, so Macbeth didn't have to kill him.

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After achieving the title of the King of Scotland, Macbeth wants to secure his position as the king and desires to inherit the Scottish throne to his ancestors. His aim was showed in “To be thus is nothing, /But to be safely thus” (III, i, 52-3). This quote reveals that Macbeth not only wanted to become the king but also wants to secure his position as the King of Scotland for the welfare of his upcoming generation. This reveals Macbeth’s is implying the witches’ prophecies; as long Banquo’s sons live, Macbeth’s throne would not be able to inherit down to his ancestors. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as represented through, “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, /If

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1177 Words | 5 Pages

In Macbeth and the Shakespearean narrative pieces there are numerous themes, Macbeth ties in the corruption of man when he is given the opportunity to listen to the prophecies or not. Macbeth ties in the power of ambition, how ambitious does he need to be to do what needs to be done to secure his spot on the throne according to the prophecy. The role of men vs. women, the men do all the fighting and work, the women cook and clean and anything else that is needed. Tyrannical leadership, Macbeth spends lots of his times just killing off leaders that are told to become an obstacle for Macbeth in the future. Loyalty or lack thereof, who is truly loyal to Macbeth, who is just going to stab him in the back in the end.

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552 Words | 3 Pages

(No Fear Shakespeare) but that just gave him more confidence to be on the throne. The third prophecy said, “Banquo, although he shall not himself rule in Scotland, will be father to future generations of kings. Immediately” (Macbeth). Macbeth’s ambition growth, when he found out so he sent the murders to kill Banquo and Fleance his son to keep them from getting the crown. The forth prophecy said, “Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.

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527 Words | 3 Pages

This demonstrates that rather let Banquo be king, he is going to challenge and fight him for his crown. Banquo is the only person that knows about the prophecy and he is also suspicious of Macbeth killing Duncan. Instead of letting Banquo's’ son receiving the crown easily, Macbeth is going to challenge him for the crown. In order that Macbeth can be king, he has to kill Banquo and his son, so they don’t take crown from

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835 Words | 4 Pages

To mention, Banquo is faced with a similar prophecy like Macbeth. When the witches approached the pair, they said to Banquo “Thou hast get Kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo! Banquo and Macbeth, all hail” (I.3.36) Even though, it is said that Banquo’s descendants will become King while Macbeth will become King in his lifetime.

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781 Words | 4 Pages

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the witches informs Macbeth of his fate that he will become the king in the future. Macbeth believes the witches words and Lady Macbeth persuade him to become the king and murder all the people that get in the way. Shakespeare shows us that fate is complicated by our actions, Macbeth will do anything to meet his fate that in the end lead him to his death because of his greediness.

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1021 Words | 5 Pages

He goes from being a loyal soldier to a cruel tyrant killing all of his enemies. In the beginning of the play he is presented as a loyal soldier to King Duncan and he is widely respected and admired by people. It can seem questionable as to why Macbeth is an antagonist when he has the trope of a hero. Despite that image, his inner thoughts begin to reveal themselves, showing another side to Macbeth that people don’t know about. Macbeth soon admits to his dark lust for power and status beyond his capability.

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