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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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