Fate And Freewill In Macbeth And Oedipus The King

Culture Affecting the Idea of Fate and Freewill

Most people today no longer have beliefs in prophecies but Macbeth and Oedipus do just that. The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare and Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles both introduce the idea of fate and freewill. Although Oedipus is influenced by fate and Macbeth is influenced by freewill, both cultures, Ancient Greece and the Elizabethan Era, influenced their belief in prophecies.

Oedipus did not purposely choose to murder his father or bed his mother, he was purely oblivious to these facts. His fate was already established by his true parents. Since oedipus “[is] who he says,” he has to be “born cursed” (1210). In Ancient Greece culture, the people's fate was written the day they were born and they had to say to

Ancient Greece believed on pleasing the Gods while the elizabethan Era believed everything was tied together but most importantly, both cultures believed in prophecies. In both stories there are multiple occurrences where prophecies are brought up. For example in The Tragedy of Macbeth when the three witches went to Macbeth and acknowledged him of the fact that he will become king. The three witches took turns, “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/ All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (I. iii. 3). These lines show the prophecy of Macbeth becoming the king. In Oedipus Rex when Queen Jocasta says, “A prophecy came to Laius once - .... that death would come to him from his children” (740). King Laius knew that Oedipus would cause his death so he tried to vanquish Oedipus by stranding him on top of a mountain.Oedipus still ended up killing his father and bedding his mother; therefore, he had no say in his fate and was not capable of changing the prophecy. Culture has affected the belief in prophecies throughout both