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Free Will In Macbeth

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The Destiny of Macbeth Fate has already sealed Macbeth’s destiny to become King of Scotland, yet he uses his free will to commit a series of immoral acts to better his chances of becoming king. Macbeth’s initial reaction was to let destiny take its course, “If chance will have me as king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir. “Afterwards, he decides to alter what he thought was inevitable to better his chances of becoming and remaining King of Scotland. Macbeth’s actions counteract with the fate given to him by the witches. At the beginning of Act 1, Macbeth met the three witches who greeted him as Thane of Cawdor and future King. Macbeth was confused because the Thane of Cawdor still lived. Shortly thereafter, Ross and Angus came
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Can someone force you to commit an act they believe is wrong? Here are two aspects of our lives that we control. You have control of yourself you choose what you want to do in your life no one chooses it for you. You also have control of the decisions you make it can be good or bad. If you do something good you choose to do that no anybody else.

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Everyday, these events play out… Do we consciously make these decisions? This essay, the fact that it has been written, was this all determined beforehand? Or, is it by our own free will? In his fictional story Macbeth, Shakespeare uses a common universal proverb, figurative speech (personification), and ____ to deepen the idea and our understanding of fate and free will.

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Macbeth and Free Will When a child breaks something and blames it on their imaginary friend, not many people believe them. The same should go for Macbeth. Many claim that his actions are caused by a curse, fate, or some other powerful force. While other do influence Macbeth’s actions, such as the weird sister and Lady Macbeth, he is still responsible for everything he did. Macbeth comes up with the idea of murder, doesn’t listen to his conscience, and allows himself to become invested in the prophecy; ultimately, Macbeth is responsible for all of his actions.

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William Shakespeare, a globally renowned playwright who is known for over thirty plays, wrote everything under the sun: from comedic and romantic to historic and dramatic. Shakespeare was particularly skilled at writing tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, and most notably Macbeth, to name a few. Macbeth focuses on the character Macbeth and his rise to the Scottish throne in a blood-thirsty, heinous fashion; the death count rises to double digits, an astounding ten people—Macbeth included. While not all of these deaths were at the hands of the Scot, an overwhelming amount was (over five!) causing great debate over who is to blame and whether or not the death toll was of Macbeth’s free will.

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In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare uses side characters to amplify Macbeth's true ambitions, which lead him to kill the king. Leaving fate behind and only the will of evil Macbeth to display the consequences of disrupting God and the natural order. After a battle, Banquo and Macbeth encounter three witches who prophesy that Macbeth will become king. At first, he considers this fate, but eventually, his ambitions come into play, causing him to kill King Duncan. Macbeth's contemplation, "If chance will have me, king, why, chance may/crown me/

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496 Words | 2 Pages

As long as man controls the fate or destiny of others, confirms that there is no natural way of living. In the play Macbeth, man have controlled each other's fate of destiny by commands. During the murder of King Duncan, Banquo got commanded awake,”Shake off this downy sleep, death’s counterfeit,”by Lenox, (2.3.88.92) meaning wake up death is here near us. Throughout the book Banquo has gotten commands from other people but this command was telling him to stay awake because of the death of a king and not just any king, but king Duncan and when that happened Banquo now knows what the the future of his destiny would be. Later in the book Banquo talks about,“There’s husbandry in heaven;/

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771 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeth had been one of the more popular works of Shakespeare. Like many of his other dramas, the play was a tragedy. Like many of Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth itself portrays many themes. One recurring theme is the controlling of one’s fate by external forces. Macbeth tells us that fate may be determined, but the way it comes about is through your free will or a man’s free choice.

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The Consequences of Free Will In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, fate and free will play a large part throughout the story. Macbeth has to make difficult choices that impact how everything turns out in the end. The witches’ predictions, guilt, and Macbeth’s actions based on the predictions cause events that could happen in the story to change when they take matters into their own hands.

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“If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare 144). Macbeth, a loyal subject to his king has an encounter that will change his fate with an ultimate effect on his free will. They claim three predictions, Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor and later crowned King but Macbeths lineage will not maintain the throne. After this supernatural confrontation, Macbeth questions this loyalty which will ultimately lead to his new fate carried out (LitCharts 1). Fully capable to act upon his own free will, Macbeth instead is driven by fate to his destruction which gives further insight of his character advancement.

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Although, he feels the need to be king as soon as possible and do whatever it takes to get there as soon as possible. Instead of fate occurring like someone or something else killing the King Macbeth does it himself. There was no need to kill him, yet Macbeth used free choice instead of fate to become the king. Secondly, Macbeth also choses free choice instead of fate when he decides to kill Macduff’s family.

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1619 Words | 7 Pages

Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!...that shalt be king hereafter (Act 1, Scene 3).” The play Macbeth starts off with the three witches telling Macbeth and Banquo that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and then he will become king. Soon after, Macbeth learns that King Duncan has named him as the Thane of Cawdor. With this, Macbeth begins to believe that the witches’ prophecies must be true and is determined to become king. He says, “Let not light see my black and deep desires (Act 1, Scene 4),” implying that he has the inner desire to now become king.

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One of the most critical ideas surrounding tragedies is fate and destiny. The idea that an individual’s life is predetermined is associated with many great works of Shakespeare, and transcending through stories, if human beings have free will. If all humans carry free will, does that mean that all humans are responsible for their crimes and inhumanities. Undoubtedly, both topics are explored through the play, but Macbeth corrupts himself with his own destructive actions. The Tragedy of Macbeth stems from the fearless, hero of Scotland who then turned into a ruthless king who will kill anyone he sees as a threat.

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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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723 Words | 3 Pages

Fate Versus Free Will In Macbeth Fate versus free will is a theme well known throughout literature and in life as well. Is life controlled by fate, or are people’s lives dependent on the choices they make? In Macbeth, Shakespeare emphasizes the idea of fate vs. freewill, indicating that both elements play a role in the lives of individuals, as well as society as a whole. The main character, Macbeth’s, life is a combination of fate and his conscious decisions. The witches in Macbeth can control the fates of many, but only to a point.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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