Macbeth Free Will Quotes

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. Throughout the play, the reader sees how his character undergoes an fast change from once being considered an honest and loyal man to a crazed lying murderer. This drastic character change is all caused

However, when the witches prophesize, that Macbeth will become the king of Scotland, Macbeth's ambition takes over, and he begins to consider the possibility of fulfilling this prophecy. Although he initially ignores the idea, his ambition and desire for power lead him to commit murder. As Macbeth himself acknowledges, "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other" (Shakespeare I.7.25-28). This quote reveals that Macbeth's ambition is the driving force behind his decision to kill King Duncan. Despite knowing that murdering a king is a terrible crime, Macbeth chooses to go through with the plan because he wants to become the king

Despite this, it is important to acknowledge that he has complete control over his actions in response to these two external factors. The witches predict that Macbeth will become King of Scotland, but they do not force him into acting towards their sayings. In fact Macbeth goes out of his way to contact the witches again to ask for more information. Similarly, Lady Macbeth pushes for murder but does not force him into following through with her desires. She herself even had second thoughts and did not go through with the murder. Ultimately, it is up to Macbeth whether he chooses to act on these outside influences because he still has free will. While only one killing was thought of by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth goes out of his way to do more without even telling his wife up until the murder is about to happened. This acting further proves that even though the first plans of murder were thought of by his wife it was all acted out by him and no one