Knowing the future before it happens is almost always a dangerous thing. William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth shows the hazards of this through an over confident protagonist, Macbeth, taking control of his fate with his misuse of free will. He is an honorable and loyal man that becomes a lying and murderous villain, and though other persuasions contribute to this transformation, it is in the end Macbeth himself who lets his corruption and ambition get the best of him. Shakespeare exemplifies the conflict of fate and free will through Macbeth’s actions, words, and inner desires.
Through his pride and ambition, Macbeth’s abuse of free will becomes the cause of his own downfall. Throughout the play, Shakespeare hints that his pride and strong objectives will be
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Macbeth uses his wrongfully acquired force to commit crimes, which determine his fate, though it is a very different fate than he desires. The protagonist wrestles with his deepest thoughts regarding how to proceed with his life, and this newly discovered information about his future. He admonishes that, “things bad begun, make strong themselves by ill” (3.2.55). Macbeth believes that covering up his guilt and bad deeds with more evil will make his crimes disappear. He continues to attempt to direct his fate in the direction of his choice, rather than taking a step back, and living his life with no desire to decide what his future holds. Macbeth sees that, “[he has] no spur/To prick the side of [his] intent, but only/Vaulting ambition,” and it stops him from taking any time to think about how his actions could affect his life and the people around him (1.7.26-28). Because of the protagonist’s misuse of power in trying to control his fate, instead of reigning long and prosperously as king, Macbeth ends up