The Contemporary Connections Between Macbeth and Today William Shakespeare 's Macbeth is a play that portrays a tragic event and that has many contemporary influences. Despite the fact that this play is from the past, the materials discussed throughout the play display various themes that are still very relevant to this day. This tragedy tells a tale of a heroic soldier that is told a prophecy that is composed by a group of witches. The prophecy foreshadows a heroic soldier becoming king of Scotland. Macbeth, in which is the brave soldier soon eagerly decides to follow the prophecy in which he becomes king. The themes constructed throughout this enduring drama that are relative to our everyday lives consist of: fate versus free will, ambition, and stress and mental illness show a connection between historic, and modern day time. Fate vs free will is a subject that is known to be controversial in today’s society. Individuals are often partial to one side more so than the other for this topic in particular. When people think about the term fate, they usually associate it with religion. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth was set to take place relatively four hundred years ago. During that time, almost every single person attended a church of some kind that revolved around fate. Since almost everyone had some type of fate in their lives, most people wouldn’t question its workings. On the other hand, strong-minded people who didn’t rely solely on fate, also ‘believed’ in free will.