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Theme Of Control And Destiny In Macbeth

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Imagine riding with your son through the woods, when suddenly, murderers and cutthroats surround you! What about, riding home from England, and hearing that your castle and everyone in it had been burned down to the ground? What if you had that insatiable urge to put things right, and you can’t control it!? The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is about control and destiny. The play begins with a prophecy that foretells the future of Macbeth and his family. The prophecy states that one who is born in the "midst" of three must be a king or queen. This foreshadows the future of Macbeth, who becomes king after killing Duncan. The witches then tell Macbeth that he will become king if he follows their instructions to kill Duncan and Banquo. …show more content…

They expose Banquo and Macbeth to the prophecy early, instead of letting it play out by themselves. This is the key factor that corrupted Macbeth to the core. Even when the witches state that Banquo’s children will be sitting on the throne, does not deter Macbeth’s ambition and greed for power. He simply has Banquo killed, but Banquo’s son, Fleance, who was traveling with him, got away, enforcing the witches' prophecy that Banquo’s children will rule after Macbeth. After becoming king, Macbeth gets so entwined in the prophecy while trying to get out of it, visits the witches, and gets even more prophecy’s from them. They make Macbeth think that he is invincible, for he can only be killed by a man not born by a woman. They also state that Dunsinane Hill will only fall if Birnam wood comes to it. After this experience and the warning to beware of Macduff, Macbeth has Macduff’s family killed to deter Macduff from attacking Macbeth. This is the exact wrong thing to do, for it causes Macduff to unleash his full hatred of Macbeth and marches to take them down. They fulfill one prophecy, by hewing boughs from trees to disguise their numbers, which is described as a “walking forest.” Macduff then confronts Macbeth, but Macduff slays Macbeth, fulfilling the second prophecy, stating that Macbeth can only be killed by a man not born by a woman, which Macduff

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Dismiss me, enough” (V. i. 78-79), “None of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth.” (V. i. 87-89), and Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until / Great Birnam wood / to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him. (V. i. 101-103.) These visions lead Macbeth to be so blindsided that he puts himself in danger.

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Macbeth was a great fighter and general, stopping the invading forces of Ireland in their tracks. Cementing his name as a benevolent defender of Scotland alongside his best friend Banquo. On their way back from their battles, they encounter three wild and wicked witches. Which prophecy that Macbeth will be in succession to Kingsman ship, and that Banquo’s son Fleance will also be in succession to be king. Banquo is cautious of what they say, and is uninterested in their prophecy.

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Macbeth Lost Control There are often people in this world that can never have enough or always want what they can’t have. Are you one of those people? In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth three witches tell the Scottish general Macbeth that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the king, becomes the new king, and kills more people out of paranoia.

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Throughout the play, the witches’ control over Macbeth developed into a strong tie with his choices. By prophesying to him, the witches essentially planted the seed that grew to dominate Macbeth’s mind. This is shown when Macbeth says, “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (1.3.70). Once Macbeth notices the prophecies becoming a reality, he starts to think about becoming king, thus fulfilling all the prophecies. Aside, Macbeth says,, “Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme” (1.3.128-129).

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Control is a recurring theme in the play "Macbeth" as it warns the audience of the reprecussions of trying to control your fate. The first key event where control features in a significant way is the witches prophecies. They tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland which establishes the importance of fate. Shakespeare conveys the witches as agents of evil that are deceptive and dangerous, "oftentimes to win us to our harm/the instruments of darkness tell us truths," showing that they use truth itself to influence a horrible outcome (Macbeth 's tragic demise.) Their message is compelling and attractive and we can clearly see their effect on Macbeth as it greatly contrasts to that of Banquo.

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The witches’ apparitions ended up tricking Macbeth, as they turned against him. It is true that Macbeth should beware Macduff, but that is where the truth ends. It turned out that Macduff was born from a C-section as his mother died at birth, so Macduff was actually a man who wasn’t born from a woman. Also, Macduff and his troops used limbs of trees from the forest to disguise themselves when they were going to attack Macbeth, so the forest technically did move to Macbeth’s castle. The three apparitions from the witches duped Macbeth, as he was not actually out of harm’s way, which led to his ultimate downfall and

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Importance of control elsewhere in the play • How control is shown • Reasons for control within the play Control is a recurring theme in the play "Macbeth" as it warns the audience of the repercussions of trying to control your fate. The first key event where control features in a significant way is the witches' prophecies. They tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland which establishes the importance of fate. Shakespeare conveys the witches as agents of evil that are deceptive and dangerous, "oftentimes to win us to our harm/the instruments of darkness tell us truths," showing that they use truth itself to influence a horrible outcome (Macbeth's tragic demise.) Their message is compelling and attractive and we

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Readers are introduced to the three witches that tell Macbeth his future. Towards the end of the book the witches showed four apparitions to Macbeth which were an armed head, a bloody child, a crowned child holding a tree, and a line of eight kings including Banquo. Each of these apparitions were warnings to Macbeth about his future. The apparitions presented to Macbeth that he would be defeated by a man not born of a woman and that it would be after a forest moved. (Shakespeare 4.1.1-145).

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How Much of Life can we Control Some people believe that they can take control of their lives and and create their own destiny, while others believe there is a natural force that decides what our destiny will be. In the texts Macbeth and The Iraq War Blog, authors Shakespeare and Faiza Al-Alajir present the theme of not having control over one's destiny, through tragedy and history. The author of Macbeth, Shakespeare believes that people do not have total control in their lives.

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After the victory of Banquo and Macbeth against the king 's traitor Macdonwald the witches presence contract the vibe of manipulation seeking Macbeth as its next victim. As they encounter with Macbeth and Banquo, they start-off questioning the trio of leery ladies. "look not like the inhabitants of the earth, / And yet are on it"; they seem to understand him, and yet he cannot be sure; they "should be women," and yet they are bearded. One by one the witches told Macbeth his upcoming abundance of power leaving him immensely petrified. As a result the prophecies were the contemporary force plaguing Macbeth into slaughtering King Duncan for his aspiration.

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The witches, by telling Macbeth these prophecies, give him hope that he will remain King for as long as he and his bloodline are alive. These prophecies manipulate Macbeth and make him feel more secure than he really is. When Macbeth feels secure, this gives time for Macduff to plan an attack, and those prophecies that he believed would keep him safe, actually are what causes him to panic and eventually lose his kingship. Macbeth is given double meanings on many occasions, but mostly through the apparitions. The second apparition, which is a bloody child,

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Macbeth illustrates the tragic consequences that arise when an individual becomes consumed by their ambitions and loses their sense of morality by becoming possessed and enveloped by their thoughts and

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At the start of the play, Macbeth visits the witches with Banquo at the closing of the battle. The witches speak to Macbeth and Banquo and get the idea of a prophecy in Macbeth’s mind. “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis./ All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor./ All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.46-48). When the witches get the prophecy in Macbeth’s mind, he believes it will come true and misunderstands the prophecy of the witches. Although the witches make Macbeth believe in the prophecy of becoming the King, Macbeth is responsible for his downfall because they do not recommend Macbeth to kill Duncan.

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Macbeth believe and fall for the witches which made him think that no one can harm him. "I bear a charmed life, which must not yield and to one of woman born" (5.8.12-13). As Macbeth and Macduff are fighting each other, Macbeth tells him to leave, for he does not want the blood of another Macduff on his hands. Macduff refuses and charges at Macbeth. Macduff reveals that he was not woman of born, but from his mother's womb.

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Blind Ambition and Greed The play “Macbeth”, by William Shakespeare illustrates many themes through the characters from the beginning to the end of the story. But the main central theme introduced is Ambition and Greed. As the play goes on we read how Macbeth permits his Ambition and Greed to dictate the outcomes and tragedy’s that occur to himself and others.

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