Examples Of Free Will In Macbeth

We all have ownership over something. Whether it is oneself, another person, or a possession, we obtain control. In Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, there remains a question as to whether or not Macbeth is driven by fate or free will. Throughout the play Macbeth, written by Shakespeare, Macbeth acts upon the prophecies given to him by three witches. Some may consider the satisfaction of these witches' expectations as a reasonable sign that Macbeth's way is a destined one, bound to happen. Instead, the witches' prophecies for Macbeth, his remorseful remarks after the death of King Duncan and the execution of Banquo demonstrate that it is through freewill – and not fate – that decided the course of Shakespeare's play. Macbeth obtains the …show more content…
It remains apparent that Macbeth controls his own destiny when Macbeth murders Duncan; he ultimately reveals the consequences of his actions. “Whence is that knocking?— How is’t with me, when every noise appals me? What hands are here! Ha, they plu ck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.” Act 2, scene 2, lines 55–61. Macbeth utters this when he has quite recently killed Duncan, and the wrongdoing remained joined by powerful omens. Presently he hears a secretive thumping on his door, which appears to guarantee fate. The individual thumping is Macduff, who will later destroy Macbeth. The tremendousness of Macbeth's wrongdoing has stirred in him an effective feeling of blame that will hound him all through the play. Blood, particularly Duncan's blood, serves as the image of that blame, and Macbeth's feeling that "all great Neptune's sea" can't rinse him—that there remains sufficient blood staring him in the face to turn the entire ocean red—will stay with him until his death. Lady Macbeth’s answer to this dialogue will be her prosaic remark, “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.65). By the conclusion of the play, she will share Macbeth's sense that Duncan's homicide has irreparably recolored them with …show more content…
Macbeth is attempting to amend the prophecy with the power he now beholds as King and leader of Scotland. "Fleance his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me Than is his father's, must embrace the fate Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart: I'll come to you anon." Act 3 scene 1 lines 140-144. He wants to take matters into his own hands by trying to execute Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth is using his freewill in order to attempt to alter the fate of Banquo and his descendants. Macbeth sends murders to perpetrate his malicious plan. "Most royal sir, Fleance is 'scaped." Act 3 s4. This quote remains crucial because it illustrate that Banquo descendants might truly end up as Kings. The procedure of Macbeth freewill was not able to alter the series of events as Fleance still lives. This allows the prophecy’s manifestation to be a

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