Macbeth Fate Vs Free Will

“Two opposing forces created by humans are the two theories of fate and free will. They are both two conflicting ideas that humans have struggled to try and understand. Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. On the other side of things, free will is defined as the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth himself battles these two opposing forces as he is striving to become king. In this play, Macbeth meets three witches who tell him different prophecies and ideas of what is going to happen to him. They tell him he will be king. Along the way, Macbeth kills …show more content…
He could just let fate happen, but instead he willingly takes fate into his own hands. “Let not light see my black and deep desires.” (Shakespeare 59) After being honored by King Duncan, Macbeth wrestles with his desire to murder him. Macbeth makes the conscious decision to want to kill him. Lady Macbeth talks her husband into killing Duncan, the King of Scotland. Macbeth could have said no, which he did at first, but eventually he gives in and consents. He murdered Duncan while he was sleeping in Macbeth’s own house. The next morning when the people find out, Macbeth has the guards killed, for not watching over the King very well. He knows that it’s not the guard’s faults, yet he willingly has them killed. He got Duncan out of his way and Malcolm flees to England, so no one is standing in the way, and Macbeth becomes King of Scotland. Later on in the play, Banquo and Fleance become suspicious of Macbeth. So Macbeth hires men to murder both Banquo and Fleance. Banquo is killed, but Fleance is able to escape. Once Banquo is out of the way, Macbeth finds out that Macduff has gone to England to find Malcolm. Malcolm is the rightful heir to the throne and if he comes back he could overthrow Macbeth. So now Macbeth has the murderers go to Macduff’s house. They kill Macduff’s wife, and sons, as well as anyone else in the …show more content…
Both fate and free will play major roles throughout the play. They are two opposing forces created by humans that for ages people have struggled to try and understand. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth battles these two opposite forces but in the end he exhibits his own free will as he makes a series of conscious choices throughout the

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Fate Vs Free Will In Macbeth

Examples Of Fate Vs Free Will In Macbeth