Fate And Free Will In Macbeth

According to The Scientific American, about 60% of Americans believe they have the power of free will, yet they may not know that fate also heavily influences their decisions. Both fate and free will hold high significance when it comes to a person’s life. Although one may think that they have total control over their lives, Shakespeare's uses characterization, themes, and foreshadowing in his tragedy Macbeth to demonstrate how both fate and free will intertwine with each other. An example of how Shakespeare utilizes characterization to show how fate and free will work together is through the protagonist Macbeth. Macbeth says If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,Without my stir. (1.3.157-159). Here, Macbeth briefly decides to let "chance" take its course rather than fighting things, or, you know, murdering his noble king.
Lady Macbeth is Macbeth’s wife and is another example of important characterization. She is the one who originally encouraged Macbeth to murder King Duncan. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth says 'This is a sorry sight' (2.3.18). By saying this to her husband, it shows how arrogant Lady
The motifs, more specifically, blood is seen throughout the play and its meaning can be interpreted in different ways. Macbeth pictures blood on the dagger before he kills King Duncan, and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth worry that they will never be able to clean the blood from themselves. As Lady Macbeth becomes more deranged, her visions of blood became stronger. Sleepwalking, she tries to wash the blood from her hands. In conclusion, one cannot simply depend on fate or free will because of the fact that they intertwine with each other. Shakespeare’s Macbeth incorporates the importance of both fate and free will to dictate the flow of the play. The plot shows how fate is engraved in stone, but it is one’s own choice to dictate how they will achieve that particular