William Shakespeare’s tragic play ‘Macbeth’ depicts a tale of a honourable Thane and his unethical raise to sovereignty, to his untimely destruction and death. Lady Macbeth’s ambition and greed was instrumental in her husband, Macbeth’s moral downfall, however it was not the only factor that contributed to the outcome. Macbeth himself and the deception and manipulation presented to him by ‘wired sisters’ drove Macbeth to his own downfall. It was the witch meddlesome prophecies that lead Macbeth down the destructive and murderous path and that fuelled Lady Macbeth’s ambition and greed. Macbeth must also be held responsible for his own actions that created…
Throughout history, many tragic heroic figures have encountered a downfall. Not because they are malevolent or villainous, but because of a character flaw. In William Shakespeare's’ tragedy, Macbeth the main character Macbeth embodies the tragic hero persona. Though he is believed to be of nobility, he is blinded by greed, ambition and power to a gruesome end by those very traits which bring him fortune. Macbeth’s tragedy of his heroism occurs through battling his self conscience, secondly by pride and ego, finally by fear to protect his ambition.…
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir. ”(1.2.16-20) So says Macbeth in William Shakespears play by the same name. This quote encompasses a major theme of William Shakespears play, fate versus free will. The purpose of this essay is to prove that free will does trump fate in Shakespears Macbeth.…
Free will is seen much more frequently than fate. Fate is just much more obvious. Just like how the witches are guides for fate, Macbeth himself is actually a guide for free will. For example, Macbeth made the decision to kill the king. He was obviously persuaded by the promise of royalty but that decision was still all his own.…
It is said that fate does not choose it’s own victims, but it’s victims choose their own fate. In the tragedy Hamlet by Shakespeare, it is evident that the tragic hero, Macbeth, chooses his own fate and creates his own downfall. With greed, hubris and mistrust, Macbeth chooses and shapes his own destiny. Macbeth’s greed for power leads to the mistrust of those around him and in the end forms his fatal downfall. If the evil inside Macbeth was not to have overtaken the good, his ending may have concluded otherwise.…
In conclusion, fate and free will join together to weave one’s destiny, and we are the ones decide how our fate will go, if we don’t have the corrupting desire like Macbeth has, we will not be influenced by the Devil.…
Throughout time, man has always sought for the right to be in control. In Macbeth, the fight for control is blatantly evident through Shakespeare’s prestige usage of literary elements such as metaphors, similes, and personification. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s more popular playwrights as it contemplates the repercussions of decisions that are inevitably detrimental and the threat of knowing the future in advance.…
In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the reader is left to ponder the question of whether fate or free will is responsible for Macbeth's actions. Some people believe that the three sisters control Macbeth's fate and that he is as much a victim as King Duncan and his grooms, while others believe that Macbeth, alone, is responsible for his actions. Although fate has a part in Macbeth's decisions, the story is a tragedy of character. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will someday be king and Lady Macbeth rouses his hidden aspirations and desires, but it is Macbeth's ambition that gives rise to the poor decisions he makes to fulfill the prophecy.…
Despite Macbeth seeming noble and courageous towards the court, I, as a reader, am knowledgeable of his true feelings and do not feel sympathetic towards him. He does not fulfill the definitions of a sympathetic literary character that I carry in my mind, as he is aware and in control of his evil intentions and actions. In Act I, Macbeth’s initial reaction to the prophecy is murder, and his eventual commitment to the act showcases his true character as a murderous but independent…
Shakespeare shows that free choice rather than fate is responsible for the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth had many instances that he could have stopped creating destruction in the lives of both himself and the other people in his life. Coincidentally, if he had chosen not to kill so many people, he himself would not have been killed. Macbeth decides to let Lady Macbeth pressure him into killing the King. This was the first instance of free will. Had he chosen not to kill him, he would not have turned into such a cold-blooded killer. All of deaths that occur because Macbeth is trying to climb to the top can all be summed up into free choice. He chose to kill the king, so now why couldn’t he keep killing? It is not like it…
One day, three witches tell you that you will be ruler. You will be superior. You’re close friends with the king and your wife tells you that you’re a coward if you don’t kill him anyway. Power is in your reach. Is it morally right to seize it? Macbeth asks readers this very question.…
For centuries, there has been lots debate on whether or not there is such thing as fate or free will. To this day, people are trying to decide if one’s life is already laid out for him/her and that if no matter what he/she does that it will still unfold in a preset way, in which that they cannot change, or if one has free will and the ability to completely change his/her life. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is not doomed by fate, but by free will. In particular, Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrates that it is not fate that determines one's life as it is one's flaws and choices. This is illustrated through Macbeth himself, who, first, makes the choice of not listening to his conscience, which continuously makes…
Fated events are like immovable points on a graph. On the other hand, there are many functions that can intersect the point, yet fate does not predetermine which function is graphed, that is chosen by the free will of a person. In the Jacobean tragedy, Macbeth, by Shakespeare, Macbeth is given his fate by a group of duplicitous witches. Macbeth is informed he would become king, but Macbeth’s irresistable want for the crown, and the influences of his wife is the beginning of Macbeth’s path of blood. Even with free will Macbeth loses control when emotions and influences control his decisions.…
Often times, people set goals for themselves to accomplish. These goals create great desire and ambition which fuels all action. However, when the ambition in question becomes uncontrollable, the outcome can be negative. The excessive and uncontrollable ambition of Macbeth, the brave warrior in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, leads to his downfall. This uncontrollable desire for power leads Macbeth to lose his morality, identity and his friends and family. With little care for the journey, Macbeth neglected all consequences which leads him to his death.…
Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, ‘Macbeth’, carefully depicts that Macbeth’s character was not ruined by fate but rather by damaging errors in his personality. Macbeth’s dangerous quality of ambition brings about his downfall as well as his treachery against his king, his tyranny and also his imaginativeness that eventually lures him into the murder. Although Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth’s decisions were greatly influenced by other characters in his text, it was Macbeth that ultimately decided to listen to these influences due to the many faults in his character.…