Role Of Fate In Macbeth

Macbeth

Many types of people exist in this world. A majority of those people believe in either free will or fate/destiny. All of these people make their own decisions, but how? Who tells them what to do? Or do they decide on their own? Whether or not fate actually exists is something some people spend their entire lives searching for. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the Weird Sisters act as agents of fate to show Macbeth the path he is meant to take and they succeed in manipulating him with their prophecies.

At first, Macbeth is wary of the Weird Sisters and their prophecies. He wants to believe them, certainly, but he cannot trust the prediction. But after he discovers that the first part of the Sisters prophecy has come true,
While they are not always the best choices he could make, these decisions tend to always be based on a main piece of information: The prophecies told to Macbeth by the Weird Sisters. He lives his life according to what has been foretold to him. Everything that he does, he does because of what he knows will be. Like Cumberland Clark said in his book, A Study of Macbeth, "All subsequent events in each section are controlled by what happened at these meetings, and throughout the action the mysterious influence of the sisters is ever present [...] (117). Even when his castle is about to be attacked, he does not worry because of what he was told. Macbeth says, "That will never be./ Who can impress the forest, bid the tree/ unfix earthbound root?" (4.1.108-110) Macbeth becomes completely confident after hearing the three apparitions tell him that none of women born shall harm him and not to fear until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. He also follows their guidance after being told to beware Macduff. The witches warp his mind so completely that they could probably get him to do anything they wanted simply by giving him some prophecy. He completely trusts and relies on the Weird Sisters throughout the bulk of the story. He does not realize that he is being controlled almost entirely by what everyone around him is telling him to do. But, in all fairness, the Weird Sisters tell him the truth. They merely rephrase what they
While they do not exactly do just that, the part they play in assisting fate becomes directly responsible for the overall outcome of the play. They are the reason Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo all lose their lives. If they had never met with Macbeth or if Macbeth had never chosen to listen to their predictions, the lives of the people in the play would have differed. It may not have been a very great difference, but that does not matter. All that matters is that what happens in the end was because Macbeth met the sisters and listened to what they told him. Fate set up everything up, sat back, and watched while Macbeth did exactly what one could predict of him. They Weird Sisters play upon his weakness for greed and ambition to allow fate to run its course. "Thus the witches inspire the central action of the play," said Charles Boyce (715). Macbeth may have made his own choices, but he could not have and would not make the decisions without the overwhelming influence of the Weird Sisters, whom he met with as was decided by fate or else Macbeth would not have been ruled by them