Nelson Mandela states a poem called The Invictus written by William Ernest Henley, “I am a master of my fate and the captain of my soul.” (Redfern, Lindsey). This quote relates to Shakespeare’s Macbeth in many aspects. Fate is something that unavoidably befalls a person. Free will is the independent choice to do something; a voluntary decision. The events that take place in Macbeth are both the choices he makes and the witches prophecies. Fate and free will is what causes Macbeth to fall in the end.
In Act 1, Macbeth is content with his future being led by “chance.” He says “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (I.iii.143-144). Macbeth thinks by letting “chance” take over there is no reason to go against King Duncan. He becomes the “Thane of Cawdor” which is one of the prophecies of
…show more content…
All the decisions Macbeth makes to kill Banquo is from the choice of free will. He does not has to do what he does, but he feels threatened. During the banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo ghost. At this point, Macbeth loses his sanity. The guilt is eating him alive.
Macduff is a part of Macbeth’s fate as well. From day one, Macduff is suspicious of Macbeth’s climb to the throne. For example, he leads a crusade to take down Macbeth and reclaims the throne to Malcolm. Macbeth’s fate is not just determined by Malcolm reclaiming the throne, but revenge for murdering Macduff’s family. Macbeth’s fate is in the hands of Macduff either he will rise or fall.
Macbeth suffers from the decisions that he makes. For example, when Malcolm and Macduff come back to battle him. Macduff says
Despair thy charm, and let the angel whom thou still hast served
Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb
Untimely ripped.
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreOver the course of the play, power causes Macbeth to go from faithful to malicious which leads to his corruption. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth displays indecisiveness in overthrowing King Duncan soon after he finds out about the witches’ prophecies. Macbeth can be seen having an internal conflict with himself when he states, “I am thane of Cawdor. /
4.1.167-169). Macbeth is planning to ruin everything Macduff has, to ruin Macduff as a person. Macduff is Macbeth’s biggest enemy and suspects he was the one who murdered King Duncan and plans to bring justice for his crime. Those who have committed crimes and know they are guilty will do everything in their power to prevent others from exposing or bringing justice for their
Macduff clearly emerges as a most significant foil to Macbeth since Macduff’s personality embodies loyalty to Scotland and its true king. Of course, Macduff also plays the central role of the nemesis who undermines all of Macbeth’s illusions. When Malcolm asserts that “black Macbeth / Will see as pure as snow” (IV.3.52-53), he tests Macduff’s fidelity. Macduff’s response regarding Macbeth as “a devil more damned / In evils” (IV.3.57-58) speaks to his role as a foil who highlights by contrasting Macbeth’s evil. When Malcolm questions Macduff about Malcolm’s suitability to govern, Macduff states, “Fit to govern/
Shakespeare engineered a most impressionable character in Macbeth who easily succumbs to the extensive magnitude of opposing constraints. This character is Macbeth, who is the protagonist in the play and husband to a conniving wife, who in the end is the sole cause for Macbeth 's undoing. Conflicting forces in the play compel internal conflicts within Macbeth to thrive on his contentment and sanity as he his torn asunder between devotion, aspiration, morality and his very own being. He has developed a great sense of loyalty from being a brave soldier; however, his ambition soon challenges this allegiance. As his sincerity begins to deteriorate, his own sanity starts to disintegrate until the point where he cannot differentiate between reality
He hallucinates Banquo in the chair he was going to sit on. Macbeth starts to act crazy and Lady Macbeth tries to tell the other men in the room how he is acting is normal. After the dinner Macbeth hears that Macduff went to England to reunite with Malcolm, Duncan 's son, to try for him to own the throne. Macbeth decides to take action and send some men to murder Macduff 's family. When Macduff comes back he finds out of his family 's death and joins Malcolm and his army to defeat Macbeth.
and obtains the title, which trigger an arrogant and self-absorbed thinking leading to madness and finally, death. The play seems to bring up the question, whether Macbeth is fully responsible of his own destiny, or under control of fate. In the first glance, the play seems to take rather fatalistic direction, meaning that we are powerless to make decisions as they are inevitably determined by supernatural power (Hugh 1)) It is due to the presence of supernatural forces throughout the whole play that systematically fulfills the prophecy; therefore the witches represent the idea of fate in the play. However, Shakespeare seems to rather intertwine fate with free will and perhaps even promotes the second philosophy as the play evolves.
Macbeth was influenced by the witches and the constant berating and bullying by his wife. He allowed himself to be corrupted and coerced and finally disrupted the Great Chain of Being himself by killing the God-chosen king and replacing him with himself. Shakespeare uses this plot to demonstrate how the great chain of being was disrupted by false ambition dominating over human nature. Macduff was born of caesarian meaning the whole play of Macbeth is ironic as it takes someone who is unnaturally born to destroy Macbeth. Ultimately, Macduff restores the Great Chain of Being by killing Macbeth and presenting the “usurpers cursed head” to Malcolm, who takes his rightful place as King as the true heir to the throne.
Even though Macbeth felt guilty after killing Duncan, he continued his journey through the wrong path. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood.” Macbeth felt no guilt at all in killing his close friend, Banquo. He sends an army to kill Macduff and his family. Towards the end of the play, Macbeth became a person completely different.
In act four of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" Macbeth murders most of a noble man's family out of impulse and paranoia. He suspected said nobleman of plotting against him, and much like the murder of his friend Banquo, he killed him before he got the chance. But this murder is not like the ones before it, this one is much more sinister. The man Macbeth suspected, Maduff, was suspect because he refused to show up to any events that Macbeth attended, and when Macbeth went to ask the witches they warned him Macduff was to be cautioned. This time Macbeth decides right away that Macduff must go.
Fate Versus Free Will In Macbeth Fate versus free will is a theme well known throughout literature and in life as well. Is life controlled by fate, or are people’s lives dependent on the choices they make? In Macbeth, Shakespeare emphasizes the idea of fate vs. freewill, indicating that both elements play a role in the lives of individuals, as well as society as a whole. The main character, Macbeth’s, life is a combination of fate and his conscious decisions. The witches in Macbeth can control the fates of many, but only to a point.
As proved by Macbeth’s success to become the Thane of Cawdor, the prophecies are Macbeth’s fate; they will be the outcomes of his life, but how they will come to be is dependent on Macbeth’s own choices. When Macbeth shares the prophesies with his wife, Lady Macbeth, she helps him murder King Duncan in order to gain the throne. The witches had predicted that Macbeth would be king but they hadn’t said when or how. It is Macbeth’s own choice to murder Duncan because of his deep desire to become king. Macbeth wants to protect his power and eliminate all enemies that may come in the way.
However, since Macbeth is king of all the land opposing him would be treason. Yet Malcolm continues with his plan and forms an army that goes to attack Macbeth. Macduff ends up killing Macbeth himself. Moreover, Malcolm takes the throne for himself. Power and authority shifts once again.
In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macduff proves to be the true hero. Macduff proves to be the true hero of the play for being loyal to his country and killing Macbeth. Macbeth and Macduff differ because Macbeth is conceded and a killer, while Macduff is not. Macduff, the Thane of Fife, proves to be a loyal man when it comes to his country and his people. For example, Macduff deserts his family in order to go to England to meet with Malcolm and the king of England, so all three of them can go back to Scotland to defeat Macbeth for once and all.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the witches informs Macbeth of his fate that he will become the king in the future. Macbeth believes the witches words and Lady Macbeth persuade him to become the king and murder all the people that get in the way. Shakespeare shows us that fate is complicated by our actions, Macbeth will do anything to meet his fate that in the end lead him to his death because of his greediness.
Fate is a prediction of someone’s life and the internal and external forces playing a role in that person’s destiny. In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”, Macbeth is a victim of his prescribed destiny. Three witches, the people closest to Macbeth, and most importantly, his own ego and actions, determine his prescribed destiny. Three witches appear to Macbeth after King Duncan finds out he is betrayed by the Thane of Cawdor.