Macbeth's Decisions Essay

The question of if humans are truly responsible for their own actions has sparked a debate in humanity throughout history. In the non-fiction article, “Freewill and Determinism” written by Saul McLeod, he compares the different aspects of freewill and determinism. Throughout the article, McLeod explains how freewill and determinism, while very different, go hand in hand with each other. To go with that, in the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, many of the explanations in the article as to why people do what they do can be helpful when trying to figure out Macbeth's poor decision making. To begin the story, Macbeth was a trustworthy and loyal warrior for King Duncan.

Thinking before acting leads to greater wisdom and better outcomes while acting before thinking yields regret. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, many characters are murdered as a method of solving existing problems. Throughout the play, it is noticeable that these deaths can all be related back to two malevolent beings. These characters in their horrific minds are to blame for the deaths of innocent people. Macbeth, in his willingness to commit severe crimes for personal benefit, and the witches, in their desire to toy with Macbeth through their ambiguous prophecies, are equally responsible for nearly all the murders in the play.

As individuals, we have a certain degree of control over our own lives and the decisions we make. While external factors such as social pressure, cultural norms, and personal circumstances can influence us, ultimately, we have agency in choosing how we respond to those factors. This is portrayed through William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, the titular character Macbeth is the protagonist, a Scottish general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become king. Consumed by ambition and spurred on by his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. However, his guilt and paranoia lead him to commit more murders in order to maintain his power, and he becomes increasingly tyrannical as his

Many people have the ability to choose between different courses of action throughout their life. Along with everyone else, Macbeth had the same opportunity to make choices out of free will rather than letting fate carve a path for him. In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is aware of his fate due to the prophecies of the three witches, but he rather take matters into his own hands to challenge his fate. After Macbeth recognizes his urge to become king he kills Duncan with the help of his wife, Lady Macduff. After killing Duncan, Macbeth has a guilty conscience that is taking over him.

His wife plotted a plan to kill the king, and she convinced him to go along with it. At first he was having second thoughts about everything, but her persuasive words convinced him to follow through with the killing. Although Macbeth’s killing was a success, and he killed the king, Macbeth was only thinking of one problem at a time. He was not thinking ahead at the time or the consequences he could face. He knew the king’s sons had ran away, but he did not know they could still capture the throne before him.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, expresses the universal truth that one’s life is not determined by fate, but rather the choices that one makes; furthermore, how choosing poorly can lead to overwhelming feelings of guilt. The most prominent and underlying theme of Macbeth, is the concept of fate vs. free will, most clearly seen through the rising in power and eventual downfall of Macbeth himself. Early in the play, the Three Witches prophesied that Macbeth will become king of Scotland; however, the prophecy ends there. Macbeth exercises his free will and makes the decision to kill King Duncan and ensure his appointment to king.

Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a play that mainly focuses on one common theme of insanity. Macbeth gradually becomes plagued by intense guilt as his desire for power drives him to attain his goals by any means necessary, including committing murder. He kills Duncan in cold blood in order to become King, has Banquo killed by three murderers because he wishes to maintain his position as King, and finally, he has Macduff’s family slaughtered. Each of these occurrences takes place because of Macbeth’s will to be King, or they are a result of his guilt. Nonetheless, they are all completed of his free will, which is what causes him to deteriorate mentally.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a well known story that revolves around the word “ambition” but this ambition isn’t always self driven by someone, but rather through the influence of someone else who maintains control of the situation. The story is about a man whose desire to be the king and have power leads to the murders of those who might stand in his way. Throughout the story we see many characters who play major parts in how one event follows another, and how some characters seem to completely have control of the events in the story. Although in Macbeth the Three Sisters and Macbeth exhibit some control over the events, Lady Macbeth has the most responsibility.

Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

After the unsettling dreams and visions that come to Macbeth, he goes to the witches, and is shown three apparitions: The First says "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff"(IV.i.71),

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, written by the playwright William Shakespeare, a Scottish nobleman betrays his conscience to gain power and eventually meets his downfall. Macbeth, the Scottish nobleman, blindly follows his ambitions to his rise to royalty, and ultimately, his dishonorable demise. His decisions affects the nature of of his and other characters’ relationships with one another. The many relationships based on marriage, family, and loyalty are all tested by the decisions of the characters involved.

Macbeth chose to listen and accept the prophecy as truth even though he had no proof. Although the witches influence Macbeth they did not suggest to Macbeth to kill the king, he got that idea from his selfish thoughts. After the witches visit Macbeth he goes to his wife about his thoughts of killing the king. Lady Macbeth encourages murder because that’s the only way she thinks Macbeth can become king.

Macbeth started off as a valiant and courageous soldier, who would do anything for the king. By the end of the play, Macbeth was a tyrant and a horrible leader who killed those who trusted him to maintain the throne. It takes many factors to take a strong man and transform him into an evil monster. Macbeth’s downfall was caused by the deception and temptation of the witches and their prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s greed and aspirations for her husband to be king, and Macbeth’s own greed, jealousy and ambition.

Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, analyzes the tragic downfall of a man who pursued his prophecy given to him by three witches, and suffered the downfall because of it. Told his power was inevitable, Macbeth explores the idea of murdering the King to achieve his goal of becoming King himself. Macbeth continually faces this, contemplating the moral issue of committing murder to in turn, fulfill his powerful destiny. While facing this internal conflict, Lady Macbeth developes an influence over Macbeth as well. Driven by her own desire to be Queen, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to commit the murder, by challenging his manhood and often reminding him that it is, in fact, his destiny.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an eventful play that is incorporated with witchcraft. In the time of the Scottish Play, real black magic and paranormal witchcraft was said to be existent. Rumor has it that the play has a curse placed on it from real witches from Shakespeare’s time.