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A character analysis in Shakespeare
Fate in literature
Characterization of shakespeare plays
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Abigail Olivares
English 4
Mrs. Crockett
December, 16, 2015
Fate vs. Freewill
According to Horney each of the interpersonal strategies of defense involves a ‘’bargain with fate ‘’ in which if a person lives up to his claims are supposed to be honored. The perfectionistic person believes that his own rectitude will ensure fair treatment from others through the height of his standards he completes fate. In Macbeth freewill is presented because Macbeth kills Duncan and Banquo by him not knowing what his outcome would be.
Macbeth appears before King Duncan who praises him in the most fulsome terms in language full with references to debits and unpaid balances what is it then that compelled him to make a contract with fate the critical thing
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He further states that the ‘’necessity’’ that determines Macbeth’s actions exists in his own heart.
In Macbeth, the witches’ prophecies seem to negate Macbeth's free will. However, at some instances, Macbeth willfully chooses evil over good. Macbeth hires men to murder both Banquo and Fleance. now Macbeth has the murderers go to Macduff's house Many people died because Macbeth chose evil over good With a clear conscience free of guilt, Macbeth can sleep fine This sleepless journey begins when Macbeth murders the king Duncan. Macbeth does murder sleep'- the innocent sleep." This is a theme that will haunt Macbeth for the rest of the play, and for nearly a year Macbeth shall "sleep no more."
In conclusion Macbeth is not only trying to assure his safety and to cut off a rival line he is also trying to master fate to force it to honor his bargain. The futility of this enterprise is brought home to him by the escape of Fleance. Macbeth would feel unbroken both Banquo and Fleance had been killed. Because this would have established his independence of external ordinances .At the same time Macduff’s confess to Macbeth that he wasn’t born from his mother his mother died before he had him. By him hearing that he already had an idea how his outcome would finish. And it did by him dyeing not been the king of
And Banquo’s son Fleance manages to escape from the attack. Next, Macduff refuses to accept Macbeth as king and flees to England to join Malcom. The witches tell him to beware of Macduff, which angers Macbeth and drives him to kill Macduff's family. The fear of losing the impending battle with England makes Macbeth begin doing anything that will give him an edge in the final battle.
Some will argue that all the choices made by Macbeth were continuously his own, that he had these opportunities as a man to put his foot down and say no, and be able to draw the line where things should come to an end, the
After murdering Banquo, Macbeth begins to fear other powerful men around him, such as Macduff. The witches provide Macbeth with Apparitions that tell him his fate for the future as king. The second Apparition, a bloody child tells Macbeth that no individual born from a woman can harm Macbeth. Macbeth then replies “Then live Macduff; what need I fear thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure and take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live, that I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, and sleep in spite of thunder” (4,1,93-97). Even though Macbeth gains the knowledge that no individual born from a woman can harm him, he acts cowardly to protect himself. Macbeth turns to murder instead of facing the powerful Macduff himself. As Machiavelli said men act cowardly, and Macbeth demonstrates just that by murdering anyone who seems to pose even a slight threat towards him as king. Macbeth believes murdering Macduff will allow him to “sleep in spite of thunder.” Macbeth uses this metaphor of sleep by saying the people who sleep are innocent and the ones who don’t sleep are guilty. Macbeth believes if Banquo is dead, he can sleep as an innocent person. Macbeth presents a cowardly character who believes murder is the “right” way of handling his problems. As a result of Macbeth murdering more and more people out of fear, his people will think of him as a cowardly king. Macbeth wants his people to think he is a strong king, but by killing good people out of fear, individuals will have their idea of Macbeth’s character alter into being a
Throughout the story Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth seemed to just be a victim of “fate”. But, in the end it was clear that his character gained power over that “fate”, at least he gained power over
Macbeth was the cause of much suffering in the play and in turn suffered greatly throughout. Macbeth suffers much indecision from the moment he hears the witches prophesies. He gets confused and is torn between killing or not killing King Duncan. He immediately thinks of killing the king, as he wants so badly to be king, but the idea of committing such a crime appals him. “Why do I yield to that suggestion”(1:3:144), he says in a state of confusion. Macbeth is Duncan’s “kinsman”, “his subject” and “his host”. As his host he should be protecting him, not killing him. Macbeth believes in “even-handed justice” and that if he commits evil, evil will be put upon him. He ultimately decides not to kill the King but Lady Macbeth convinces him otherwise, “What beast was’t then That made you break this enterprise to me?” she asks.
In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth acts on free will as opposed to fate. The definition of free will is having the ability to make a choice; including the possession of options, logical reasoning for choosing each option, as well as understanding the consequences of each decision. Macbeth obeys all the criteria, using “fate” as an excuse to act like a murder-crazy lunatic, ultimately resulting in his demise.
Shakespeare clearly explores the themes ‘Fate and Free Will’, and ‘Ambition’ within this tragedy. Shakespeare weaves these themes around the character of Macbeth, showing us the depth of his insight into human society. Macbeth fell victim to his interpretation of supernatural prophecies and the influence from his wife. His impatience for the throne led to his crimes, subsequent guilt and acknowledgement of his sins. Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s life to his audience as a moral tale, warning them how men should be careful how they regard the ideas of fortune and fate and how in the end, evil intents and actions bring with them their own punishment.
Shakespeare 2.2.35-40 Macbeth’s guilt scratched at his well being. His own mind is on self-destruct and will not allow him to do one of life's most basic tasks: sleep. Macbeth recognizes that Duncan was innocent and it brings him great psychosis. Driven by the mania that the weird sisters and their even stranger prophecies have caused, Macbeth then chooses to hire a murderer to make Banquo and Fleance his next casualties.
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, changes happen. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a well liked and good man of Scotland, who turns into an evil, cold hearted, murderer by the end. His rewards and punishments could have been predetermined by fate, but the actions he took to get to get those rewards and punishments were determined by Macbeth’s free will. In Macbeth, he attempts to control the future and hide the past by listening to other people and committing multiple murders of innocent people.
In the tragedy “Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare, Macbeths free will is shown as he tries to take what is his. “Macbeth” is about a Scottish troop (Macbeth) and his friend Banquo. Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches whom tell them about a prophecy that involves Macbeth and Banquo’s son. One of the prophecies was that Macbeth would become king. The prophecy makes Macbeth’s mind corrupted making him pursue dark actions to overthrow King Duncan. Macbeth’s free will is exhibited by the way he has the inspiration to control what he does throughout the tragedy. People may say that it is fate because the prophecy states that Macbeth will be king, but it also states that Banquo’s sons will be kings in
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Part of human nature is struggling to choose between two random forces. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare describes how conflict within a person can drive someone mad until the end of their lives. For Macbeth, part of this struggle was keeping his sanity intact after all the bad deeds he had committed. Another part of his struggle was swaying between the forces of innocence and guilt. The final struggle Macbeth had within him was going up against fate and free will. Throughout the play, Shakespeare demonstrates the inner conflict within Macbeth, as he contends against the conflicts of fate and free will, sanity and insanity, and innocence and guilt.
One’s decision-making abilities are severely impacted by the concept of free will. Macbeth’s free will leading up to and following his murder of King Duncan causes him to make extremely rash d...
The initiation of Macbeth’s use of self-preservation is quite clear, the murder of King Duncan, but the factors which synthesize demands must be observed with insight to understand the true motives behind his use of self-preservation. Macbeth’s conscious is plagued with a certain uneasiness as he faces internal demands such as his own conscious repeatedly questioning the validity of the witches’ prophecies, and his urges to make them come true, or even alter them in his benefit. Additionally, Macbeth is forced to deal with his own inflating ego, as the witches’ prophecies foretell stories that seemingly always benefit him, leading to a drastic increase in his confidence. Similarly, Macbeth is challenged by his wife to expedite the prophecies by committing sin, and beginning with that action, he faces more pressure to change the witches’ prophecies to benefit himself. Also, after Macbeth assumes position as King, he is given great responsibility and the immense power he desired, but as he begins to abuse it, it leads to his path down the ______. Macbeth’s own conscious holds a skeptical view on the witches’ prophecies, as even though the first may have been fulfilled, others seemed very far-fetched. Although after he succumbs to believing in the prophecies, he develops the thought
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s destiny is determined by the choices he makes. The first hint to the reader of Macbeth’s choices comes as a warning from Banquo to Macbeth about believing the witches, or Weird Sisters. Once Macbeth starts to believe the witches, this belief facilitates his decisions to take certain actions. Macbeth’s choice to believe the witches also gives them control over him, which further illustrates how Macbeth’s destiny is fated by his choice to believe them. Throughout the play Macbeth has opportunities to stop believing in the witches, thereby choosing actions that might avoid a harmful fate. It is Macbeth’s free choice to believe the witches or not, and it is this choice and his resulting actions that leads to his fate.