Essay On Fate Vs Fate

Free will vs Fate? By Fleur Howard Free will or fate, and whether one has control of their destiny is a question that has been asked continuously throughout history. Authors, playwrights and more recently, film directors have played a large part in provoking the public to ponder the difference between chance and fate. Readers or viewers are often left wondering if the outcome of the story would have occurred whether the circumstance had been different or not. In the time of the late 16th Century, William Shakespeare was a prominent playwright and the aspect of fate played a significant role in many of his stories.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, fate is defined as "the development of events outside a person's control, regarded

During this time period, believing in fate and destiny was not uncommon. Possibly the most significant reason as to why fate was the popular opinion, is because of the lack of scientific knowledge. According to Elizabethan England Life magazine (2017), "During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, despite the rapid technological developments taking place in the society, the concept of superstition gained momentum." Examples of these superstitions are still present today such as saying 'bless you' when one sneezes in order to ward off the devil that may have entered the person's mouth, or that the seventh son had magical powers, or even something as simple as not opening an umbrella inside as it brings bad luck. Many of these rituals are practiced unconsciously by people today, and stem from the Elizabethan era. Evidently, this particular time in history had strong beliefs around all things supernatural, therefore, many people put their faith in astrology. Astrology is the philosophy that a person's life is determined by the stars and this is a conceivable theory as to why belief in fate was so popular such a long time

Despite William Shakespeare living within a time where fate was the popular opinion, it is believed that he was a supporter of the theory of free will, as explained in a quote from Micheal J. Cummings, 2012, "Evidence suggests that he [William Shakespeare] believed each man was the master of his life—not stars, not sorcerers, not oracles, and not an arbitrary deity. But he also believed that certain forces—environmental, social, religious, emotional, and psychological, for example—could weaken a man or a woman's ability to make a rational decision" In spite of the idea of fate and destiny being a large part of his works, as I have stated near the beginning, it is also thought that Shakespeare incorporated the aspect of free will. Some examples of this can be seen throughout different plays. In Julius Caesar there is the line, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." (Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2) Further examples come from Shakespeare Study Guide 2012, "Timon of Athens lost everything because of his attempt to please everyone. Coriolanus lost his country and his life because of his overweening pride. Cardinal Wolsey fell from grace because of his political machinations and avarice." The point being made in this examples is that these characters were ill-fated because of their own actions and decisions, which they made willingly. Therefore, it is possible that the tragedy