Examples Of Free Will In Macbeth

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The endeavors for power among all is demonstrated not only in real life, but also in the play Macbeth. Fate or free will is a commonly discussed debate; in the tragedy play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, it is a controversy for who it is to blame for Macbeth’s death. But, who is it to blame for his death? The three twitches, Lady Macbeth, or himself? What is to blame for it, too? In the play Macbeth is overcome with greed which leads to the killing of King Duncan, and contrary to popular belief, one may believe that Macbeth is to blame for his own death, leading to it was greed mixed with guilt. The three witches had three prophecies, which were Macbeth becoming the Thane of Glamis, Cawdor and eventually the King. After Macbeth discovered …show more content…

Greed: the desire for something causing someone to become overly selfish. Greed is what caused the death of Macbeth; his selfishness overcame his senses and led to immoral acts throughout the play. Macbeth wanted the throne so bad, that he felt hat he needed to kill Duncan as soon as he could, rather than waiting for him to die on his own. “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap / For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires.” (I.iv.55-60). Nevertheless, Lady Macbeth was a big influence on the decision of killing King Duncan; it was her idea in the first place. Without the manipulation and immoral thoughts of Lady Macbeth, there could be a possibility of Macbeth being alive at the end. Maybe if Macbeth were to not have listened to Lady Macbeth in the first place, she would have convinced somebody else to do the sinful deed. The greed in Macbeth goes hand in hand with the greed and ambition in The Lord of the Flies. Jack wants power over everyone else so badly, that he would have done anything for it. Easily compatible with the acts of Macbeth; he did do anything he could to have power. Frankly all of these events in Macbeth were caused by the acts of free will. Free will: the power of acting without the constraint of necessity, voluntarily doing something. “...argued that a free choice must be caused and that, therefore, freedom and causality must be compatible.” …show more content…

There is no doubt that Macbeth was impulsive when it came to decision making in Macbeth. Decision making goes hand and hand with greediness, as well as free will. It is clearly evident that Macbeth is responsible for his decisions that were made. Lady Macbeth did not force him to kill the King, she just simply tested her opinion of manhood against Macbeth. Some may view that as morally wrong, because she pressured him into killing the King. But, Macbeth could have held his instincts back and not commit the crimes he did. “If we have free will, we can consciously make decisions that are not determined by the physics and biology of our brains.” (“Understanding Free Will”). Macbeth could have took a moment to realize what Lady Macbeth was trying to get him to do was wrong in numerous ways. Therefore, that is why Macbeth is to blame for his own death, because he could have stopped himself various times. When Macbeth killed the King, he felt guilt, which is most likely what he should have felt. Then, he killed the guards, and then Banquo. “They hailed him father to a line of kings. / Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown / No son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, / For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; / For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered.” (III.i.63-68). After Macbeth hired the three murders to kill Banquo, it was apparent that Macbeth went mentally

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