Macbeth Fate Quotes

Makanda Lieberenz

Patrick

English II Honors - 7

21 November 2014

Macbeth: A Tale Determined by Fate or Freewill

The idea of fate versus freewill has been a fiercely debated topic for years. In Macbeth, one of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, it can also be unclear whether Macbeth is the creator of his own downfall, or if his life is in the hands of fate. However, there are more facts proving that Macbeth does not make his own decisions, and is merely a puppet to the higher powers of fate.

Near the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Banquo came across the three witches. In this encounter, Macbeth’s prophecies were revealed to him, and it is the inception of the idea that he could actually become king. When the witches first spoke,

they hailed Macbeth saying, “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!/All hail, Macbeth hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (I.III.49-51).The reader can interpret that the witches mean that Macbeth, already the King of Glamis, shall be the King of Cawdor, and the future king. This evidence in the play gives Macbeth the idea that he could be king and encourages him to do so. However, because it is unlikely to meet these prophets, or witches, it was fate that made Macbeth and Banquo meet them so Macbeth could live up to his full potential. If the three witches had never told Macbeth that he was going to be king, he never would have thought it were possible.
Though Macbeth may have been surprised by the witches’ prophecies, he gained confidence soon after Duncan expressed his great gratitude for Macbeth; “I have begun to plant thee, and will labor/ To make thee full of growing” (I.IV.28-29).

In this quote, Duncan is saying that by making Macbeth the King of Cawdor, he is also ensuring the start of Macbeth’s great career, and Duncan will help to make it grow. However, Macbeth already knew that he would be the King of Cawdor from the witches’ prophecies. From this evidence, the witches prove themselves credible to Macbeth. Now with Macbeth’s new confidence, he feels more entitled to the prophecy of being future king, and becomes arrogant. The witches told him he would become King of Cawdor, and he did, so he will become the future king as well. However, this characteristic is key to Macbeth’s fate. Even though he was aware of his prophecy, he felt he needed to kill all threats to the throne, like Duncan, for example. Macbeth got away with the murder of Duncan for a period of time. No one really tried to figure out the murder of Duncan, and Malcom and Donalbain conveniently fled the area, so Macbeth got off scot-free. Fate helped in this situation because otherwise, Macbeth would have had to kill Malcom and Donalbain, too. He would have gotten caught, and his life would have ended sooner. Although his ego pushed him to murder several people, fate did not allow him to be caught until it was

time.
On the other hand, if all the witches’ prophecies were all correct, Macbeth could have become king without him even having to kill Duncan. When Macbeth heard that he was going to be king, that means it would have happened no matter what he did. Yet Lady Macbeth practically bullied him into killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth attacked his manhood saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man,/And to be more than what you were, you would/Be so much more the man” (I.VII.49-51). Because of this, Macbeth chose to kill Duncan and restore his manliness. Though the witches never told him how he would become king, he had decided to murder the two guards, Banquo, whom was once his good friend, and tried to have Macduff killed as well. Instead, his mercenaries killed Macduff’s son and wife. These were all additional decisions that Macbeth had made on his own accord, and when he changed his character, from ambitious soldier to greedy, cold-blooded murderer, the witches prophecies changed as well. Then again, it could be argued that the witches’ prophecies could have also accounted for the fact that Macbeth’s character would change because of his newfound self-confidence and desire to be king. So if Macbeth made all those decisions to kill people, it could have been his fate to murder them, and as a result, be killed himself.
All the same, Macbeth tried to do everything in his control to become king, and failed. Whether it was fate or his own faulty decisions, the reason of his demise is still uncertain. Many people have several different reasons for what they believe brought down Macbeth, however, it is up to the reader to interpret the play for themselves and form their own opinions.