Macbeth Fate Quotes

In the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare has a strong theme of power. Macbeth is a king who is given three predictions from three witches, one of which is that he will become king. The one problem is he doesn’t know what he has to do in order to become king. His wife then decides that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king. This one murder then leads to others in order to cover the original murder up. Once Macbeth becomes king, he doesn’t want anything to change, he wants to stay king until he dies. He then begins to kill again, but instead of killing to cover something, he is killing anyone who stands in his way of staying king. Macbeth’s fate is affected by the personality trait of bravery, his ability to be manipulated, and his determination.

One personality trait that affects Macbeth’s fate is his bravery. Macbeth is a strong warrior. He was praised for splitting someone in half from their head to their naval. The Captain states, “For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smoked with bloody execution… till he undeam’d him from the nave to th’ chops…” (Macbeth 22) In this quote, the Captain is commenting on Macbeth's bravery when in battle. While at the

same time he is commenting on how gruesomely he kills his enemies. This is one of the traits that helped him become king, but it was not the main reason why.

Another personality trait that affected Macbeth's fate is his ability to be manipulated easily.

When his wife told him that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king, King Duncan. King Duncan is a friend of Macbeth who he is very loyal to. Macbeth had to decide whether his loyalty to the king or loyalty to his wife was more important. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem..." (Macbeth 60) In this quote, Lady Macbeth is questioning Macbeth's manhood. She is stating that he is not a man because he won't show the boldness or the bravery to do this

deed.

The last personality trait that affected Macbeth's fate was his determination. After he has become king, Macbeth was determined to do anything he had to in order to remain king. Even if it meant killing more people. "Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which we feared./ There is none but he, whose being I do fear..."(Macbeth 116) Macbeth fears that Banquo knows what he has done and that he will tell others. Macbeth also fears that Banquo's son will kick him from his throne and reign as king. Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and his son in order to keep his secret and forever reign a king.

In the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare has a strong theme of power. Three of Macbeth's trait affects his fate and amount of power he has. His bravery, his ability to be manipulated, and his determination brings on his tragic fate.