...Lastly, people are prisoners of their minds by believing fate will bring them to a path that they want. In “Macbeth”, Macbeth goes to the witches to ask them about his fate. He believes that the witches’ prophecies are true, so he went to them and asked them about it. Another scenario would be Macbeth asking for fate to aid him in his battle. He believes that fate will put him where he is supposed to be in his life. So, he asks for fate to guide him in his battles. For the first example for this topic, Macbeth goes to the three witches and gets his prophecies from them. The witches tell him his prophecies and Macbeth felt that they are safe. Macbeth says, “Sweet bedoments! Good!” (4.1.100).Macbeth believes what the witches are saying and believes...
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...Joshua Berube Mr. Welsch ENG 3U1 Monday, May 9th, 2016 Macbeth’s Fate Fate is defined in many different ways. Webster's Dictionary defines fate as a power that predetermines events. Fate and destiny suggest that events are unavoidable and unchangeable. Whatever happens in life is meant to be and cannot be changed by mankind. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare displays ambition, fate, deception and treachery. Fate is a supernatural force that controls the actions and choices of others. In Macbeth fate plays an important role in the lives of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo. Macbeth’s fate is unavoidable and unchangeable. Macbeth’s fate is sealed as soon as he meets the witches’. Macbeth’s fate is tragic. Macbeth and Banquo are together...
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...Common Themes in Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet Shakespeare utilizes the supernatural and fate to pave the destiny of some of his characters in his tragedies. Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet appear to have a common novel theme of fate, betrayal to supremacy, and the struggle to restore providential power. Shakespeare uses rhetoric to effectively convey the idea of fate and the struggle against it. In all three of these Shakespearian tragedies characters encounter the emotion of disbelief and the struggle to seek refuge from fate and to ultimately live life as if it were their free will. In Macbeth and Hamlet, Shakespeare appears to use apparitions early in the play to effectively establish mysteriousness of the paths of these characters. By using apparitions Shakespeare clearly makes a distinction of the supernatural and reality. In these moments of these confrontations Shakespeare successfully establishes Hamlet and Macbeth’s mortality and their inevitability to succumbing to their fate. But were Hamlet and Macbeth actually doomed right away or were they in a situation where poor choices caused their downfall? H.B. Charlton thinks that Hamlet being that type of man he is, fails to kill Claudius right after King Hamlet has been murdered causing him to succumb to his fate (83). Also Julius Caesar and Duncan’s ghost appear in their plays. In each of these tragedies the main character has one emotion when he encounters fate, disbelief. Disbelief in the potential...
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...Don’t be misled by the idea that fate is the reason for the actions that are made in your life. Freewill and the choices you commit play a bigger part in your future rather than destiny. Destiny and fate are concepts based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe. This is unmistakably demonstrated the 17th century play Macbeth. Shakespeare has most definitely positioned the audience to view Macbeth as a partial victim of fate, through the use of dramatic technique and manipulation of language. He is under the influence of the supernatural forces of the witches. However, Shakespeare also portrays Macbeth as a man of action that freely shapes his own future through his own decisions and actions. This is clearly made evident...
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...key component in the play Macbeth. Written by Shakespeare, Macbeth is the protagonist in Macbeth who strives to become king after hearing of the witches prophecy. Having free will, Macbeth’s life is not predetermined, as he has active control over his actions, choices, and his fate. Macbeth often questions in his own free will due to many of the witches prophecies, which always seem to be true. Macbeth, taking the prophecies as fate, is influenced into killing many of the people close to him and eventually leads to his death. The world seemly lacking free will, the witches appear to see fate. The first lines of the play they state”When shall we three meet again?/ In thunder,...
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...In the play Macbeth , Macbeth made many decisions, he decided to kill King Duncan, as well as his best friend, Banquo. Macbeth made these decisions to secure his position as king. After Macbeth completed what he wanted to do, he had a great amount of guilt. Although Macbeth’s life could have been influenced by his fate and the witches prophecies, his life was planned out by his decisions. One way Macbeth’s decisions controlled his life, was when he killed King Duncan. Macbeth made the decision to kill Duncan. In Act 2 Scene 2 line 19, Macbeth says, “I have done the deed/Didst thou not hear a noise?” Macbeth physically did the deed. He, himself, took the dagger into Duncan’s room and stabbed him. This led to Macbeth struggling immensely with guilt. He feared he would never be...
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...Themes of Macbeth (The Significance of Macbeth 4:2) Imagine you’re at a party, your first party when you’re offered a drink. You don’t want to refuse because everyone else is doing it; so you take it. You sip it here and there from time to time, to fit in with the crowd. There’s a knock on the door, and everyone jolts and sprints in their own directions, dodging tables chairs, running out the back doors, and hiding in closets. You still standing there like your feet are concreted to the ground, looked puzzled. The police barge in, take you and few others down to the police station and warrant you with an MIP. The days following at school, you’re the talk of the school and everyone knows your story. This was a significant incident in your life....
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...Macbeth is a classic example of a tragic hero by Aristotle’s standards, in that all five of the established tragic traits are applicable to Macbeth’s character (a noble birth, Hamartia, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and Catharsis). The narrative of Macbeth follows the timeless trajectory of a tragedy; Macbeth comes from a place of serendipity, and over the course of events, finds himself plummeting into defeat as a character. Through critical analysis of Macbeth’s core traits compared to the core traits of a tragedy, it becomes apparent Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his tragedy and his downfall as an individual, because it was his own hubris which drove him to bring about the prophecy he heard. To acknowledge this fully, one must first simply observe both the actions of Macbeth and the core elements crucial to a tragic hero, as according to Aristotle for the sake of consistency in a historical theme of narrative. Aristotle’s traits of a tragic hero are as follows: a noble birth, Hamartia, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and Catharsis. To begin with, the first element of a tragedy we are faced with in Macbeth is of being of a noble...
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...The downfall of Macbeth is most often attributed to either his own ambitions run amok or the influence of his wife's Machiavellian manipulations. The husband and wife work in tandem to bring about the prophecies of the Weird Sisters, and it is Macbeth's hand that does the greater evil deed against Duncan and the only evil against Banqo and MacDuff's family members; in essence the rise of the Macbeths to power is one of shared responsibility. Their downfall is played out on the same road as they travel in opposite directions to and from being responsible for their own fate. The belief in the occult is an element of the play that drives its tragedy; an element that may be lost on modern audiences looking to find motivation for Macbeth's murderous deeds. The belief in prophecy is particularly important in gaining a foothold on understanding the downfall of Macbeth and his Lady. When Macbeth first comes upon the Weird Sister and they roll out the prophecies for both Macbeth and Banquo, and by extension Duncan and his family, more is going on than just a foretelling of the future. The prophecies instill in Macbeth the realization of his dreams, of course, but they also portend that the darkest fears of Macbeth will be realized alongside his dreams. Without Macbeth's unquestioned belief in the occult and acceptance that the Weird Sisters have the power of prophecy, there would be neither a rise nor a fall. If the rise of Macbeth to king can be said to be a combination of belief in...
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...Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is not a play of fate; but instead, it is a tragedy that is a result from the freewill and unruly greed of Macbeth. The witches only make suggestions about Macbeth becoming king in the future; they do not cast spells or have control over Macbeth, which will secure that their predictions come true. However, it is Macbeth’s thoughts that occur after his encounter with the witches that lead him to kill King Duncan and secure his title, which leads to a number of consequences. It is free will, not fate that leads to Macbeth’s madness and destruction. Therefore, through observations of the text, Macbeth is clearly illustrated as a villain who exercises his free will which leads to his own downfall, the witches are not at fault at all. Macbeth’s freewill is portrayed through his actions before and after the murder of King Duncan. There is no proof to show that the weird sisters are valid sources or that they are women that can see the future. The witches simply tell Macbeth and Banquo news that has already been revealed to the public, which any individual with access to the news of Scottish politics or who are associated with the royals. This news convinces Macbeth that the witches might have the ability to predict his future. Although he is a little hesitant to put his complete trust in the minds of the witches, the scene where he meets with them is enough to give Macbeth the feeling that he must do whatever it takes in order to make him King. The...
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...FRAME 5: THE DAGGER The blood-stained dagger may be an over-used symbol in Macbeth, but it is an universally acknowledged symbol for the play and would be the most effective in reminding the audience of the Macbeth’s first abuse of free will: the murder of King Duncan. A board game must be relatable and it would be no assumption to believe that all of Scotland remembers the murder of Duncan with a dagger. This step is further speeds Macbeth’s corruption by the prophecy and his own ambition. His illusions of the dagger can also be linked to fate since the hallucination indicates that he doesn’t want to commit the murder, but feels that he must. This self-fulfilling prophecy continues to make him believe that he is being guided by...
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...The Fate of Macbeth In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, major decisions made by Macbeth affect the entire play. The result of these decisions and actions ended in the negative outcome of his death. But was Macbeth responsible for the negative outcome, which was ultimately his death? Evidently, Macbeth is responsible for his own fate because he is a liar, he has a tragic flaw, and he is strongly dependent on others. Macbeth determines his own fate by lying. If Macbeth did not lie, he would of not made people suspicious of him and then they would of not rebelled and killed him. Macbeth lies to Macduff about killing the Kings guards. We know he is lying when Macbeth says “O, yet I do repent me of my fury, That I did kill them” (Macbeth, 2.3 121-122). Here Macduff becomes suspicious of Macbeth. Macduff’s suspicion leads him to start a rebellion against Macbeth and ultimately resulting in Macduff killing Macbeth. If Macbeth hadn’t lied about killing the guards Macduff would have not been so suspicious of Macbeth and would not have rebelled against him. Macbeth also lies to Banquo. This is Macbeth’s first lie and this starts the ball rolling. Macbeth had said “I think not of them” (Macbeth, 2.1 25). Here he lied about not thinking about the three witches, when, in fact, all he does is think of the three witches. Macbeth lying to both Banquo and Macduff causes suspicion, which caused conflict and then his death. An equally significant aspect of Macbeth determining his own fate is his...
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...Death, Be Not Proud”: Macduff’s Contemptuous Condemnation of Macbeth In life, the most disarming fear experienced by mankind is of the absence of life. Death is the most frightening fate of mankind and the inevitable fate of all living things. The fact that death cannot be evaded, and that it is impossible for the living to have an accurate concept of death is the root cause of fear derived from it; all life will inevitably be consumed by the mysterious and destructive power of death. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is punctuated by moments of murder and death caused by the hands of the power-delirious title character. John Donne’s Holy Sonnet X “Death, Be Not Proud” exhibits arguments that challenge the integrity of death’s power. The...
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...In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare in 1606, the text portrays power to be all consuming. This is shown through the themes of freewill vs fate, violence and tyranny and the supernatural vs natural. Macbeth follows Macbeth, who at the beginning is the protagonist, until power consumes his mind, leading him to do evil deeds and turning into the antagonist. The supernatural play a big part in Macbeth since they are the reason in motivating Macbeth’s desire for power. When Macbeth falls upon the witches, they say, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor,” (1.3.50) prophesising his fate as king. This is just the beginning of his desire for power since all the series of events that occur after this are due to his need to seize power....
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...comfort in believing that everything happens for a reason, and that fate will lead them to the desired path. They believe that their life has already been planned out for them, and nothing they do can change that. Yet others place their beliefs in free will, and the idea that their actions determine their future. This is the case for the protagonists in both Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Sophocles’ Oedipus The King. Macbeth was given a prophecy that he would become King of Scotland, yet with his power-hungry nature, took it upon himself to speed up the process. Oedipus, similarly, was given a prophecy which read that he would kill his father and his mother, which his hubris allowed him to disavow and try to prove wrong. Their actions...
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