Macbeth's Destiny, An Issue of
In Shakespear's tragedy, Macbeth, the theme defiantly circles the issues of fate and free will. For some, however, which theme leads to Macbeth's demise is unclear. Though the witches claimed to for see his future on the thrown, was it really an act of fate that wound up bringing him there? Or could it be chalked up to an educated guess that coerced Macbeth to take the issue into his own hands?? The witches or "weird sisters" spell Macbeth's fate out for him. They tell him that he is to be king. Soon after Macbeth kills the existing king and claims the throne. This is where the theme of free will comes into play. Is Macbeth's claim to the throne really a matter of fate, or were the words of the witches only what pushed Macbeth into executing a plot that had been stewing in his mind for quite a while. Throughout the play it becomes increasingly clear that Macbeth has a spirit living within him that will be stopped by nothing and noone. Were the witches just stating the inevitable? That a
What does it matter that the prediction that Macbeth would become king only came to be because he took matters into his own hands. man with such a demeanor will inevitably one day take the throne? If this was the witches only prediction one could ponder this topic for days and weeks on end. There is almost no way that he was implying that Macbeth sealed his own destiny, it was obviously an issue of fate. On Macbeth's second visit to the witches they predict that Macbeth cannot be killed by any man "of woman born," and that he will not be able to be defeated until Birnam wood physically moves toward his stronghold at Dunsinane. I believe Shakespear made sure of that intentionally. " The rest of the play at this point is becomes practically useless to read because the ending has been given away through the prior prophesies of the weird sisters. How will we ever know what would have been had he not? When Macbeth and Macduff come face to face in the final battle of the tale it is no surprise when the reader finds that Macduff "untimely ripp'd" from his mothers womb. At the beginning of the play it is natural to question the super natural powers of the weird sisters, and their credibility is all but demolished by the preposterousness of their predictions on their second meeting with Macbeth. The witches predictions on their last visit with Macbeth seemed so outrageous it appeared that there was no chance of them becoming an actuality. Word reaches Macbeth that the woods seem to have uprooted themselves and are moving towards the stronghold, causing the reader to wonder, who is the man not "of woman born" that is destine to kill Macbeth? This moment, in the fifth act of scene five, is when that line between themes of fate and free will really begins to come into focus. That is until Malcom orders that the English and rebel Scottish armies cut branches from the wood to shield their numbers while advancing on Dunsinane. It is the other predictions of the witches that bring the theme of fate into a brighter light. Banquo is now father to future generations of kings. He was not therefore, in the strict sense, "born of a woman.
Common topics in this essay:
Soon Macbeth,
Dunsinane Word,
Macduff Malcom,
,
Macbeth Macduff,
Malcom English,
weird sisters,
readers mind,
macbeth's demise,
woman born,
witches predictions,
own hands,
fate free,
macbeth killed,
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