Essay: Explore Fate and Free Will in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Should We Intervene in Our Future?

Many people like to have the belief that the actions they carry out are due to the development of events beyond a person’s control; fate. And there are those who believe that they are solely responsible for their own actions and that they can act by their own discretion; free will. In William Shakespear’s Macbeth, the main protagonist, Macbeth, is first introduced to fate when he comes across three witch sisters who tell him a prophecy. They state that Macbeth shall become the King of Scotland. Later on in the play, they give more prophecies. This leads the reader to ask themselves, “Are these prophecies real? Is Macbeth’s fortune already sealed? Is action even necessary to make them come to pass or will they come true no matter what?”. Well according to Macbeth, they certainly are real. And in order to ensure these prophecies, Macbeth commits horrific acts and becomes a power-hungry dictator. In this play, Shakespear has the theme of fate evidently displayed in his writing.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is an honored and noble man and warrior. He is very aware and thoughtful of his actions. The very first incident in which fate is mentioned is during the very beginning of the play after the battle against the treacherous Thane of Cawdor Macdonwald and the King of Norway. The Captain states here that Macbeth should have died in battle but he somehow defied his fate. This is actually quite ironic considering how this story ends. But it is only when he and his friend come across three sister witches who inform Macbeth that he shall become the King of Scotland, that the idea of fate is established. At first, he is hesitant and questions the reliability of the Witches; he demands they tell him more. He then goes on to follow the path predicted by them without trying to intervene.In this scene, Macbeth is questioning the prophecy and is wondering if he should take action or let it all take its course. It is not until Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, is informed about what the Witches had said that he begins to take action.
After she is told about the Witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth immediately sees this as an opportunity for her and her husband. She convinces her husband to try and “work with fate” per se. She persuades him to give in to his dark thoughts of murder and kill the king in order to speed up the process of them becoming royalty. This does not come easily, however. Macbeth’s confliction within himself is causing him to hesitate. Does he ensure his fate by murdering the king he had just fought for? Or does he leave fate to act on its own? He does end up killing King Duncan. Macbeth is basically using the excuse “dagger made me do it”. He makes it seem as though he has no choice. He then kills Duncan and two chamberlains that night. While one may think that is the end, Macbeth’s dark deeds have just begun.
Throughout the rest of the play, Macbeth goes from a noble Thane to a blood-thirsty tyrant. He continues to engage in other unspeakable acts; mainly murder. This includes the murders of men, women, and even children. He later goes knocking on the three Witches’ doorstep to get another glimpse into his future. They give him riddle-like fortunes. He finds the prophecies humorous if anything. He was already wary of Macduff but just thinks that the last two are impossible. It is at this point where Macbeth decides to fight against fate. Instead of acting to try and make it come true, he acts to prevent it from happening. That is why he orders the assassination of Macduff’s entire family. To his surprise though, all of the Witches’ apparitions came true. He did become King (for a brief period), the Birnam Wood did go against him, and an enraged Macduff, who was born from a c-section, is the one who kills and beheads Macbeth. With that being said, it is what Macbeth believed to have changed his fate, to be what has actually sealed it.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth can be interpreted in many ways and possesses several different themes. One of those themes, being fate, is shown throughout the plot sequence and the characters of the play. Although some may argue that Macbeth is just a helpless victim of fate, it is difficult to know whether or not the Witches speak of his true fate and fortune, or if they tell him of their prophecy to manipulate Macbeth him to commit horrendous acts. But again, it is all up for interpretation. This may cause one to wonder: do people’s actions matter? Do their actions affect the outcome? Or perhaps everyone’s fate is already ensured.