The Free Will of Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Free Will of Macbeth Destiny Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. (William Jennings Bryan) Are we in control of our protest serving, our own fate, or are our lives really already planned and mapped out for us? Does Macbeth willfully choose venomous in set up to achieve his destiny? Or, is his destiny doomed by the witches prophecies? Macbeth may not have made any of his same choices, if the three Weird sisters hadnt amount to him. In Shakespeares play Macbeth, Macbeth is no pawn of fate. Although Macbeth was destined to require king, the path he chose to take to achieve his aspiration of obtaining the throne was of his own free will. Macbeth knew exactly what he was doing in order to attain his destiny of becoming king. Although Macbeth was skeptical about the witches predictions he later learned as the play progressed that destiny truly determined his future. The prophec y of the witches was that Macbeth would become king. Nowhere did the witches predict the following events in Macbeths life before he reached the throne. The prophecy of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor had already come true, enhancing Macbeths aspirations of becoming king. The second prophecy would sure as shooting come true for him, but he has to choose how to get there. Macbeth was destined for the throne, however obtaining that destiny was completely up to him. Killing Duncan seemed to be the only panache for him, even though he knew it was wrong. Macbeth was well-aware his actions were immoral and unjust, and he continued with the murders anyway. He contemplates the reasons for why it would be wrong to kill Duncan, showing he could have ... ...rely diametric way if he had not already been told his future. The witches could have very well enhanced Macbeths desires he had held up inside him, causing him to make such evil and terrible choices. Macbeth believed that there was a destiny, for he was so threatened by Banquos destiny of being father to a whole line of kings, that he had Banquo murdered. As the play progressed, Macbeth learned that his destiny ultimately forms his future. All Macbeths actions were choices to attain his destiny, but they were nonetheless choices of his own free will. Macbeth was destined to become king however, destiny doesnt come along with the choices made to achieve that destiny. Macbeth knew what he was doing. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York Washington Press, 1992.