The Inevitability Of Fate In Macbeth

Nature has often been viewed as an entity, both charitable yet cruel. In ancient cultures, almost every form of natural disaster was seen as the wrath of god. In ancient Greece, the gods worshipped by greeks were all representatives of different forms of natural occurrences that were unexplained at the time. In the 17th century play Macbeth, William Shakespeare personifies nature as an omniscient entity to represent fate to emphasize the predestination of humans and the inescapability of destiny. Shakespeare warns audiences to listen when nature warns them that they will stray off a path of righteousness.
Fate is the inability to prevent when/if something happens. Macbeth chronicles the internal turmoil and eventual downfall of Macbeth. Shakespeare personifies nature to represent the …show more content…
“The multiplying villainies of nature Do swarm upon him” (I.ii.13-14). The repetition, personification, and metaphorical use of nature as an antagonist represents the unpredictability and ruthlessness of the book. While innocent people do die in Macbeth, Shakespeare places the most emphasis on the likes of Macbeth, whose tragic flaws cause good people to do awful things and, ultimately, lead themselves to downfall, despite several warnings. In the prophecy the witches tell Macbeth he will meet his demise when the forest moves to him. Several times Shakespeare presents nature as a deterrent to warn Macbeth of his mortality. “It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, Which gives the stern’st good-night” (II.ii.5-6). Lady Macbeth compares the owl to an executioner, as the shrieking of the owl signals the moment that Macbeth kills Duncan. The owl symbolizes omniscience, as much of nature does in Macbeth. In old england, owls were often tied to witches, and owls are repeatedly seen in Macbeth, so Shakespeare uses the owls to allude to the omniscience of the