"All Hail, Macbeth, That Shalt Be King Hereafter!": Quote Analysis

In the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the phrase, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!”is chanted by one of the three witches in Act 1, Scene 3. This prophecy serves as the launching point for Shakespeare’s exploration of the impact of fate versus free will in the lives of men. The author has one of the “weird sisters” to proclaim this prediction in order to set Macbeth in motion to try to master his fate, ultimately bringing himself to ruin. Specifically, Shakespeare examines whether the witch reveals a destiny for Macbeth that can’t be avoided, or the witch simply plants ideas in Macbeth’s mind to cause mischief. More generally, the author plays with the question as to whether or not action is a necessary factor in creating a man’s future. Rather, will a future come to pass for that man, whether he acts to impact that future or not? In the play, it appears that the …show more content…
Macbeth’s attempts to control his fate, put him on a path of self-destruction. Throughout the play, the witches seem to manipulate Macbeth by removing his free will. It is possible that the witches merely reveal his destiny to Macbeth, rather than manipulating Macbeth into committing evil acts to serve the witches’ purpose. Either way, Macbeth’s actions are heavily influenced by the words of the witches. In hearing the prophecy, Macbeth feels that his life is predestined to greatness. However, Macbeth is unable to see the negative ramifications of the prophecy. Macbeth does not examine the motivations of the witches to share this particular prophecy with him. If Macbeth had done so, he might have pondered the effect of fate versus free will, on his destiny. If Macbeth had done so, Shakespeare’s story would not have become the classic tragedy that has stood the test of