Macbeth, who once was perceived as an honorable hero on the battlefield, has let his ambitions negatively control his actions. In spite of Macbeth’s fearless persona in battle, he is worried about the witches prophecies which he believes determines his fate. As a psychologist, I have been referred to this thrilling case in order to examine why Macbeth thought the way he did, and why he executed these murderous deeds. According to J.B Rotter 's “Are You the Master of your Fate?” the main character from William Shakespeare’s
displays how his unforgivable deeds illustrate his efforts to control his fate based upon powerful others due to his external Locus of Control.
By analyzing the article “Are You the Master of your Fate?”, I have concluded …show more content…
In J.B Rotter’s article it explains that external locus of control is, “when people interpret the consequences of their behavior to be controlled by luck, fate, or powerful others.” While studying Macbeth’s actions in the beginning of the play, I could tell that he let others dictate his future. For instance, Macbeth would have never thought to kill Duncan unless Lady Macbeth persuaded him to do so. In Act 1 scene 7 (lines 49-51) Macbeth’s wife explains to him that, “When you durst do it, then you were a man And to be more then what you were you would be so much more the man.” This led him to believe that if he didn’t do it he would be less than a man. This further leads to the thought that Macbeth was controlled by his wife because if he didn’t kill Duncan, that would negatively affect him in the future. With all things considered, one of the bigger examples that shows why Macbeth was controlled by his external locus of control is Macbeth’s encounters with the three witches. Despite the fact that Macbeth has big ambitions, he would have never believed that he would become king one day, seeing that Duncan has two sons that would take his place. However in Act 1 Scene 3, after Banquo and Macbeth meet the three …show more content…
Now, Macbeth is already on the path of doing whatever is asked from him, and when I read the rest of the play I took a closer look at his mental status throughout his journey of being both Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth started out as a noble thane, who everyone respected and thought highly of. However, his biggest flaw was that he was easily manipulated by the ones closest to him. You could tell that Macbeth already had big ambitions for himself, but his wife was able to ease into his mind and change his virtuous desires into immoral motivations. One example of how Lady Macbeth manipulated him into horrible deeds is when he killed Duncan in order to become king. After Macbeth killed Duncan, he finds it extremely difficult to escape from guilt. In the play Macbeth states, “One cried, ‘God bless us’ and ‘Amen’, the other, as they had seen me with these hangman hands. List’ning their fear, I could not say ‘Amen’ when they did say ‘God Bless us.’ Me thought, I heard a voice cry, ‘sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” (II.ii.26-29). This demonstrates that Lady Macbeth’s successful experience with making Macbeth kill Duncan, has made Macbeth feel haunted and paralyzed immediately after he killed him. As a psychologist, this is a normal feeling for anyone who thinks rationally. When I first read the beginning of the play where Macbeth said, “Macbeth does murder
displays how his unforgivable deeds illustrate his efforts to control his fate based upon powerful others due to his external Locus of Control.
By analyzing the article “Are You the Master of your Fate?”, I have concluded …show more content…
In J.B Rotter’s article it explains that external locus of control is, “when people interpret the consequences of their behavior to be controlled by luck, fate, or powerful others.” While studying Macbeth’s actions in the beginning of the play, I could tell that he let others dictate his future. For instance, Macbeth would have never thought to kill Duncan unless Lady Macbeth persuaded him to do so. In Act 1 scene 7 (lines 49-51) Macbeth’s wife explains to him that, “When you durst do it, then you were a man And to be more then what you were you would be so much more the man.” This led him to believe that if he didn’t do it he would be less than a man. This further leads to the thought that Macbeth was controlled by his wife because if he didn’t kill Duncan, that would negatively affect him in the future. With all things considered, one of the bigger examples that shows why Macbeth was controlled by his external locus of control is Macbeth’s encounters with the three witches. Despite the fact that Macbeth has big ambitions, he would have never believed that he would become king one day, seeing that Duncan has two sons that would take his place. However in Act 1 Scene 3, after Banquo and Macbeth meet the three …show more content…
Now, Macbeth is already on the path of doing whatever is asked from him, and when I read the rest of the play I took a closer look at his mental status throughout his journey of being both Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth started out as a noble thane, who everyone respected and thought highly of. However, his biggest flaw was that he was easily manipulated by the ones closest to him. You could tell that Macbeth already had big ambitions for himself, but his wife was able to ease into his mind and change his virtuous desires into immoral motivations. One example of how Lady Macbeth manipulated him into horrible deeds is when he killed Duncan in order to become king. After Macbeth killed Duncan, he finds it extremely difficult to escape from guilt. In the play Macbeth states, “One cried, ‘God bless us’ and ‘Amen’, the other, as they had seen me with these hangman hands. List’ning their fear, I could not say ‘Amen’ when they did say ‘God Bless us.’ Me thought, I heard a voice cry, ‘sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” (II.ii.26-29). This demonstrates that Lady Macbeth’s successful experience with making Macbeth kill Duncan, has made Macbeth feel haunted and paralyzed immediately after he killed him. As a psychologist, this is a normal feeling for anyone who thinks rationally. When I first read the beginning of the play where Macbeth said, “Macbeth does murder