English 4
Mrs. Crockett
December 18, 2015
Macbeth Fate v. Free will Fate and Free will opposes each other, in the story Macbeth is told that he will fulfill a prophecy by some witches that. People believe that fate does not control your life, people each live to do what they want in life. This freedom is called free will. Macbeth had that choice to do what he wanted. He chose the path to be a king, which led him to problems. He then had to make a lot of decisions that he did, which was free will. Macbeth was told to do many things in the story by his wife. He was debating either to do it or not because he has the freedom to do what he wanted. Franz Horn, develops the issue of free will in Macbeth, stating that the course of Macbeth’s tragic action is willed not by destiny, but is the result of a lack of faith in his own freedom. He further states that the “necessity” that determines Macbeth’s actions “exists in his own heart”. Horn’s assertion that Macbeth possesses free will runs counter to the comments of Thomas Whateley and Charles Lamb, but is supported by a number of later critics, including G.G. Gervinus and A.J.F. Mezieres. The prophecy is a fore telling of his future. Macbeth did not know that he would be king until the witches told him. He started making decisions in his life …show more content…
Unfortunately it put him in a bad spot because people were starting to be suspicious of him. The Witches knew that fate would take course into his life after he was told about the prophecy. Fate is supposed to control the character’s actions. Macbeth was not controlled by fate. All throughout the story he made his own actions. Fate is a supernatural power that takes control. Macbeth only knew that he had Banquo in his way to be king because Banquo had a prophecy of his own that he would soon discover that Macbeth had been the one that murdered King Duncan. Malcolm was already suspicious of