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Macbeth Essay

Life follows a predetermined path which cannot be altered by human power. Thus, humans are driven to act in accordance with the particular path their life is directed towards. This is regarded as fate. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Shakespeare uses his characters
in order to present how man’s perception of fate can affect man’s actions. For instance, the intended path of Macbeth’s life was to be crowned king and rule over Scotland. He was told of his future beforehand, however, which evoked his ambitions where he would do anything he can to make it happen instead of maintaining his grounds until life leads him to reach the final destination in life.
Macbeth was an honorary warrior in Scotland, praised and respected for his bravery in battles. When he initially encountered the Weird Sisters, the three witches hailed him as “thane of Glamis”, “thane of Cawdor”, and “king hereafter” (36). Although he was full of doubt, he did not challenge the idea of being crowned as the king. Instead, he took their words into consideration and claimed “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir” (42). He accepted and acknowledged their prophecies of what his future held in store for him, unintentionally revealing a sense of his hopes and desires. Soon after, Ross delivered a message to Macbeth that King Duncan had titled him as the new thane of Cawdor. Realizing that the witches’ prophecies were coming true, Macbeth highly expected that “the greatest is behind” (40), allowing himself to be taken over by his “black and deep desires” (48). From the start, Macbeth’s reactions and thoughts demonstrate how he was destined to be blinded by his hidden desires, eventually leading him to carry out evil deeds.
Lady Macbeth was a significant figure in Macbeth’s life, not just as a wife but as the greatest supporter and an acquaintance of the evil deeds Macbeth commits. The author describes Macbeth as a man who is full of insecurities and fears, lacking the courage he once had. Nevertheless, his wife constantly filled in those weak sides by boosting up his confidence and self-esteem. At first, Macbeth declared that he will no longer go along with the plan they schemed,
reasoning how good King Duncan was to him. But, he changed his mind when Lady Macbeth said “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And , to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more than man” (64). She never failed to encourage him of carrying out his evil deeds because she was just as ambitious as he was with becoming king. After taking his first step and murdering King Duncan, Macbeth was cowardly once again of what he had done to which his wife called him “Infirm of purpose” (82). Whenever Macbeth doubted the morals of his actions, his wife pushed him even more to get further in achieving the purpose of his actions. It is obvious how the direct author description and what his wife said of Macbeth motivated him to dedicate his life into those evil deeds he schemed.
With the use of these various strategies, Shakespeare was capable of characterizing individuals in Macbeth and portraying how an individual can act in relation to their perception of what fate is. Macbeth, for example, was previously destined to become the king but he was eager for it to happen which induced him to take further actions that will get him closer to fulfilling his desires. In other words, Macbeth perfected his role of representing how he acted upon his perception of fate.