August Mawn Macbeth Essay Period 2

The driving theme in the “Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is the power that the perceived force of fate has on man’s psyche. No other character exemplifies this more than Macbeth, who believes himself guided and protected by fate, and who puts his full faith in it. Macbeth’s strong belief in fate is portrayed by Shakespeare’s characterization of him through the use of his actions and thoughts, which not only builds the image of a man who is steered by fate but advances the whole action of the play.
The whole Tragedy of Macbeth is advanced by what could be called fate; it is Macbeth’s fate to meet the witches who provide him with the prophecy, it is Macbeth’s fate to decide to kill Duncan, it is Macbeth’s fate to go back to the witches and believe himself invincible. This analysis is far too basic and cursory, though, how Shakespeare truly emphasizes the theme of fate is through the dramatic use of the character Macbeth. Shakespeare characterizes Macbeth’s actions as being totally driven by what Macbeth perceives as his fate; to be king of Scotland. After what Macbeths thinks to be a chance meeting with the witches, he is forever driven by the fact that the third witch hailed him as “King Hereafter”. His actions completely reflect these words; He goes to any length to fulfill the prophecy, whether it means killing the current king or his best friend. Everything he does from that point on reflects his confidence in fate, and when he eventually comes to fear a possible demise, he returns to the witches to be “reassured” by fate. Up until his final meeting with Macduff, he feels that he cannot be killed because it is his fate to survive any encounter with a “man women born”. All these actions are devised by Shakespeare to show the power that the idea of fate can have on a person; if a person believes that something is their fate, then they will devote themselves to achieving it. In showing what hold fate has over a true believers actions, the theme of the play can be seen as an example of how if one believes they are destined to do something, then they will make it happen, independent of whether there was any true fate involved.
Another way that Shakespeare uses characterization to clarify and strengthen the importance of perceived fate is through the use of Macbeths thoughts. Macbeth is profoundly affected by the prophecy of the witches; it consumes every part of him and his life. He once says during an aside “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,Without my stir,” Here Macbeth is contemplating the very meaning of his supposed fate; will it just be handed to him or will he have to actively pursue his fate. This demonstrates what the power of perceived fate is, its ability to make man do something that they would not ordinarily do. Another example of the power of fate over Macbeth is when he thinks “Rather than so, come, Fate, into the list, and champion me to the utterance!” This is almost a direct challenge to fate by Macbeth who still is not reconciled with the idea of fate not revealing every part of his future. Shakespeare is trying to reveal how susceptible to perceived notions man can become when presented with a possible window into their own future.
Shakespeare uses the powers of perceived fate to not only advance the action of the play but also to explain one of the fallibilities of man, his extremely suggestible nature. Macbeth is the highlighted character for this theme in the fact that he demonstrates the power of fate the most; he is driven to unspeakable acts by his belief in fate and eventually loses everything, ill-gotten or not. Fate’s power is presented as being even more powerful than mans control over his own mind, a possibly dominant and prevailing influence.