Macbeth Essay

by Phillip Kim

Asher

Per. 3

Her very attempt to escape the clutches of fate resulted in her ultimate imprisonment in it. Lady

Macbeth 's sudden and bloody rise to power followed by her shameful,atrocious fall to her death made

one thing quite clear, fate is a binding, unbreakable shackle to all men. In Macbeth by Shakespeare, the

power of fate seems to be omnipresent; it stands to dictate the thoughts and actions of characters with

its mischievous ways . Through Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare showed that a person does not change

fate, but rather that fate changes the person through its deceptive and cruel ways. Her actions towards

the witches' prophecy, her change in thoughts as Macbeth became uncertain, and her reaction towards

the actions from her blinded ambition shows that the twisted logic of destiny deems itself the most

powerful force among characters.

When Lady Macbeth first heard of the news of the three witches' prophecy, she was enticed; her

former, affectionate attributes became shrouded in ambition and she began to lose sight of reason. As if

the very knowledge of fate has infested her body with corrupt ideas, she conjured up devious ideas to

fulfill what destiny had promised her. Robbed of her proper sense, she started using her sensual appeal

towards Macbeth, often abusing their relationship with each other, to satisfy her urge for power. She

overpowered Macbeth 's uncertainty with her ambitious drive for power and created Macbeth 's world

without giving a moment's worth of hesitation. Fate created a promise of dominance and power, and

Lady Macbeth captivated by this prophecy and made sure that she would not forsake this opportunity to

bring the kingdom under her jurisdiction. As such, it's not suffice to say her perception of fate

“affected” her actions, because her perception of fate in fact became her very actions.

Lady Macbeth was lost in her own dimensions of thought, until she became aware of the

possible consequences of her actions. After her rise to power, she isolated herself from the world,

forcefully blocking out anything that would remind her of the heinous deeds she carried out. Her

actions and thoughts have latched onto her perception of fate and her ambitious drive; however, when

the motivation for power left her, she became a shell of her former self. She grew apart from Macbeth,

her only source of sanity, and she began to lose her mentality. Her insecurities began to grow worse and

she became doubtful of her actions; soon she started to see blood spots on her hand, trying to erase the

bitter memento of her past deeds. If her perception of fate had driven her to ambition, the lack of

perception created her into a frenzied wench, without any source of direction she had, and the person

she held so dear. The antithetical before-and-after contrast of Lady Macbeth 's fate driven self, and her

fate forsaken self, goes to emphasize how much fate can stir up a person's ideology, thoughts, and

actions.

Lady Macbeth shows a dramatic transition from the start to finish of this play. As if she was

mentally controlled by a distant source of reason, she showed significant change on her way to power,

and at the very apex of power which she longed so much. Shakespeare personifies fate to be Hectate, a

quirky, mischievous, cruel God of destiny who meddles in the lives of characters through her prophecy

delivering witches. Just as Hectate, the perception of fate is repetitively emphasized as an omnipotent,

almost divine,god-like power that resides by all men, and controls them.