Asher Period 1 Andy Kang Macbeth Essay

Fate is an extremely delicate subject because in most scenarios it either causes success or failure. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth has an aggressive and assertive perception on fate and this affects his actions negatively. Throughout the story Macbeth’s actions show his downfall and Shakespeare uses characterization to portray this concept of fate and the consequences because of it. Through his characters’ actions and comments, Shakespeare shows how they try to control their fate and how this drives the plot forward.

Macbeth has a lot of power and aggression and so he tries to control his future. Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s actions to clarify that man tries to control fate. A prime example is when Macbeth murders King Duncan. Macbeth could have heard the prediction and waited till he rose to power justly, but instead he took matters into his own hands and committed murder to put himself into the throne. Through Macbeth’s actions he becomes king, but he continues to try and manipulate his fate, which drives the plot of the story forward. Another example is when he goes to the witches’ layer to find out who will kill him. Again, Macbeth tries to curb his fate by killing the one person who could kill him. Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth shows how he thinks he can force his destiny down a certain path. In the end, Shakespeare shows that in trying to control his fate, Macbeth impelled the action and died by the very hand that he was trying to stop. Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s actions to elucidate man’s perceptions about fate.

Although Shakespeare shows view on fate through his characters’ actions, he shows it through his characters’ thoughts as well. When Macbeth first hears the news of his newly bestowed title, he ponders about how kingship will soon come. Already his character desires more and through these simple thoughts the plot propels further. Another example is when Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter. Shortly after finishing she begins to plot. She says that she thinks Macbeth is too weak and so she says that he needs to take the things that he desires. Through Lady Macbeth’s comments, Shakespeare exposes how mankind wants to manipulate their circumstances and situations. In addition, Lady Macbeth inculcates her thoughts onto Macbeth and this also drives the plot forward.

Shakespeare was a writer, who wanted to show how mankind truly is, and so he used his character’s actions and thoughts to reveal man’s perception of fate, and in doing so, all the action in Macbeth drove itself. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth always tried to obtain more status and power and Shakespeare used them to clarify the perception of trying to control fate. Even though Shakespeare’s time has come and gone, his themes and ideas still apply today and as mankind progresses and evolves further, hopefully man is able to learn from what he was trying to give to the world.