Macbeth by William Shakespeare can essentially be summarized as a story that tells how Macbeth’s perception of fate affects his actions. Macbeth sees fate as something that cannot be changed; but, a person can mold their actions in order to give their best attempt to speed up or avoid fate from coming. Such perception also drives the action forward and is clarified by the devices of characterization: thru what Macbeth says and thru his actions.
The first time Macbeth meets the three witches, they hail him as the thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and “king hereafter.” Later Macbeth, although at first skeptical of the prophecy, starts to believe it when Ross and Angus come and tell him that he has been named the thane of Cawdor. Macbeth knows that fate is set in stone and eventually he will be named king as he boldly states that if “chance will have me king,” “chance [will] crown me without my stir.” However, Macbeth finally “screws [his] courage,” after much encouragement from Lady Macbeth, and kills King Duncan. Because of his action, Macbeth is not only named King of Scotland, but he also realizes that fate can indeed be sped up to come more quickly. Had Macbeth waited for “chance [to] have [him] king,” it might have taken months, or even more years, for him to obtain the throne.
Macbeth becoming king indeed moves the plot forward as the reader sees his personality become darker and colder as he is afraid of losing his throne. However, when he goes to see the witches again, they tell him that he will be overthrown when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. Macbeth knows that his fate cannot be avoided as his reactions to Lady Macbeth’s death reveal this. He nonchalantly states that “she should have died hereafter” since “there would have been a time for such a word” and believes that his own fate will be coming at him sooner or later. But, that is not to say that Macbeth does not believe he can attempt to try to avoid his fate from coming. His action of ordering murders to attack Macduff’s castle in order to kill his children and wife demonstrates a fruitless attempt to prevent Macduff from going to England to bring back the right heir to the throne. But such an action also sparks a dire need for revenge against Macbeth in Macduff’s heart and thus it can also be the said to be the reason why Macduff is so intent on killing Macbeth near the end of the play.
The actions of Macbeth and the statements clarify the perception of fate as something that is pre-written and cannot be avoided no matter how hard a character tries to avoid it. However, as Macbeth realizes in the play, a character can try to speed up his fate from coming or slow it down. Consequently, it could also be said that such a perception also affects man’s actions because it is Macbeth’s perception on fate that determines the actions—such as killing King Duncan and Macduff—he takes.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete