Macbeth Essay, Tiffany Yin, P4, Asher

Prompt: In Shakespeare’s Macbeth man’s perception of fate affects man’s actions. In a carefully organized essay discuss how Shakespeare uses the device of characterization to clarify this perception and drive the action forward.

As human beings, we are constantly making decisions. And often times, these choices are influenced by the people surrounding us, whether it is a friend, a mentor, or a spouse. In the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare, Macbeth’s character as a pleasing husband caused his perception of fate affect his further actions.

When Macbeth and Banquo returned home after two glorious victories, they encountered three witches who predicted that Macbeth will become the thane of Cawdor and later King of Scotland. They also predicted that Banquo will produce a line of Scottish kings, but will never be king himself. Neither of the two believed in this prophecy until Macbeth was actually named thane of Cawdor as a reward for the defeat. Because of this coincidence, Macbeth starts to believe in the possibility of the foretelling being true. He told his wife of his situation and surprisingly, she suggested Macbeth to kill the King so he can become King sooner.

Macbeth’s character as a kind and obedient husband makes it easy for his wife to override him. Believing in his fate and having his wife as a supporter of this plan makes him impatience of the wait. As a result, he stabs the king and killed his two guards to cover up the ugly truth. Not only did he kill three people, but he also killed Banquo in fear of the witches’ prediction. And in order to secure this gloomy murder, he had to kill everyone else who was somehow involved.

The plot is driven by Macbeth the moment he killed the King. His desire to cover up the murder resulted in killing more innocent people. If Macbeth did not believe in the prophecy, he would not have himself end in a situation like this. And because he followed the plan his wife had planned, he had nowhere to go but to continue with the arrangement.