Stephen Cummings Macbeth Essay

The play The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is the highly renowned tale of the king of Scotland. The tale represents many themes including greed, revenge and the downfall of deceit. The plight of Macbeth begins when he is foretold to become the king by three witches where he then decides that this is his destiny. He proceeds to follow through with this destiny as he murders Duncan, the King of Scotland and takes place as Thane of Cawdor. Consequently Macbeth’s actions continually depreciate his loyalty and with the murder of Banquo, the rightful heir to the throne, a rebellious Macduff decides to overthrow the tyrant that has become of Macbeth.
Fate is a perceived idea that becomes the folly of Macbeth’s desires as he is consumed by incompetence and ignorance. In an early instance Macbeth overhears a group of witches predicting a prophecy: his prophecy, in which he responds “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.” This early intrigue leads to the premature stages of Macbeth’s insanity as he has Banquo murdered and believes that he has interrupted the prophecy as he fears Banquo’s descendants are entitled to the crown. After Macbeth imagines a visit from Banquo’s ghost at a banquet he feels that he must consult the witches about his prophecy as he knows “they say blood will have blood.” When the witches reveal a nightmare through a wicked philter he learns that “no man of woman born” can do him any harm and is mislead to believe so. As Macbeth continues his reign of tyranny, his only predicted danger, Macduff, prepares and English army to overthrow him. Macbeth challenges the prediction that he shall “beware Macduff” and decides that he is impervious to death and puts his faith in the prophecy which results in his eventual downfall.
Through a perceived fate Macbeth illustrates a willingness to act in a way that accommodates his presumed fate. While the course of action he takes ultimately results in the loss of everything, Macbeth peruses his fate with no remorse. Macbeth’s actions are driven by greed, illusion and opportunity. The characterizations presented in Macbeth and through Macbeth express the fatal flaw that is brought upon by a discovery of one’s own fate. Through his journey to reach ultimate power Macbeth performs regicide, plans assassinations, loses his wife to insanity and suicide and ultimately his own life. While Macbeth intended to fulfill the prophecy and maintain an endless rule he became a the driving force of his own demise.