Fate In Macbeth :: essays research papers

In Macbeth, Shakespeare orders how the witches&8217 prophecies, dame Macbeth&8217s desire for power, and Macbeth&8217s yearning to be king, affect the fate of the play.In Act I, the witches&8217 chant show how Shakespeare gives the fate of Macbeth, &8220Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, &8220that shalt be King hereafter.( Act 1 scene 3, lines 48-50) He has no other choice, but to believe them because there first two predictions were true. They rally him the Thane of Glamis, which he is at the present time. Then they call him Thane of Cawdor, which he finds out shortly after that he is the new Thane of Cawdor. Lastly they call him King hereafter, which he realizes is his fate. Macbeth sees this fate in his eyes to be very unlikely and almost impossible because of the current circumstances. His reaction to the witches is &8220stands not within the prospect of belief( Act 1 scene 3, line 74), which tells the reader that the witches&8217 prophecies are a far reach from reality. Macbe th begins to envisage if he ever had the chance to become king that it would be a great honor that he would accept, &8220If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me.(Act 1 scene 3, line 143) The prophecy of Banquo&8217s watchword having power in the future effects the actions of Macbeth later in the play too. The thought that Banquo&8217s child might take over the thrown from Macbeth start outs him obtain the need to get rid of him. Fleance, Banquo&8217s son, gets scared as his father is being killed and flees, &8220Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly.( Act3 scene 3, line 18) After his talk with the witches Macbeth starts to think about their predictions, and how he will have to kill the king. This frightens Macbeth to think about killing his great king, so he decides to let fate lead him into the future.Lady Macbeth actions play a huge role in the fate of play by pushing him into killing the king. The instant she reads the letter from her save that explains the propheci es Lady Macbeth wants to make her husband kill the king, &8220to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great(Act 1 scene 5, line 13). This shows the evil ways of Lady Macbeth and her selfishness. She does not care if her husband would be in danger when trying to kill Duncan, but what she would be able to do if she were queen.