How Does Fate Play a Role in Macbeth? - Synthesis Essay Sample

Speak of the Devil and He Will Appear: Why Macbeth Deserved His Fate by Cassandra White

Cassandra White in her article Speak of the Devil and He will appear: Why Macbeth Deserved His fate asserts the notion that man has the free will to choose between what is good and what is bad. Each choice made leads to a given consequence and thus the aspect of fate only arises when the choice is made. In supporting this view, Cassandra points that God has not granted the devil the power to mislead or deceive human beings. It is human beings who deceive themselves and thus suffer the consequences of their actions. She uses this point to explain how Macbeth had chosen to believe in the words of the three witches that he would be the king but went ahead to kill in order to become the king. While it is not right to fault Macbeth for the prophecy that he would be the King, the manner in which he uses regicide to attain the Kingship is questionable. It entails his choice of committing regicide and thus the reason why he suffers the tragic fate.

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Cassandra clearly depicts that it was destined that Macbeth would become the King of Scotland through the words of the three witches but his ultimate fate as a murderer was his own choice. He had decided to kill King Duncan for him to become king and was thus liable to the consequences of his actions. It is his own failure to use his free will to attain Kingship in the right manner. It is for this reason that Cassandra points that Macbeth is responsible for his own failures and ultimate fate as a madman.

More Things in Heaven and Earth: The Role of Ghosts and the Supernatural in Shakespeares Hamlet and Macbeth by Charlie Griffiths

In his article More things in heaven and earth: the role of ghosts and the supernatural in Shakespeares Hamlet and Macbeth, Charlie Griffith asserts that while ghosts and other supernatural play a role in the fate of human beings, how that fate comes to pass is due to the individual’s choices and beliefs held. He goes ahead to support this argument by pointing that the individual’s fate becomes even more disturbing when the ghosts occur as a product of a character’s delusions. This can be seen in the manner in which he intertwines the fate suffered by Hamlet and Macbeth in Shakespearean works. Their tragic fate of ending up as killers and ultimately madmen is due to the fact that they were experiencing delusions due to the consequences of the choices they had made. The ghosts serve only to enhance their suffering but they had chosen to believe in their delusions.

Charlie clearly demonstrates that ghosts have a role to play in the fate of human beings but points out that the most tragic case is when human beings allow the delusions of the ghosts to affect them. It is the belief in the delusions of the prophecies of the three ghosts that drives Macbeth into madness and eventually makes him a killer. He is therefore responsible for his ultimate fate for he had the power to choose not to let the delusions get the better of him.

“William Shakespeare and Freewill: A Libertarian and Naturalistic Enquiry into the Actions of Macbeth by Maryisabella Ada Ezeh

Maryisabella Ada in her journal article William Shakespeare and Freewill: A Libertarian and Naturalistic inquiry into the actions of Macbeth strongly asserts human fate may be predetermined but the manner in which he attains destiny is through his or her free will. She uses this concept to support the fact that Macbeth’s destiny was a result of the consequences of the choices he had made out of his free will and not due to the ghosts. Macbeth’s fate theme as pointed in the prophecies were to become the King of Scotland but he does not let events unfold themselves but out of free will decides to commit regicide to succeed the king. By analyzing the actions of Macbeth, Ada points that even without his own efforts, two of the three prophecies had become true and all he could have done was to wait for the fulfillment of the third one. By his free will he chose not to let nature take its course and thus suffered the tragic fate that turns out to be his destiny.

It is thus evident that Ada in this article points that Macbeth believed in the prophecies of the three ghosts but fails to believe in the power to make the prophecies come true and thus decides to take matters into his own hands. Macbeth has only himself to blame and not the ghosts for the fate that befalls him in the end because of choosing to act in an evil way out of his own free will.

Macbeth: Ambition Driven Into Darkness by Timothy W. Burns

Burn-in his article Macbeth: Ambition Driven into Darkness approves the notion that human beings have the choice to act out of their free will and should not blame dark forces for the fate that befalls them. In supporting this claim, Burn takes the readers of his article from the Roman era to the Christian times in which concepts of free will and ghosts are addressed. He points that while ghosts and the supernatural world have a role to play in shaping one’s fate, human beings have the power to change their destiny by using their free will. It is for this reason that Burns asserts that Macbeth was only to blame for the tragic fate that befell him. He had chosen to let his own free will guide him in choosing to murder King Duncan. He should have let the prophecies of the three witches take their course. Despite that, he had allowed his selfish ambitions to guide him in his actions and thus went ahead to kill the King. It is the choice that he makes out of the selfish ambition that drives him into madness and the dark destiny that befalls him.

Burns’s article is thus efficient in proving that free will has the power to shape and decidone’ses destiny. It helps readers to understand that the supernatural world may predict one’s fate but it is through choice that one decides his destiny. Macbeth is thus to blame for all that happened to him and not the ghosts.

Do the Witches Infact Have Any Power in the Play Macbeth? By Rituparna Ray Chaudhuri

In this article titled Do the Witches infact have any power in the play, Macbeth, Rituparna Ray disproves the notion that Macbeth is not responsible for the fate and destiny that befalls him. He asserts that supernatural forces such as those by the witches have the ability to ensnare human beings but have limitations. The forces only have the ability to tempt man but the ultimate decision is made by the man himself on whether to choose evil or not. According to the article, to be tempted is not a sin but choosing deliberately to give in to the temptation is sinful. It is for this reason that Macbeth is guilty and responsible for all that befalls him because he had the choice to decide on whether to kill or not. The ghosts were only capable of tempting him but not convincing him to act in the manner he acted.

Rituparna Ray’s article thus serves to provide the answer to the question of whether the witches were responsible for the fate that befalls Macbeth or not. He emphasizes the power of consciousness in helping human beings make choices that ultimately shape and design their destinies. The witches have no power in designing Macbeth’s destiny and thus Macbeth is solely to blame for what befalls him.

Those That Have the Power to Hurt and Will Do None: Shakespearean Dimensions of Lincoln's Statesmanship by Rafael Major

Rafael Major’s article Those that have the power to hurt and will do none asserts the fact that while our fate may be predetermined, we have the power to alter it and shape our destiny. He supports this notion by pointing at the power of free will in the human being that is guided by consciousness. It gives one the power to make informed choices by looking at the consequences that might arise after the choices are made. The case of Abraham Lincoln is compared with that of Shakespearean characters to exemplify the manner in which human beings have the power to shape and design their destinies. Major Rafael goes ahead to point at two cases where human beings have chosen to use their consciousness and the consequences of their actions based on the choices made. In the first case, Abraham Lincoln makes the choice to use his power to come up with a constitution that will uphold equality and thus earn his destiny as one of the greatest statesmen in the history of the United States of America. Unlike Lincoln, Macbeth’s ambitions drive him to make a choice that he knew would lead to a catastrophic impact on his destiny and goes ahead to kill. For this reason, he goes down as one of the most ambitious and power-hungry leaders in modern literature. He earns his tragic fate as a madman and murders after the guilt haunts him. Despite the fact that the ghosts had a hand in creating an obsession in him, Major Rafael discredits the fact that he was powerless and asserts the fact that he could have used his free will to act in the right way. The ghosts and the three witches thus have nothing to do with his selfish ambitions.

Major Rafael’s article is thus effective in proving that human beings have the responsibility to bear the consequences of the choices they make. They can use their consciousness and free will to alter and shape their destinies either for the better or for the worse just like in the case of Abraham Lincoln and Macbeth. They all deserve the destinies they ended up with because they made the choices out of their free will and not through coercion.

Revisiting Shakespeare: A Study of Human Nature in Hamlet and Macbeth by Firouzjaee, Hassan Abedi, and Omid Pourkalhor

In their study on human nature, Omid Pourkalhor and Hassan Abedi’s article Revisiting Shakespeare: A Study of Human Nature in Hamlet and Macbeth asserts the fact that human beings are victims of their consciousness and no external force has the power to shape their destiny. The two scholars point that through free will and consciousness human beings have at their disposal a power so immense that can determine where and what they end up in life. In supporting this notion, they use Roosevelt’s quote that men and women are not prisoners of fate but only prisoners of their own minds. It is for this reason that they point that Macbeth and Hamlet in Shakespearean works are all to blame for the fate that befalls them. Despite the fact that the three witches had prophesied about the fate that awaited him, Macbeth is not forced to act in the manner in which he acted but acts out of his free will. It is the power of his mind through the choice he takes that leads him to his destiny.

Through the case of Macbeth, Omid Pourkalhor and Hassan Abedi are able to point that human beings have everything at their disposal to shape their destiny. It is for this reason that they point that Macbeth is entirely responsible for his fate and destiny through the choices he made.

Macbeth vs. Lady Macbeth by J. Claudia

While contrasting Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Claudia asserts that human beings have the power to decide and shape their destinies by allowing nature to take its course. All they have to do is to follow their consciousness which will lead them to do good deeds. She supports this notion by stating that by betraying one’s consciousness, one is bound to land into evil. She uses the case of Macbeth who despite being pre-determined to become the King of Scotland, decides to betray his consciousness by killing King Duncan. The three witches had only predicted that Macbeth would become King but they had not prophesied about the case of Macbeth killing the King. He thus we...