Choices Versus Fate in Macbeth Essay

As people live day to day, they are faced with numerous decisions and choices. Their decisions result in consequences, for better or for worse. Even in the early 1600s, these ideals are still accepted. Criminals, in Shakespeares society, are still punished for their wrongdoings, and noble warriors rewarded for their bravery in battles. In his tragedy Macbeth, Shakespeare reflects the principle that an individual is responsible for his own actions and therefore determines his own fate though the protagonist Macbeth, who is determined to make the three witches prophecies come true by killing Duncan.

The three witches three prophecies are the main cause for Macbeth thrusting his own fate through the decisions he makes. However, there are not three prophecies; in fact, there is only one. A prophecy is a foretelling of something to come. Therefore, two of the three predictions are not in fact so because they have already occurred. The witches refer to Macbeth as thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter (Shakespeare 17 I.iii. 53). As a result of the previous thane of Cawdor being labeled as a traitor, Macbeth is immediately pronounced as thane of Cawdor, he just has not gotten the news of the event yet. The fact that the word hereafter is used when referring to Macbeth becoming a king reflects that this is the only prophecy that has not yet come true. In the forecasting of Macbeth and Banquos futures, the witches never directly control Macbeths actions. In truth, Macbeth is burning with questions before the witches vanish when he demands, Say from whence / You owe this strange intelligence, or why / Upon this blasted heath you stop our way / with such a prophetic greeting (Shakespeare 19 I.iii. 78-81). The three witches have not forced Macbeth to make any decisions or take any answers. They simply have told Macbeth part of his future; it is up to him to make these prophecies come true.

On the other hand, Banquo does not fall into the trap like his friend Macbeth; he does not let the witches prophecies tempt him into fulfilling the predictions. At the start of Act III, Banquo realizes that all of Macbeths foresights have come true. He states, Thou has it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all (Shakespeare 81 III.i. 1). However, unlike Macbeth, he simply dismisses the idea that the predictions the witches made about him will come true when he pronounces, Why, by the verities on thee made good, / May they not be my oracles as well, / And set me up in hope? But hush, no more (Shakespeare 81 III.i. 8-10). Banquo simply dismisses the possibility of even trying to force the foretelling to come true; he is content with letting the future play itself out. Even at the very time when Macbeth and Banquo receive their fortunes, Banquo is suspicious of how true these predictions can be. He warns Macbeth, But tis strange. / And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betrays / In deepest consequence (Shakespeare 23 I.iii. 134-138). Banquo can see through the witches tricks, and even somewhat predicts himself that this prophecies cannot possible be true without force. Furthermore, when Banquo dies, it is very unclear whether or not his prophecy that Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none (Shakespeare 19 I.iii. 70) will come true. Banquo never takes action to ensure that his son will become king. When the murderers Macbeth hires kill Banquo, Fleance flees. After this point, Fleances whereabouts are unknown. Additionally, after Macbeth is slain by Macduff, Macduffs son, Malcolm, takes throne as king. At the end of the tragedy, there is no saying whether or not Fleance or any of his possible sons will become king or how that could even be made true. Thus, since Banquo has not forced his prophecy to be true and as of the end of the play it has not been decided, it is also unknown whether Macbeth can become king without taking action.

All of Macbeths life in fulfilling his prophecies leading up to his tragic death are a direct result of his actions. The two predictions that he will be thane of Glamis and thane of Cawdor have already become true, so Macbeth only has to agonize over how to make himself become king. His first scheme is to kill Duncan, which he follows through with. This single action taken by Macbeth determines his fate because his concerns switch to keeping his murder a secret. On the other hand, Banquo is not uneasy about the prophecies; he is just content to let his life play itself out. As a result, at the end of the tragedy, it is unclear whether or not his foretelling that he will have heirs to the throne will come true. Macbeth is responsible for his fate because he takes unnatural actions to see that the witches tempting prophecies are fulfilled.