Fate and Free Will

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Fate is the opposite of free will

Fate is the idea that everything has already been decided, so people can't change what happens to them

Free will means that humans choose their own course of action, so their future is made up of the results of their choices

If it's fate that everything that happens was destined, then it's not Macbeth's fault that he murders Duncan

If free will exists, then Macbeth's own choices lead to his downfall

The play raises a lot of questions, but Shakespeare doesn't make it clear whether it's Macbeth's fate to kill Duncan

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Macbeth seems doomed from the start...

At times, Macbeth seems to believe in fate

After he hears the Witches' prophecy, he seems happy to let fate take its course

He believes that "chance may crown me,/Without my stir" so he'll become King without doing anything to make it happen

Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is fated to be King - "fate and metaphysical aid doth seem/To have thee crowned withal"

Despite believing in fate, she decides Macbeth must act to make it happen

By the end of the play, Macbeth says that life is "a poor player/That stryts and frets his hour upon the stage"

He feels that people are no more than actors playing a part who aren't in control of their lives

Characters - The Witches

It's not clear whether the Witches are messengers of Macbeth's fate or whether their prediction inspires Macbeth to make bad choices

Character - Macbeth

You could say that Macbeth is doomed because of his fatal flaw

If he wasn't so ambitious, he'd ignore the Witches and Lady Macbeth

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...or that he acts out of his own free will

At first, Macbeth makes a deliberate choice not to kill Duncan after he's considered the options: "We will proceed no further"

He carefully weighs up the pros and cons, which suggests that he's in control

Later, Macbeth acts on the Witches' prophecies despite Banquo's earlier warning that they're "instruments of darkness"

Macbeth could do as Banquo does and accept the prophecies without acting

Some of the prophecies are self-fulfilling

Macbeth only acts because he hears his future, so he causes it to happen

Suggests that he has free will

Character - Macbeth

The captain says that Macbeth was "Disdaining fortune" when he fought Macdonald

Shows that Macbeth killed Macdonald against the odds

Hints that Macbeth could have changed his actions if he'd wanted to