The Significance of Choice and Free Will in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

This essay examines the pivotal role of choice in Shakespeare's Macbeth, arguing that Macbeth's tragic downfall is a consequence of his poor decisions and unchecked ambition, influenced by the witches' prophecies and Lady Macbeth's persuasion. While the witches' premonitions sparked his ambition, Macbeth's choices to murder King Duncan and eliminate Banquo, driven by insecurity and a thirst for power, ultimately sealed his fate. The essay explores the debate of whether fate or free will is more responsible for Macbeth's demise, concluding that Macbeth's choices, based on a blind belief in fate, led him down a path of violence and destruction, highlighting the significance of individual agency in his tragic end. Desklib provides a platform to access this and many other assignments for students.

Running head: ROLE OF CHOICE IN MACBETH
ROLE OF CHOICE IN MACBETH
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ROLE OF CHOICE IN MACBETH
In every individual’s life their own choices make great impact and lead them either to
success or to ruin. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist faces his tragic consequences due
to his poor choices merged with his illegitimate ambition. Not only Macbeth, the poor decisions
had negative affects in all the characters of the tragedy. Throughout the drama, Macbeth’s wrong
decisions and poor choices led him to tragic downfall. From the very beginning, the
premonitions of the witches had engulfed him and guided him to self-destruction. The witches
predicted for Macbeth as well as Banquo but their vision of future influenced the emotion of
Macbeth more intensely than that of Banquo. Their premonitions coupled with Macbeth’s
ambition drove him irresistible to secure the throne. With notable influence from Lady Macbeth,
he attempted to fulfill his desire to gain more power, fame, wealth and honor. This made
Macbeth to end up with murdering King Duncan and chooses the path of violence and
destruction. After becoming the king he feels insecure and suspicious. He is instigated by his
dangerous quality and eliminates the threat that he suspected to come from Banquo’s side. The
weird sister’s premonition that Banquo’s heirs will succeed him induced Macbeth to kill both
Banquo and his son. As the audience already knows that he was so insecure and frustrated, he
again visited the witches. More prophecies made him more diffident as well as frustrated. The
inner realization of guilt and suppressed indignation resulted in hallucination that can be found in
dagger scene and banquet scene. To tame his own anxieties he tried to seek help of the
prophecies but those instigated him more rather than pacifying him. Macbeth chose the path of
blood and violence that ultimately led to his demise.
At this point, Macbeth, whether he is a victim of fate or his ambition responsible for his
demise may ignite the audience. Some researchers say that Macbeth’s fate has the upper hand on
his destruction because he never schemed to become the King. Macbeth was fully unknown to

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ROLE OF CHOICE IN MACBETH
magic and mystical powers. To these researches, the supernatural forces were the driving force
under which Macbeth and Banquo operated. Every choice that Macbeth made, took him to fulfill
prophesies.
On the other hand, some researchers believe that the choice and ambition controlled
Macbeth’s path. The weird sisters were aware about the manipulation of false illusion that
influences people to take certain decisions. Therefore, the witches never prophesied Macbeth to
kill Duncan but just said, "all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” He might have wait for
the fate to act but he chose the wrong path to fulfill the prophecies. It was his own free will that
convinced him to quench his ambition.
It can be concluded that fate and choice are entwined with each other in this tragedy.
Macbeth’s decisions were based on his blind belief on fate that forced him to make destructive
choices. Therefore, choice has the upper hand for his dreadful demise.