What controls our life?
Do you believe events in your life have been guided by fate or chance? Why or why not? Based on the text, what do you think Shakespeare's attitude was towards fate? Does Macbeth have any choice in his actions or was everything predetermined? Use examples from the text as your support.
In life, we all undergo events and experiences that either fills us with joy or make us wonder: what did I do to deserve this misery? Some of us validate these happenings with chance and some with fate. I'll say, as much as I wish I could just believe that my life has been and is guided by fate, my secular mind cannot accept it. Fate is controlled; it is that things happen because some power intended them to. Chance is that the things that happen are simply just random occurrences, or that happen without design. The way we handle the things that chance throws at us is a matter of choice. I believe that life is guided by chance and the events that we encounter lead us to certain outcomes, which in many cases is not the one we would prefer. Although I don't believe that these outcomes are placed in our lives by a higher power to teach us a lesson or send us a sign, I do believe that we learn and find meaning in these events to grow from them. I believe that we can create an order to our lives that determine how events turn out (for ourselves, not necessarily others), and other times, I guess we just get lucky.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the idea of fate vs. free will is incorporated throughout the play. In the opening act, the three weird sisters are introduced to a Macbeth, where they tell him a prophecy. They say "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"(Act 1 Scene 3). At this moment, we wonder if the witches are actually controlling fate in some way, or if they are just planting ideas in Macbeth's head and playing on his ambition. After this occurrence, Macbeth says "If chance will have me king, chance may crown me, without my stir"(Act 1 Scene 4). Here Shakespeare brings up the concept of chance. Macbeth momentarily decides to let chance run its course, instead of fighting things. However, when he learns that King Duncan has named Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth decides he must "o'erleap" the obstacles in his path to the throne. By looking at these examples and others, I would say that Shakespeare believes in fate, however, is criticizing those who interfere with their own to try to secure it. If one's life is predetermined then why would they take action to secure it? With this, I think Macbeth had a choice in his actions and let his ambition and selfishness get the best of him.
As Macbeth was written in the time of King James' rule in England, there are ties between the play and historical context. King James believed he was supposed to be king; that God chose kings and the throne was his fate. However, the one threat he was concerned with was the supernatural, particularly witches. His paranoia led him to carry out the execution of many people accused of witchcraft. Macbeth can be viewed as a criticism of King James, if believed that the witches were not a factor in Macbeth's fate. If looked at this way, the witches' intentions were to plant the idea of killing Duncan in Macbeth's head but did not actually hold the power of controlling fate. Instead, Macbeth allowed for the obsession to get to him, and took action to secure his fate, when in reality it was already laid out for him. Similar to how King James executed witches as a result of his paranoia, to secure what he believed was his fate (the throne).
In life, we all undergo events and experiences that either fills us with joy or make us wonder: what did I do to deserve this misery? Some of us validate these happenings with chance and some with fate. I'll say, as much as I wish I could just believe that my life has been and is guided by fate, my secular mind cannot accept it. Fate is controlled; it is that things happen because some power intended them to. Chance is that the things that happen are simply just random occurrences, or that happen without design. The way we handle the things that chance throws at us is a matter of choice. I believe that life is guided by chance and the events that we encounter lead us to certain outcomes, which in many cases is not the one we would prefer. Although I don't believe that these outcomes are placed in our lives by a higher power to teach us a lesson or send us a sign, I do believe that we learn and find meaning in these events to grow from them. I believe that we can create an order to our lives that determine how events turn out (for ourselves, not necessarily others), and other times, I guess we just get lucky.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the idea of fate vs. free will is incorporated throughout the play. In the opening act, the three weird sisters are introduced to a Macbeth, where they tell him a prophecy. They say "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"(Act 1 Scene 3). At this moment, we wonder if the witches are actually controlling fate in some way, or if they are just planting ideas in Macbeth's head and playing on his ambition. After this occurrence, Macbeth says "If chance will have me king, chance may crown me, without my stir"(Act 1 Scene 4). Here Shakespeare brings up the concept of chance. Macbeth momentarily decides to let chance run its course, instead of fighting things. However, when he learns that King Duncan has named Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth decides he must "o'erleap" the obstacles in his path to the throne. By looking at these examples and others, I would say that Shakespeare believes in fate, however, is criticizing those who interfere with their own to try to secure it. If one's life is predetermined then why would they take action to secure it? With this, I think Macbeth had a choice in his actions and let his ambition and selfishness get the best of him.
As Macbeth was written in the time of King James' rule in England, there are ties between the play and historical context. King James believed he was supposed to be king; that God chose kings and the throne was his fate. However, the one threat he was concerned with was the supernatural, particularly witches. His paranoia led him to carry out the execution of many people accused of witchcraft. Macbeth can be viewed as a criticism of King James, if believed that the witches were not a factor in Macbeth's fate. If looked at this way, the witches' intentions were to plant the idea of killing Duncan in Macbeth's head but did not actually hold the power of controlling fate. Instead, Macbeth allowed for the obsession to get to him, and took action to secure his fate, when in reality it was already laid out for him. Similar to how King James executed witches as a result of his paranoia, to secure what he believed was his fate (the throne).
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