3. 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.
The question of whether
the actions in one’s life are determined by fate versus free will is something
that I often contemplate. The reason that this is such a difficult topic for me
to come to a consensus on is because I can make a compelling argument for two
trains of thought. The first viewpoint that I can make an argument for is that
of one’s life being guided by fate. My logic is that if our universe were to
stem from some sort of singularity, say, the “Big Bang”, it would be impossible
for choice to exist. Every action that has ever occurred, whether it be the
formation of our sun, the creation of a solar system light years away from our
own, or what I “chose” to have for breakfast yesterday would all have been
predetermined, as there was no other way that the universe could have formed. This
theory of mine essentially means that “fate” must be what dictates all things,
as our lives are predetermined to occur in a specific way.
My other viewpoint on
this topic favors “chance” or “free will” as the driving force behind the actions
that govern our lives. While I could see all life being dictated by fate
because of our universe being created from a singularity that caused only one
set of events to be possible to occur, I also believe that there is merit in
the idea of free will. As I go through my day, I am presented with many choices
in which I need to make decisions on; when I make these choices, I am doing it
on my own free accord, and I do not feel as though what I have done is
predetermined or already set in stone. Perhaps part of the reason that I see
free will as a valid explanation for human actions is that I cannot bear to
think we live in a world where all of our decisions are determined long before
our birth and we have no say in how our lives will turn out.
In Macbeth, I believe that Shakespeare is mocking the idea of fate
being the driving factor behind Macbeth’s actions. The reason that I believe
this is because Shakespeare has three witches plant the idea to kill King
Duncan in Macbeth’s head. From a historical standpoint, we know that Shakespeare
most likely did not believe witches to be real as he was both a Catholic
sympathizer and well-educated. Since Shakespeare did not believe in witches in
real life, and because Macbeth would
contain beliefs that reflected Shakespeare’s own, I think that the witches in Macbeth were not meant to be taken
literally, and instead represent the desires that the characters truly hold. Other
evidence for this theory is that the witches play a very small role in the
play. While they plant the initial notion in Macbeth’s head that he could be
the king, they did not tell him to stage a coup. The idea to do this instead
came from the plotting of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, two humans. For these
reasons, I do not believe that Shakespeare would have had Macbeth’s actions be
caused by fate; instead, the actions that occur in Macbeth occur as a result of free will.
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