Key theme - Fate and Free will
- Created by: CameronFairclough
- Created on: 26-03-18 15:37
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- Fate and Free Will
- 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 the future is made up of the results of their own choices.
- If it's fate that everything that happens is destined, then it's not M's fault that he murdered D. If free will exists, his own choices lead to his downfall.
- The play raises a lot of questions, but Shakespeare doesn't reveal if it's M's fate to kill him.
- You could say that Macbeth is doomed from the start
- At times, M seems to believe in fate. After he hears the prophecies he seems happy to let fate take its course.
- LM thinks M is fated to be King. Despite believing in fate, she decides that M must act to ensure it happens.
- By the end of the play, M says that life is "a Poor player... upon the stage". He feels that people are no more than actors playing a part who aren't in control of their lives.
- ...or that he acts out of his own free will
- At first, M makes a deliberate choice not to kill Duncan. He weighs up the pros and cons, which suggests that he is in control.
- Some of the prophecies are self-fulfilling. M only acts as he hears his future. This suggests he has free will.
- Later, M acts on the phophecies despite Banquo's earlier warning. He could've done what Banquo does + accept them without acting.
- Fate is the opposite of free will
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