Macbeth.

FATE. (events outside a person’s control, predetermined by a supernatural

power).
Are the events in the play predetermined and outside of Macbeth’s control or
does he exercise free will?
SUPERNATURAL POWER.
The three witches, the ‘weird’sisters, represent supernatural power.
In Elizabethan time the word ‘weird’ meant ‘claiming the supernatural power
of dealing with fate or destiny’. It did not mean rather strange or peculiar. From
this it would appear that the weird sisters are the agents of fate.
The witches meet Macbeth with:
“”All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.
All hail Macbeth, hail to the, Thane of Cawdor.
All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.” A1s3
Anaphora: “All hail Macbeth, hail to the…” repetition x 3
The lines sound identical and creates a connection between three ideas. He is
Thane of Glamis. He will become Thane of Cawdor and the he will become
king.
Moments after this Macbeth hears that he has been made Thane of Cawdor.
Therefore, the idea that he will become king now seems more likely.
However, we already know that he has been made Thane of Cawdor as we
found this out in Act 1s2. The use of dramatic irony (telling us something the
characters don’t know), allows us to know that he is probably being deceived.
…………………………………………………………………..
Banquo, questions the witches about his own future. They tell him:
“Thou shalt get king, though thou be none.” ‘get’ here means create children
who will become king.
Banquo’s descendants will become kings at some point in the future but
Banquo will not be king. Banquo, therefore, cannot be something that he uses
his free will to effect. He cannot take action to become king. In contrast
Macbeth can take action to become king. He has a choice.
FATE.
“…to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief”A1s3
‘stands not within the prospect’ he cannot see the possibility. Kings were
appointed by God, so therefore there was no possibility of him becoming king.
The only way it could happen was if Duncan appointed him as his successor or
if Macbeth found a way of removing him.
Macbeth:
“My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smothered in surmise.”A1s3
He has imagined murdering Duncan (‘thought…fantastical’). This thought has
so disturbed or shaken his mind, that he cannot act or function, he can only
think (surmise).
‘Single state’: body.
He wants to kill Duncan but he cannot. He knows murder is wrong.
“If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me,
Without my stir.”A1s3
‘chance’ : fate
‘without my stir’: without him taking action or using his own free-will.
His hope is that fate will make him king.
………………………………………………………………
Duncan announces:
“We will establish our estate upon our eldest, Malcolm”. A1s4
Duncan is giving Malcolm the position of king, when he dies. There are now
two people between Macbeth and the crown: the rightful king, Duncan and his
rightful heir, Malcolm. Macbeth will have to take action to get what he wants.
He cannot just hope that fate will act on his behalf.
…………………………………………………………………………
LADY MACBETH.
“Glamis though art, and Cawdor, and shalt be
What thou art promised.” A1s5
‘shalt’: a firm intention, it’s powerful because it suggest that they will take
action to make sure he becomes king.
She has none of Macbeth’s uncertainty.
Lady Macbeth has major reservations about Macbeth.
“Yet I do fear thy nature,
It is too full of the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way. A1s5
‘milk of human kindness’: suggests breast feeding and motherly love.
Lady Macbeth is suggesting that he is too gentle to do something which is
morally wrong.
Macbeth has killed people to protect Scotland, that is acceptable and manly
and is expected from a righteous man. However, he will need persuading to
commit regicide (the killing of a king appointed by God) - that is morally
unacceptable.
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Macbeth has a choice about his actions. He has to fight against his conscience.
“If th’assassination
Could trammel up the consequences and catch
With his surcease, success.A1s7
If only he could kill Duncan without any bad consequences resulting.
‘trammel’: to catch in a net. Macbeth.
‘surcease’: means the death of Duncan.
‘success’: Macbeth succeeding Duncan as king.
Macbeth knows that his actions will have consequences. Because he can’t
control the consequences, he concludes that he will not carry out the murder.
‘We will proceed no further in this business.’A1s7
……………………………………………………………….
Lady Macbeth intervenes and says Macbeth is :
Äfeard’’ is a coward, lacks courage.
This assault on his manliness is the spur that begins to provoke him to murder
Duncan.
When Lady Macbeth’s plans to blame the murder on Duncan it finally seals his
commitment. He sees this as the way to avoid the blame and the
consequences.
Fate does not predetermine his position, he is persuaded by Lady Macbeth.
A VISION.
Before he murders Duncan he sees a vision.
“Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle towards my hand” A2s1
The dagger is a product of his imagination. The decision to use a real, identical
dagger moves it from being a thought to an act. This is when he acts on his free
will. It is the turning point of the play.
The rest of the play focusses on Macbeth trying to contain the consequences of
his actions.
The moment he uses the real dagger to kill Duncan is the moment he exercise
free will.