"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited
for, it is a thing to be achieved." (William Jennings Bryan) Are we in control of our own destiny,
our own fate, or are our lives really already planned and mapped out for us? Does Macbeth
willfully choose evil in order to achieve his "destiny"? Or, is his "destiny" doomed by the
witches' prophecies? Macbeth may not have made any of his same choices, if the three Weird
sisters hadn't come to him. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Macbeth is no pawn of fate.
Although Macbeth was destined to become king, the path he chose to take to achieve his
aspiration of obtaining the throne was of his own free will. Macbeth knew exactly what he was
doing in order to attain his destiny of becoming king. Although Macbeth was skeptical about the
witches' predictions he later learned as the play progressed that destiny truly determined his
future.
The prophecy of the witches was that Macbeth would become king. Nowhere did the
witches predict the following events in Macbeth's life before he reached the throne. The
prophecy of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor had already come true, enhancing Macbeth's
aspirations of becoming king. The second prophecy would certainly come true for him, but he
has to choose how to get there. Macbeth was destined for the throne, however obtaining that
destiny was completely up to him. Killing Duncan seemed to be the only way for him, even
though he knew it was wrong. Macbeth was well-aware his actions were immoral and unjust,
and he continued with the murders anyway. He contemplates the reasons for why it would be
wrong to kill Duncan, showing he could have just as easily chosen...
Macbeth
I have read so many Macbeth essays, none really did talk about his destiny. This is well ploted and research and adding the page number beside the quotes is so helpful! Thanks alot, im doing a study of Macbeth and parts of this will be used to complete my conclusion. Thanks its a great help.
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