Do the characters in Macbeth have free will? What role do destiny or fate have in the play?
Everyone has control over something. All people have freewill and can do what they want. Freewill is the ability or power of making free choices. Destiny means that something has already been decided and nothing is in one's absolute control, which played a very important role in the play. When Shakespeare wrote this play, people were very religious and he wrote this play to win the approval of King James by introducing the figures of the 'three weird sisters' as the king was fascinated by the witchcraft. In the play, witches predict Macbeth's future and it was his own choice to believe in what they have said. At the start of play, Lady Macbeth has lot of confidence and persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan, but eventually she ends up committing suicide with guilt which automatically shows how her belief in witches or destiny fluctuates.
Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.
English: Poster of Thos. W. Keene in William Shake...
The English actor Charles Kean as William Shakespe...Banquo has a freewill to believe in witches, but always ignore or refuse to believe in them clearly showing he does not believe in destiny. Ultimately, most of the characters in Macbeth has freewill but some of them believe in destiny at some situations in life and sometimes they do not believe in destiny.
In the play, the "three weird sisters" predicts Macbeth's future and Macbeth's believe in witches is quite strong and sometimes it is very weak or he does not have faith in them. It is all up to Macbeth whether he wants to believe in the destiny believing what they have said. When this play was written, people were very religious and thought of witches as the agents of Satan. Witches were associated with dark and death. After the war, when three witches appear and...