Ajay Mohanraj
"My way of life has fallen into the searâ¦and that which should accompany old age, as honour, love, troop of friends, I must not look to haveâ¦"It is not fate but Macbeth who is responsible for his demise. To what extent do you agree?
Set to the backdrop of medieval Scotland, William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" portrays how the protagonist Macbeth is responsible for his own destiny through the deeds he commits and that fate has no part in it. In this play, it can be seen how Macbeth's willingness to commit evil sins and the fact that he commits them leads him to his undoing. Even though fate in the form witches and Lady Macbeth try to control Macbeth's destiny by manipulating him, it is Macbeth himself who allows them to take control of his mind which eventually leads to his downfall. The wrongful deeds committed by Macbeth combined with his lack of willpower to stand up to the manipulation of the witches and his wife not only destroys his way of life but also leads to his tragic death.
Throughout the play, supernatural powers main in the form of the three witches attempt to take control of Macbeth and lead him to destruction but it is Macbeth's own fault that he decides to heed their advice which allows the witches to manipulate Macbeth with a few confusing prophecies. The "juggling fiends" attempt to control Macbeth can first be seen when they provide Macbeth with puzzling prophecies and hail his "King of Scotland" and thus giving him false hope and a sense of security. Macbeth now has a choice on whether to ignore the words of the sisters or to do something to speed up the prophecy. He chooses to let himself be led into evil and by decision...