Controlling Fate and Burying The Past in Macbeth

Be careful what you wish upon because it might come back to haunt you in the end. Macbeth was a general, with some positive qualities but he definitely has flaws that come with his personality. Such as committing numbers of murders and crime throughout the play some would say Macbeth tries to control his future and others would say he was a nice person who didn't try to control anything or anyone. I believe Macbeth does try to control his future and bury the past by listening/believing the witches and murdering other characters to get to the top spot.

In Act 1 Scene 3 the witches stated ”All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”. It all began when the witches told Macbeth he was meant to become king. Before the witches told Macbeth that he will soon become king, he seems happy and graceful with his self. Immediately after he found out the news he thinks about killing King Duncan. When Macbeth start to second guess his plan his wife Lady Macbeth urges him to act on his desires by stating in Act 1 Scene 7, “Will you take the crown you want so badly, or will you live as a coward”. Lady Macbeth makes sure he performs his deed by making sure the murder is prepared for him. At the end of the Act 2 scene 1, he hears a bell. Macbeth says, “I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell”.

Macbeth went through with the killing of King Duncan and that changed his life for the worse. After Duncan’s death, Macbeth continued to forget the past and murder anyone that he thought would be in his way of being the king. In Act 3 Scene 1 Macbeth stated to the murders “To leave no rubs nor botches in the work Fleance, his son, that keeps him company, Whose absence is no less material to me”. This meant Banquo was killed by killers that were sent by Macbeth all because Banquo was there when the witches told Macbeth about him becoming king. Banquo could’ve easily talked to Macbeth and told him that he wasn’t thinking about taking his spot. If this was the case, Macbeth would have chosen a different route to prevent the murders and find a different more peaceful way to become king.

Most would claim that it is not Macbeth that is controlling his future and bury his past. That it is his wife, Lady Macbeth who is controlling their future. She is the wife of a nobleman, after all, she knows Macbeth will do anything that she tells him to do. The counter-argument states that Macbeth was extremely cowardly throughout act 1 and letting lady Macbeth taking over his life. Lady Macbeth soon started to think she would have a lot to gain from being the wife of the king. So she immediately convinces Macbeth that he has to kill anyone thats in his way in order to be the one and only king.

In conclusion, Macbeth controls his own future and bury his own past by making his own decisions and making sacrifices to get the king’s position. Macbeth could have easily chosen better and wiser action instead he choose to act differently and murder people to become the king. All these actions and events happened because of Macbeth chooses to control his life throughout the play to secure his position as king. Macbeth is his own person and he makes his own decision, this shows that Macbeth controlled his future and buried his past by himself.