Fate and Destiny in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

“Macbeth”, written by Shakespeare, unfolds the story of a commander who becomes King of Scotland. We can’t deny that Macbeth’s tragic fate was somewhat determined by the “valour of Lady Macbeth’s words”, but it was ultimately his character that acted as the final call for his bitter tragedy. It was after all, his gullible and weak character that made him submit to his wife’s words and later it was his own ambition and fear that killed Baquo, Lady Macduff and her children. Shakespeare suggests through the protagonist Macbeth that while others may influence one to behave a certain way, it is ultimately their own decision to determine one’s path. Shakespeare’s notion however, is not confined to the annals of history. Many contemporary audiences would now believe that their lives are not predetermined by the stars but by their own actions, which contradicts the common societal norm that existed in the Shakespearean era.

The Intricate Interplay of Fate and Destiny in "Macbeth"

It would be imprudent to say that Macbeth’s fate was wholly determined by his character only. After all, Lady Macbeth acted out as the final push for Macbeth’s evil deeds. Macbeth embodies the ambition but he seems to need his wife’s challenge, where she depicts him not as a man but a “poor cat I’ adage”, to commit the deeds. In some instances, we see Macbeth as a loyal and true character who questions the morality of designing King Duncan’s murder. He says that Duncan is resting in his house on “double trust”- first reason is that he is a kinsman and his subject, the second is that as a host, Macbeth should “shut the door” on murders, not “bear the knife himself”. However, it is Lady Macbeth who draws affirmation from Macbeth by questioning his manhood. We also see that Macbeth shows signs of regret and guilt after King Duncan’s murder, who’s tortured by the blood on his hands. He says “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” He even wishes that he could “wake Duncan” from death if he could. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, confidently declares that “little water clears us of the deed”. Shakespeare conveys to us that with Macbeth’s character only – a disposition Lady Macbeth describes as “too full o’th’ milk of human kindness”-Macbeth would not have been able to carry his dark ambitions to reality and his fate may have been a kinder one.

While the witches in “Macbeth” seem to hold great power over Macbeth’s fate, we see eventually that they hold not much control at all. They only tell what is about to happen, but they cannot change the course of Macbeth’s fate. In the opening scene the witches tell Macbeth that he shall be Thane of Cawdor amongst one him becoming king and soon their prophecy is confirmed by Ross that he has indeed gained the title the witches have foretold. Macbeth is dumfounded because he believes that it is the supernatural power of the witches that have caused this event. He says “This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good”. But as the audience, we know that it was his bravery on the battle that had earned him of this title. Captain highly praises of “brave Macbeth” in Act 1, Scene 2 who has fought, “disdaining Fortune”, with his “brandished steel” which “smoked of bloody execution”. This confirms the idea that Macbeth’s fate was not determined by the agents of evil because the witches were not held responsible for any of the prophecies coming true, it was only through his actions of bravery. They may have encouraged Macbeth to commit the deeds by acting out as future messengers, at best, but the powerlessness of the witches suggest that those prophecies could have changed depending on how Macbeth had acted throughout the play.

Ultimately Shakespeare conveys us that it was qualities of Macbeth that determined the tragic fate- more specifically, it was his contradictory nature. At times Macbeth is depicted as loyal, courageous and kind. He is painted by Lady Macbeth as a kind human being “full o’th’ milk of human kindness” and is a character that King Duncan could build on “absolute trust” on. Our doubts arise that a man of such gentle characteristics- a “brave” soldier that submits to his wife’s words – could bring himself to kill Duncan, a man he previously vowed absolute loyalty to. He says, “our duties are to your throne and state, children and servants”. Soon however, we are grossly engaged by Macbeth’s two-facedness which completely opposes his other character. He is “settled” to “mock the time with fairest show”, he even dares to warn his ruthless wife to “hide what the false heart doth know”. Also, the fact that Macbeth needs Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness and steely determination to commit the evil deeds is a sign of his sensitivity and gentleness but he also have enough evil in him to continue his murdering patterns without Lady Macbeth’s guidance later. He kills Banquo in advantage to Lady Macbeth’s unawareness and takes the innocent life of Lady Macduff and her children- a gross practice which later plagues Lady Macbeth into near madness and later compels her to take her life through “self and violent hands”. Shakespeare conveys that if Macbeth was a true reflection of Lady Macbeth’s words, a kind, loyal and gentle man, he could possibly not have resolved so shoddily later in the play.

Final Thoughts

“Macbeth” is a play that questions the concept of destiny – a challenge that would have been highly inflammatory to the audience of Shakespearean era. Through the character, Macbeth, Shakespeare conveys to us that exterior factors cannot be completely absent from us, but ultimately it is our personality that establishes the path of our life. From this play, we can estimate that Shakespeare was not a huge believer of fate and destiny, but the concepts of the supernatural embedded in the play such as the witches suggest that he was mildly intrigued by the idea.  

Works Cited

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