Macbeth Fate and Free Will Quotes Page 1

Here, the Captain describes how Macbeth overcame the rebel forces and defeated Macdonwald in battle. On the one hand, the Captain seems to suggest that Macbeth fought against and overcame "Fortune" with brute strength, "distain," and sheer determination. Yet, if we reread the first few lines of the passage carefully, we can also see that "Fortune," had already marked Macdonwald (Fortune's "damned quarry") for destruction. Fortune, it seems, smiled ("like a rebel's whore") on Macdonwald only temporarily, which implies that Macbeth was going to win this fight all along.

Note: Fortune (or Dame Fortuna, goddess of fortune and fate) is often portrayed as a fickle entity. With the spin of a wheel, Fortune can raise men up to great heights or cast them down at any moment. This particular passage is similar to an idea we see in Hamlet, where Prince Hamlet suggests that "fortune" is a "strumpet" who is responsible for the death of his father and his mother's hasty remarriage to a murderer (Hamlet 2.2.16).

The witches (who call themselves the "weird sisters" in this scene) confront Macbeth and Banquo on a heath and predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. (He's already the Thane of Glamis so the first greeting is more of an affirmation than a prediction.) The Third Witch also predicts that Banquo "shalt get kings," meaning, Banquo's heirs will one day rule (1.3.4). This, as we know, is what sets the action of the play in motion. We know that these predictions come true but the play asks us to consider whether or not these events are fated to happen.

In many ways, the weird sisters are associated with the three fates, which were thought to be able to control man's destiny. ("Weird" comes from the Old English "wyrd," which means "fate" and the witches are referred to as "weird" six times in the play.) On the other hand, this doesn't necessarily mean that the witches (or any other outside force for that matter) control Macbeth's future. In the passages that follow, we see a lot of evidence that Macbeth's future is determined by his own will or, free choice. We'll want to keep all of this in mind as we read the play.

After the witches vanish into thin air (having made their predictions), Ross enters and tells Macbeth that King Duncan has just named him Thane of Cawdor, which confirms one of the sisters' predictions. Upon hearing the news, Macbeth assumes the witches' prediction that he will become king will also come true and, here, he eagerly looks forward to his future (the "imperial theme").

But, then, Macbeth begins to deliberate about whether or not the prediction (a "supernatural soliciting" or, temptation), is a bad thing, especially since it seems to have stirred up "horrible imaginings" in Macbeth. At this point, it's clear that Macbeth's thoughts have turned to murdering King Duncan, who stands in the way of the prophesy coming true – as long as Duncan's king, Macbeth is not. What's so striking about this passage is not that Macbeth thinks about murder (he's a warrior and in the world of the play, murder and violence are going all around him) but, rather, that Macbeth is horrified by his own thoughts. His hair stands up on end, his heart "knocks" in his chest, and his mind is "shaken." In other words, Macbeth knows that the idea of murdering the King (the very man Macbeth has just defended in battle) is wicked. By the way, the witches never say anything to Macbeth about murdering Duncan in order to make the prediction come true – Macbeth thinks of that all on his own.