'Fate and Free Will' in Macbeth: Key Quotes & Analysis

[@4_ranch]

This is very helpful ! I have to write an essay and needed some help, really enjoyed this. Thank you 😊

[@DrAidan]

Thank you. I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@mangogo21]

Good luck to those QCE students cramming like me xD

[@SenethWijesingheSENWIJEE]

ayo, external exams checkkkk

[@callle]

Round 2, 2 hours left 😂

[@miles338]

30 minutes before externals yewwwwwwwww

[@callle]

@@miles338 this question better fucking be about ambition or fate vs free will

[@mcdonaldshappymeal8944]

thank you very much this is such a great video and such clearly explained with great evidence please continue to make such fantastic videos

[@DrAidan]

Thank you for your comment: I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know.

[@joeessen1059]

I used your videos for Romeo and Juliet last year, and am using it for Macbeth this year! Your videos are very helpful!

[@DrAidan]

Great to hear! Thank you for letting me know.

[@tonystark6585]

God bless you. My IB English HL essay is due tomorrow and this is my topic and I haven't even gotten to it yet.

[@DrAidan]

Best of luck.

[@nusaqib]

You accent is lovely

[@rehya8810]

Firstly, I am loving these videos! They are so helpful- could you make another on the theme Kingship Vs Tyranny? Thx!

[@DrAidan]

Thank you. I’m glad you like them. That’s a good suggestion and I’ll add it to the list.

[@greenislovley5641]

lol I'm watching this the night before my exam

[@DrAidan]

Thank you for watching and I hope the exam goes well.

[@greenislovley5641]

@@DrAidan yes, thank to ur videos it went well 🙃

[@Livkiria]

you should really do more of these for the rest of the themes in macbeth

[@DrAidan]

Thank you for saying that: I will certainly be doing more thematic videos in the future.

[@mohammadshabih5293]

@@DrAidan Why not try Anthony Cleopatra?

[@freeya2360]

This is very helpful, thank you so much😊

[@liambarker5387]

Thank you Dr Aidan - I have to write an essay on whether Macbeth is evil, or was it rather due to the influential people around him... So torn as to what stance to take...please help ?

[@DrAidan]

Thanks for your question: one line of argument would be to say that it might be a mixture of the two. He doesn't appear to be evil at the beginning of the play. He is certainly a killer (as the early reports of him dismembering an enemy in battle might suggest - the 'unseamed him from the nave to th'chaps' quote at 1.2.22). But I don't think there's enough evidence to say he is 'profoundly immoral or wicked' from the start. You could argue that his immediate silence in reaction to the witches's prophecy (where Banquo describes him as 'rapt withal' - 1.3.55) suggests that he might have thought of being King before; at least one could argue that. But he does then want to leave becoming king to 'chance' (1.3.142) and he does try to resist the temptation to kill Duncan: 'I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent' (1.7.25-26). So is it other people who are to blame? He is eventually persuaded by Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan, but we can't lay the blame on her completely: either he has free will to resist or he was fated to kill him by supernatural forces (in which case Lady Macbeth is just an agent of this Fate and has no free will either). If they both have free will then he is as guilty as she is. The conclusion is that he does unquestionably become evil as the play progresses: particularly after the end of Act 2. He does eventually behave immorally and wickedly - and we might notice that Lady Macbeth suffers mentally for her part in this more than Macbeth does (does this suggest her conscience at work?). The witches are agents of evil, but then your argument hinges on whether you think Macbeth has the free will to resist his Fate or not. So I think it can be argued that he doesn't start out evil, but becomes evil as the play progresses; and that although Lady Macbeth does influence him she can't be blamed for his choices. I hope this is helpful! Enjoy writing about Macbeth.

[@watertower1]

Who is watching this for fun and has no allegiance to any school system

[@noeltroy2634]

Nice video. Thank you. Played Macduff many years ago. Seems like another life. Free will is the biggest delusion of all. It does not exist. In any shape or form. Everything happens in life. Nobody does anything. To "do" is to "be" if one could really do one would be God. "it doesn't matter if it happens today, tomorrow, or never, ripeness is all" hamlet. The ripeness Shakespeare refers to is "being" "to be, or not to be" that really is the question above all others. For more on "being" see the poetry of Rilke and the philosophy of nietzsche

[@discd2139]

Thank you for helping me on my essay😚

[@DrAidan]

No problem: I'm glad it was helpful.

[@natomasfaha7374]

This video really helped thank you very much

[@DrAidan]

Thank you for letting know. I'm glad it helped.

[@coraly360]

Bless this video

[@DrAidan]

Thank you: I'm pleased it was useful.

[@lydiawatson8908]

can I write how I believe its fate as well as freewill or do I have to pick one?

[@janeyb6888]

i hav an external exam in under an hour lol :”)

[@nazmulgani3776]

Very good. Sir, could you please explain the role of FATE in Macbeth's downfall and tragedy?

[@DrAidan]

The key question to ask about Fate is whether Macbeth’s destiny is pre-determined or whether he has free will. If his future is predetermined then he has no real choice but to do what he does. If he has free will then he is responsible for his own fate. You could compare this with Romeo and Juliet where the prologue tells us that it is the fate of the lovers to die so that the families can be reunited. So they appear to have little choice - whatever they do leads them to death. This is a very complex philosophical issue but, for what it is worth, I think the idea that Macbeth has a degree of free will and that he uses it to kill for his own advancement makes the story more interesting. It could have been otherwise and Macbeth struggled with moral questions of right and wrong along with duty and ambition. But ultimately, the question of determinism or free will cannot clearly be proven. It is a judgement each of us must make based on what we think is the truth. I hope that’s helpful.

[@nazmulgani3776]

@@DrAidan I think in Macbeth, like any other Shakespeare' s tragedy, both character and fate are responsible . But first, it is character and fate intervenes much later.........What the 3 witches predicted during Macbeth's second encounter, do really happen. Macbeth could not avoid them.

[@suikatime]

I think that the Witches gave him an idea that he would have never had otherwise. Do I misunderstand?

[@rileybrennan3529]

I agree with that. Before he'd been told the prophecy by the witches, he seemed completely content, revered, and respectable in his position. but, as soon as he's named Cawdor in line with the prophecy, he begins to fantasize about what may be should his fate prove in line with the witches' examination of it.

[@destined0645]

Thank you keep it uppp

[@user-ob2br3zj2g]

woww excellent points

[@DrAidan]

I'm pleased you found the video useful and thanks for letting me know.

[@lottiewood8100]

Thank you so much for these videos they're so helpful!!! :) I was just wondering why the dramatic irony of us already knowing he has been chosen for Thane of Cawdor makes us empathise with him believing the prophecies might be correct but also makes us think he's being deceived? Thank you

[@DrAidan]

Thank you. I'm pleased that you are finding them useful. My reading of why dramatic irony works in this way (at this point in the play) is that, whilst we know that he is being deceived, we also realise that we too could be deceived in the very same way. So we do not judge him - as we do later in the play when he consciously chooses to be evil - because he is just speculating about the idea of being king. This is also set against the fact that Shakespeare has gone to some trouble to present him as a loyal and brave defender of Scotland up until this point. So we understand and empathise with him (in my opinion) because we have been set up to admire him and can see HOW he's being manipulated. If such a person can be manipulated what hope is there for us? I hope that makes sense but do feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.

[@lottiewood8100]

Dr Aidan yes that makes a lot more sense :) thank you again!!!

[@muzboz]

Excellent. :)

[@roseofficial5250]

Quotes?

[@ethanstuff7213]

Hi do you think you could post a transcript?

[@bluee128]

Hey there Doc. So, I'm really enjoying your videos, but here you said that when Macbeth kills Duncan that's the first (and the only time?) he's using his free will. But how do we know that the witches were not merely telling Macbeth of his fate and that killing Duncan was not a part of his pre-determined destiny? Or that the witches were not just playing with Macbeth to see what he would do? Later in the play, we also see Hecate being angry with the witches for meddling in Macbeth's life/fate and playing with his mind, and saying that they now must concoct a potion to fix this (if I recall correctly). Could you please explain? (And possibly make more such videos on Macbeth 'cause I have an exam coming up soon? Haha... 😅) Thanks!

[@DrAidan]

Thank you for your comments: you make a very good point which goes to the heart of whether our fate is determined between a battle between the supernatural forces of Good and Evil, or is the result of us exercising our free will. You could read our life - and this play - as being determined by such forces; and there would be a reading that would support that. The way that I interpret it is that the forces of evil (in this play) make suggestions to Macbeth that create a battle between the good and evil sides of of his character; for me, it is this conflict that makes the play so fascinating. I hope that helps but do get back in touch you have any other questions - I'm always very happy to talk about such interesting subjects!

[@bluee128]

@@DrAidan Dr Aidan Ah, I see. I too am a bit of a sucker for these type of topics 😅 but could you possibly link me to the reading you mentioned? And is there any evidence for possible solutions to this question in the play? Also love your videos and style of teaching. Thanks a lot!

[@DrAidan]

@@bluee128 Thank you. When I mentioned 'reading' above I was only referring to the fact that it could be interpreted in that way rather than any specific readings that could be found. However, I do have a couple of suggestions. In Paradise Lost , Milton writes that: ------- God made thee perfet, not immutable; And good he made thee, but to preserve He left it in thy power, ordaind thy will By nature free, not over-rul'd by Fate Inextricable, or strict necessity; Our voluntary service he requires Not our necessitated, such with him Findes no acceptance, nor can find for how Can hearts, not free, be tri'd whether they serve Willing or no, who will but what they must By Destinie, and can no other choose? (V. 524-34) ------ So in this context we see the conventional Christian conception that people have Free Will in order that they might love God freely. And in Macbeth, there is definitely a suggestion that he has thought of evil himself rather than having it overtly 'inserted' from outside: ------ why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murther yet is but fantastical Shakes so my single state of man, That function is smother'd in surmise, And nothing is, but what is not. (I. iii. 134-42) ---------- You can find more on this in a JSTOR article by Jean Gooder (if you have access to JSTOR). Source: 'Fixt Fate' and 'Free Will' in "Phèdre" and "Macbeth" Author(s): Jean Gooder Source: The Cambridge Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 3 (1999), pp. 214-231 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: www.jstor.org/stable/42968017 Accessed: 02-04-2020 13:03 UTC ------ On the subject of Fate there is obviously a focus on the Fates as determining forces in Greek tragedy: although how and why they exercise this agency over the mortal world is not always clear. But for more on this you could read (again on JSTOR): On Fate and Fatalism Author(s): Robert C. Solomon Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 435-454 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: www.jstor.org/stable/1399977 Accessed: 02-04-2020 13:24 UTC You could also try: Fate and Free Will Author(s): C. A. Strong Source: The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan. 3, 1918), pp. 5-9 Published by: Journal of Philosophy, Inc. Stable URL: www.jstor.org/stable/2940572 Accessed: 02-04-2020 13:40 UTC ---------- You will see from this last one - written back in 1918! - that even then the writer thought the subject had been debated until it was threadbare. Little did he know we'd still be debating it a hundred years later!. A testament to its ongoing fascination for us. It's a huge subject but one way of developing this would be to think about what the motivations of the forces of evil might be. Why might the witches want Macbeth to become evil? Is it part of a bigger plan? if so, whose plan? Does it require a greater plan? etc. Although this is a brief answer, I hope there's something useful to you here.

[@GerardPatterson]

The goat

[@DrAidan]

Thank you :)

[@priyapanday5716]

Sir plz give important quotations of As you like it

[@DrAidan]

I will add that to the list.

[@professormo441]

Hey im taking grade 11 english i summer school to fast track, i have to make group discussion questions from act 3 and 4 how do i utilize this info to make a question. Do you have an email i can message you through

[@DrAidan]

Sounds like an interesting project. Acts Three and Four deal with the consequences of Macbeth's actions and - in relation to the theme of fate - are where he tries to determine what his fate is going to be and what his role might be in shaping his future. So you could ask, "do you think our fate is pre-determined by forces beyond our control or do we have some agency in directing our own fate?" Prompts to get people thinking might include: if we remain unaware of these supernatural forces are the actions we take irrelevant to our future - so if we become rich, poor, healthy, unhealthy etc.is it just fated to be like this? But what if, like Macbeth, we believe that supernatural forces are predicting our future? Is the future that is being predicted fully guaranteed? How do we know that the characters doing the prediction are not lying? (You could vary those predictive forces to include messages received in dreams from the various versions of God that humans believe in, or human predictive agents such as Tarot Card Readers or Fortune Tellers.) Ultimately, you might want to ask people to decide to what degree they think they are free in making decisions and how would they know? How far would they go in trying to determine their own future? is there a limit to the acts they would carry out to realise that future? in Macbeth's case, he was prepared to murder - many political leaders have done similar things over the years. I hope that's useful, but do get in touch if you have any other questions.

[@professormo441]

@@DrAidan i did really good on the project, i got 55/60 only mistakes i had were stuttering and elaboration on the questions

[@DrAidan]

Boltz YT excellent. That’s great to hear!

[@katieanne4705]

I need to know how fate and guilt are linked to ambition.

[@DrAidan]

This is difficult to answer concisely, but we could imagine FATE - in the form of the witches - offering Macbeth the possibility of becoming King. To realise this possibility, he needs the AMBITION to become king which, because it's a hereditary monarchy, means that he must kill the existing king to get what he wants. Lady Macbeth plays a key role at this point by goading him to be manly enough to pursue his ambition ('When you durst do it, then you were a man', 1.7.49). You can then see GUILT expressed when he feels he will never be able to wash Duncan's blood off his hands (Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?, 2.2.53-4) and, most memorably, in the scene where Lady Macbeth is so plagued by guilt that she sleepwalks whilst trying to wash imaginary blood off her hands (Out damned spot!, 5.1.30); and of course her guilt then leads her to commit suicide. That's a brief answer but I hope it's helpful. Do get in touch if you have any further questions.

[@noahpuglia1257]

Common Aidan W

[@SanaKhan-or2wt]

It’s good but I think that your points don’t rlly link in with the question or answer the question

[@DrAidan]

Sanju. I'm glad you thought the video was good. The question I try to answer in the video is whether Macbeth's Fate is pre-ordained (so that he cannot avoid his Fate) or whether he has free will. I conclude that he does have free will; I suggest that there is evidence for this in the play, and point out where you can find the relevant quotes. This is different from Fate in Romeo and Juliet, for example, where they are unaware of any greater forces at play - compared to Macbeth who actually meets supernatural agents. If you have another question about Fate do let me know - I'm very happy to try and answer that for you. Thanks again for getting in touch.