In the making of tragedies, it is the duty of the playwright to craft his product in such a way that it conforms to the set standards of the subgenre. On the other hand, the critical reader is expected to delve deeper into the play and ascertain how the required characteristics have been perpetuated. The aim of this essay is to undertake a critical analysis of William Shakespeare’s play titled Macbeth with an intention to highlight the extent to which free will is demonstrated. The study seeks to unearth whether the main character is endowed with freedom to choose the course of life or, on the contrary, he is doomed by fate.
It has been argued that the characters in a tragedy are challenged when it comes to free will. To a large extent, the outcome of the main character in such a play will suffer an unpleasant ending which seems out of his control. It is assumed that there are certain supernatural forces that predetermine the ending. This serves in communicating the intended message to the play audience or readers who are left with food for thought on the wisest way of living. The characters are, therefore, furnished with weaknesses which are detrimental in their downfall. Critical readers are expected to see beyond these weaknesses and understand the character’s inability to control them. Macbeth, in this case, has to be taken as deficient of free will to fit as a tragic hero.
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Fate loosely translates to “the will of the gods.” At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare introduces three witches conferring on how they will confront Macbeth with the news of his future. Considering that witchcraft involves bringing in the supernatural, the critical reader or viewer is already forewarned that there is a greater power that controls the acts of men. It is taken, in this light, that the witches themselves do not act within their powers but are merely vessels that these external forces employ to unravel certain mysteries.
The witches meet Macbeth at the heath and bombard him with the accounts of his future life. It is notable that the hero had no intentions of seeking this knowledge. Unfortunately, he is not in a position to shut out the information but is doomed to digest it and meditate on the consequences. This affirms that indeed it is fate that dooms him to live in the tragic course and that he is denied the free will to live in ignorance of the possible outcome.
Macbeth, as a character, comes with other characteristics of a tragic hero. Making the consideration that tragedies do not happen to the lowly in the society, it is very unfortunate that the main character is not only a Scottish general but also a successful one. More so, the arrangement in a tragedy dictates that the hero rises to an enviable position before fate comes in to bring him to his knees (Gooder, 1999). This drives the reader to accommodate the expectations that the hero will not merely rise to a happy ending but will at some point encounter great setbacks that will determine his downfall. Nobility is then a mark that dictates that the character will not have free will and will traverse the hands of fate.
When things start turning out as the witches had predicted, Macbeth is thrown in confusion about the remaining prophesies. Immediately the witches leave, Ross enters to announce Macbeth’s promotion to Thane of Cawdor. Since the witches had greeted by that title and also hinted that he would become king, Macbeth is enticed to anticipate the throne. His hunger for power, at this point, does not come naturally from his free will but has been imparted in him to ascertain that his cause enjoys external contribution.
It is also fateful that Macbeth is greatly influenced by his wife. On informing his wife what the witches have prophesied, Lady Macbeth pressures her husband to go for the throne. Much as he would have desired to be the king, it is the wife who fans the mad ambition that keeps him on the fatal path that leads to the tragic end. With Lady Macbeth’s advice, the hero concludes that he will not wait for the crown to come naturally but will scheme to take and retain it. The couple conspires to murder King Duncan so that Macbeth may become the king as it was predicted. The ambition that is cultivated in Macbeth from external influence, witches and wife combined, are further confirmation that he is resigned to fate.
Macbeth succeeds in killing the king and covering it up by murdering the king’s guards. This escalates matters further where his free will continues to diminish and is replaced by fate. The gods, in opposition to his acts, present several conflicting scenarios that highlight Macbeth’s slippery descent. At some point he gets hallucinations of a bloody knife and is troubled by his act. He gets more paranoid because Banquo was there when the witches prophesied his rise and plots to murder him and his son since the witches had intimated that Banquo would sire kings. These acts indicate that the hero is out of control and is capitalizing on the prophecy to dictate matters to personal interest.
Macbeth is not in a position to cover his tracks. This is further indication that he is subject to fate. After ascending to the throne he invites his lords only for Banquo’s ghost to arrive and take Macbeth’s seat. Since only Macbeth sees the ghost, his fright and anger as he confronts a presumably empty chair raises the eyebrows of his guests. The party ends prematurely as the ghost returns a second time. From the encounter, it is evident that the hero will not get away with the murders and is doomed to fall. Lady Macbeth, too, suffers from guilt and develops the habit of sleepwalking. At some point, she almost confesses to the doctor and a gentleman when she wakes up at night to wash his hands in the belief that they are bloodied. All the time she is lamenting the murders his husband has committed. The couple’s strange acts are an indication that fate has befallen them and they cannot do anything to maintain the status quo.
Disturbed by guilt, Macbeth visits the witches for further explanation of the prophecies. He is warned to be wary of Macduff and is also informed of his probable death. The witches are tactful in concealing the facts about his tragic ending although they give him the specific details. First, they tell him that he will not be killed by anyone born of a woman. They also add that he may only get killed when the Great Birnan Wood visits the Dunsinane Hill. This makes Macbeth relax a little for he is of the opinion that all men are born to women and trees cannot move. Unfortunately for him, similar events mark his tragic ending as the soldiers confronting him are advised to hide their numbers with branches from Birnan Woods. More so, it is Macduff who confronts and kills Macbeth after it is revealed that he never came to the world through natural birth but by caesarean section. Indeed, it is fate that runs Macbeth’s life through and through and he is not presented as a man with freedom to make choices.
With fate comes the tragic flaw; the hero’s weakness that contributes to downfall. Pride is Macbeth’s tragic flaw especially after consulting the witches a second time. After he is informed that he will only be vulnerable when the trees move and he is in fight with a man who is not born by a woman, Macbeth is convinced that he is invincible. More so, considering the fact that he is a seasoned general, the hero tends to believe in himself so much that he personally meets the soldiers confronting him. This drives him to his death confirming that he could not deter the tragic ending that he had been prescribed.
In conclusion, Shakespeare has successfully highlighted that the hero in a tragedy does not have the benefit of a free will but on the contrary will have his life controlled by fate. To begin with the character is highlighted as a nobleman to confirm that he fits in the category of a noble character. More so, he rises in power indicating that there is bound to be a point where he descends to the tragic ending. On the other hand, the act of the three witches confronting him with the accounts of his future life reveals that he already has his life cut out and does not have much to do to save it. The prophecy also instills a deadly ambition in him hoping to become king as fast as he became Thane. Lady Macbeth is another factor in highlighting the hero’s course since she pushes him to commit the murders. All in all, they are unable to conceal their deeds and Macbeth’s pride would not deter him from the fight since he believed that he was indomitable.
References
Gooder, J. (1999). ‘Fixt fate’ and ‘free will’ in “Phedre” and Macbeth. The Cambridge Quarterly, 28 (3), 214-231.
Shakespeare, W. (n.d.). The tragedy of Macbeth. Retrieved from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html
