Do you believe events in your life have been guided by fate or chance? Why or why not? Based on the text, what do you think Shakespeare's attitude was towards fate? Does Macbeth have any choice in his actions or was everything predetermined? Use examples from the text as your support.
This is such an interesting question that I have actually thought about before. In my own life, I always like to believe that I make my own decisions and that fate doesn't truly control my life; however, I feel like fate is more of a guideline to people's lives. Fate has the connotation that there is a higher being, such as God, who is controlling everything that happens because he has a plan for all of us. Being Agnostic, I tend to lean away from this connotation and focus more of making my own pathway. My decisions make me who I am, not someone else's choices.
Based on the text, I think that Shakespeare's attitude towards fate shows a lot about what he believes. I believe that Shakespeare makes a higher being control Macbeth's fate because after all of his evil actions, Macbeth shows signs of guilt. "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me" shows the intense guilt that Macbeth feels, as if he wasn't the one who actually did the evil deed of killing his dear friend, Banquo (Macbeth, 3.4) Macbeth almost seems like some sort of Holy Puppet that is controlled by something other than himself. Starting around Scene 3 is when the audience can really see a change in Macbeth's character as he changes from being so content with his life, to going power crazy, to finally getting that guilt that has caught up to him.
In the end, I think our decisions, for many, justify the idea that there is a god who is looking out for us. The rest of us hope that we are making our own paths that won't come to bite us in the butt later.
I think your analogy between Macbeth and being a puppet is very interesting, especially considering his and Lady Macbeth's conversations prior to killing Duncan. Although, I don't know if feeling guilt and feeling like a puppet necessarily means that Macbeth's decisions are controlled by fate. There is a phenomena called 'depersonalization' which essentially means that you don't feel like you are actually doing what you are doing. People who experience it describe it as dream like. It's like those 'out-of-body' experiences. It's a symptom of anxiety and, according to the highly trustworthy website called Wikipedia, "chronic depersonalization is more related to individuals who have experienced a severe trauma or prolonged stress/anxiety". This doesn't mean that it wasn't fate, but this particular symptom could also be a result of the trauma of killing Duncan.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of Shakespeare's beliefs is so interesting! I always thought that the inclusion of supernatural beings (like the witches) meant that he wasn't religious, but your perspective on the higher being makes a lot of sense. Do you think the witches are acting through I higher being, or the witches aren't involved at all? Does Shakespeare believe in a higher being?
ReplyDeleteI also liked how you looked at Shakespeare as the one in control- think about the "tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow" speech. Also- this is a tragedy rather than a history (which Shakspeare also wrote) even though it is based on real people (Macbeth and Banquo)- is it because it is fictionalizing their choices/actions?
ReplyDeleteVery good, solid post with good personal accounts as support. The IB TOK graders in Zimbabwe would be proud. Good usage of quotes (more support) from the Novel as well.
ReplyDeleteWell organized with separating paragraphs between your personal thoughts and views taken from/supported by the book.