Macbeth's Freewill Of Choice

"Macbeth’s Freewill of Choice”

Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. It tells the story of a man who makes bad choices based on the influence of others. Macbeth is an honorable solider until he meets three evil witches that know his deepest desire is to one day be king, so they tell him that he will be king one day. Macbeth immediately begins to have thoughts of murdering King Duncan even though he knows it is wrong. When Lady Macbeth learns that Macbeth will eventually become king, she begins making plans to murder Duncan as well. When Macbeth has doubts about the murder, Lady Macbeth uses the love he has for her to persuade him to make the choices she wants him to make. Therefore, Macbeth does not make the best choices possible. In fact, he makes all bad choices. Not only does he murder Duncan, he begins murdering people who are close to him as well. It is the influence of the three witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth's own ambition that lead to his ultimate downfall. However, in the end it is Macbeth’s ambition the has the greatest influence over his choices.

Macbeth is a character that is easily influenced by three evil witches. In the beginning, they inform Macbeth of his fate; however, the choices he makes are of his own freewill and eventually lead to his destruction. Magill states, “They are symbolic of evil and prescient of crimes which are to come, but they neither encourage nor facilitate Macbeth’s actions” (3807). Therefore, they do not start a fire in Macbeth, instead they ignite the fuel which Macbeth created himself. Upon Macbeth’s arrival, the third witch says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.50). Even though the witches do not have the power of deciding Macbeth’s fate, they are able to see into his heart and knows that his greatest desire is to become king. Therefore, his deepest desire has been ignited and the choices he makes thereafter affect the rest of his life. In fact, Macbeth finds his every thought being consumed with the idea of one day becoming king. As a result, he begins thinking of ways he can murder Duncan in order for him to become king sooner. Macbeth says, “Stars hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.50-51). Fearing someone might see his horrible thoughts, Macbeth pleads with the stars to put out their lights so no one sees that he is planning to murder Duncan. It is important to mention that the witches never told Macbeth that he had to kill the king, only that he would be king. Mack says, “What is emphatically to be noticed is that the weyard sisters do not suggest Duncan's murder; they simply make a prediction, and Macbeth himself takes the matter from there” (183-196). Macbeth does, indeed, take matters into his own hands when he chooses to kill the king. Eventually, Macbeth decides to once again visit the witches so they can tell him what the future holds for him. The second witch says, “Something wicked this way comes” (4.1.45). Thus, the witches summon apparitions that tell Macbeth what he wants to hear which gives him a false sense of security about his future. Markels says, "To see the witches is to recognize in them an enormous power, a power not to determine a man's fate, but to stir his imagination, to influence choices for which he himself must finally be held responsible" (293-303). Because the witches tell Macbeth what he wants to hear, they have an enormous amount of influence over the choices Macbeth makes. Hence, Macbeth makes bad decisions which lead to his tragic death.

Because Macbeth loves his wife, Lady Macbeth plays a major role in influencing the choices he makes concerning their future. In fact, Lady Macbeth's greatest strength is the power of influence she has on Macbeth. Magill says, “Lady Macbeth is a catalyst and supporter, but she does not make the grim decision, and Macbeth never tries to lay the blame on her” (3807). It is important to mention that Lady Macbeth’s strength has negative consequences because she uses it to convince Macbeth that killing Duncan is the only way he will become king. As soon as she receives the letter from Macbeth telling her about his meeting with the witches, Lady Macbeth immediately begins thinking of ways of killing Duncan. However, she fears Macbeth will not be able to be as cruel as is necessary if he is to gain the throne. Gerwig says,

"She knows that he wants the throne more than he wants anything else in the world; she knows that, unaided, he will in all probability fail to secure it on account of the milk of human kindness in his heart and a remnant of conscience which makes him hesitate about doing a thing he knows is wrong" (133-150).

Clearly, Macbeth is a good person and is obviously hesitant in doing something he knows is wrong. Thus, Lady Macbeth uses her husband's love for her to convince him to do what she wants him to do. Therefore, Lady Macbeth knows that she has to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth, "From this time, such I account thy love" (1.7.38-39). Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that if he loves her he will prove it by killing King Duncan. Even though Macbeth has no desire to murder Duncan, he chooses to carry out Lady Macbeth’s plan. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth, "I am settled" (1.7.79). Thereafter, Macbeth feels guilty for the crimes he has committed. Lady Macbeth explains Macbeth, “Things without all remedy, should be without regard: what’s done is done” (3.2.11-12). Since there is no way to change what happens in the past, Lady Macbeth thinks Macbeth should not think about the crime he committed. Because of Macbeth’s love for his wife, I believe he would do anything for her including committing murder.

In the beginning, Macbeth is an honorable soldier who is loyal to his king; however, his ambition and desire to become king eventually lead to his tragic downfall. Macbeth makes a mistake when he believes the witches’ prophecy that he will be king. Even though they do not tell him why or how he will become king, all of Macbeth's choices are based on this prophecy and he immediately begins having thoughts of murdering Duncan. Therefore, it is