Examples Of Free Will In Macbeth

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Examples Of Free Will In Macbeth

Shakespeare shows that free choice rather than fate is responsible for the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth had many instances that he could have stopped creating destruction in the lives of both himself and the other people in his life. Coincidentally, if he had chosen not to kill so many people, he himself would not have been killed. Macbeth decides to let Lady Macbeth pressure him into killing the King. This was the first instance of free will. Had he chosen not to kill him, he would not have turned into such a cold-blooded killer. All of deaths that occur because Macbeth is trying to climb to the top can all be summed up into free choice. He chose to kill the king, so now why couldn’t he keep killing? It is not like it …show more content…
They pluck out mine eyes! Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands? No. This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red” (Macbeth Act II Sc 2 li. 79-84). Another time in the play that Shakespeare shows free choice is responsible for the annihilation of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is when Lady Macbeth decides to support her husband in the killing of Duncan. If she hadn’t brought up the idea, Macbeth would have tried to find another way to climb to the top. He also wouldn’t have killed Duncan had she not reinforced the value of absolute power into Macbeth. She re-convinced him to go through with their murderous plans, which only made Macbeth fold under peer pressure. After the deed was done, the both of them had been regretful. Macbeth was not happy with the act of killing the king because yet again, he was jealous of him. Duncan was untouchable, laying in a coffin somewhere that nobody could get to him while Macbeth is very much alive and able to be targeted and harmed. Lady Macbeth is regretting the murder of the king because she is starting to feel the guilt consume her. She had started sleep walking and she is having awful nightmares about the murder “Why then ‘tis time to

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