Prophecy And Fate In Macbeth

Prophecy and fate intices many. The idea of knowing who you are going to marry, where you are going to go to college, when you are going to die, anything at all about your future, intrigues people from all walks of life. From the to boardwalk palm readers, learning one’s “fate” and hearing “prophecies” has always been a point of wonder for many. Especially in the 1600s, around the time Macbeth was written, the ideas of witchcraft and prophecy were being tossed around. But when one’s eyes are open to their own future, they will do what can be done to ensure that they fulfill their own destiny. So when Macbeth learns his own fate from the witches, he is no exception. Learning his own fate eventually leads to the spiraling of Macbeth and his Lady Macbeth. The witches prophecy plays a key role in
The effect of the witches prophecy is clearly seen at the beginning of the play, when Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches, they identify Macbeth as the “Thane of Cawdor” and who “shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.51-53). By naming Macbeth as a future king, this puts the seed of thought in Macbeth’s head that he could be king one day. This thought obviously excites and intrigues him, and makes him want to be king. And as he thinks more and more about this, he eventually comes to the conclusion that if he wanted to be king, he would have to kill Duncan, the current king of Scotland. But after thinking about his plan, Macbeth feels that he cannot kill Duncan. By teasing at what his fate could have been, they sparked the thought of being king in Macbeth’s mind, a thought that wasn’t there before. But after he writes to Lady Macbeth about the prophecy and the witches, she is intrigued by the prospect of power the prophecy