Zach AugensteinMs. OwenEnglish 21-31-14MacbethFate and free will, the belief that humans are mere playthings for the universe or in complete control of their destiny. The tragic play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, presents the ideas of fate and free will throughout. The play opens in 11th-century Scotland, where the main character, Macbeth, encounters three witches who tell him that he is destined to become king. Macbeth decides to leave chance aside, take matters into his own hands and kill King Duncan. He quickly becomes paranoid and sends orders to kill those he believes pose a threat to his power. Although Macbeth was destined to become king, his downfall was caused by his free will due to his choice to trust the witches, kill King Duncan, and kill the Macduff family. Macbeth's choice to trust the witches, rather than being careful like Banquo, leads to his own destruction. Macbeth meets the three witches for the first time after his victory over the Norwegians. When Macbeth meets the three witches on the road, they greet him with: “Hello everyone, Macbeth! Hail, Thane of Cawdor! Hello everyone, Macbeth! Hello, Thane of Glamis! Hail everyone, Macbeth, who will now be king! (I,iii,49-51). Macbeth doubts these claims until Ross and Angus soon tell him about his newly acquired title, the Thane of Cawdor. He begins to believe that the sisters are real and that he might become king. Macbeth jumps to the conclusion that the three sisters belong to the supernatural and decides to trust them. He does so despite Banquo's warning: "But it's strange." And often, to win us to our detriment, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray the deepest consequences...... middle of paper..... .ff personally seeks out Mabeth so that he can be the one to kill him. On the battlefield, the witches' prophecy comes true. Young Siward is immediately dejected when he opposes Macbeth. However, when Macduff confronts Macbeth, he is able to defeat him without harming himself. Both fate and free will are strongly rooted in the play Macbeth. The role of fate was to tell Macbeth that he would one day become king of Scotland. Fate is not the cause of Macbeth's downfall. The actions performed under Macbeth's free will are the sole reason for his own downfall. Macbeth was afraid he wouldn't become king, so he took matters into his own hands to make sure he would ascend to the throne. He decided to throw away all chances and seize the throne by killing Duncan. By leaving aside chance, Macbeth left aside the possibility that fate would bring about his downfall..