Zach AugensteinMs. OwenEnglish 21-31-14MacbethDestiny and free will, the belief that humans are mere toys to the universe or are in full control of their own destiny. The tragic comedy Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, has the ideas of fate and free will present throughout. The play opens in 11th-century Scotland, where the main character, Macbeth, meets three witches who tell him he is destined to be king. Macbeth decides to abandon the case, take matters into his own hands and kill King Duncan. He soon becomes paranoid and sends orders to kill those he believes are a threat to his power. Although Macbeth was destined to become king, his downfall was caused by his free will due to his choices to put faith in witches, kill King Duncan, and kill Macduff's family. Macbeth's choice to place his trust in the witches, instead of paying attention like Banquo, leads to his own destruction. Macbeth first meets the three witches after his victory over the Norse. When Macbeth meets the three witches on the road, they greet him with: “Hello, Macbeth! Hail to you, lord of Cawdor!” Hello everyone, Macbeth! Hail to you, lord of Glamis! Hail to Macbeth, who from now on you will be king! » (I,iii,49-51). Macbeth doubts these claims until Ross and Angus soon tell him of his newly acquired title, the Thane of Cawdor. He begins to believe that the sisters are real and that he could become king. Macbeth comes to the conclusion that the three sisters belong to the supernatural and decides to trust them. He does this despite Banquo's warning: “But it's strange. And often, to bring us to our detriment, the instruments of darkness tell us the truth, conquer us with honest trifles, to betray the deepest consequences... middle of paper... ff personally seeks Mabeth to be him to kill him. On the battlefield the witches' prophecy comes true. Young Siward is immediately dejected when he stands up to Macbeth. However, when Macduff confronts Macbeth, he manages to defeat him without causing any harm to himself. Destiny and freedom both have strong roots in the play Macbeth. Fate's role was to tell Macbeth that he would one day become king of Scotland. Fate was not the cause of Macbeth's downfall. Macbeth's actions under his own free will are the sole reason for his downfall. Macbeth was afraid that he would not become king, so he took matters into his own hands to be absolutely sure that he would reach the throne. He decided to leave the case aside and take the throne for himself by killing Duncan. By leaving aside the case, Macbeth leaves out the possibility that fate will lead him to ruin.