Fate and free will

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  • fate and free will
    • Macbeth is controlled by other characters
      • fair is foul, and foul is fair
        • paradox
          • The witches language is confusing
        • so fair and foul a day i have not seen
          • paradox
            • Macbeths fate here seems to be in the hands of the witches. However there confusing language suggest that they spur Macbeth acting on his own free will to get what he wants
            • This quote suggests that Macbeth he was already going to preform these dark tasks without the witches prophecies. He is saying that even though he appears to look good he is actually got a very evil mindset
      • structure
        • cumulative effect
          • they are the string pullers of the play- disturbing as we know it will be a tragedy- they hold the fate of the play
          • foreshadows their power to determine fate.
          • their unity and power they have together
            • foreshadows their power to determine fate.
      • "thunder"
        • pathetic fallacy
          • ominous tone- Macbeth killing spree is accompanied by unnatural occurances
            • the witches are to blame for the murders
    • Lady Macbeth has an involvement in Macbeth's fate
      • 'Wouldst thou have that... Like the poor cat i'th'adage'
        • metaphor/ rhetorical question
          • Here Lady Macbeth is comparing Macbeth to a cat that wants to be a fish- to manipulate him
          • Macbeth being easily influenced by this shows how others can expedite his fate
          • This shows that Macbeth is neither good nor evil because it could be argued that he was forced to follow the fate that the witches told him to
      • "have plucked my ****** from its boneless gum and dashed the brains out, as I so sworn as you have done this."
        • emotive language
          • shows the commitment she has to Macbeth
            • By Lady Macbeth doing this she is trying to guilt trip him into following the fate that the witches told him of
              • kill her own baby for Macbeth
          • kill her own baby for Macbeth
        • sibilance
          • This could link to the genesis story where the devil convinced Adam and Eve to each from a tree
          • This could show how aggressive Lady Macbeth was when forcing Macbeth into killing Duncan
    • It was King Duncan's fate to be King whereas it was Macbeths free will to be king
      • 'On Tuesday last, a falcon towering in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed'
        • Nature imagery
          • The falcon (Duncan) was unseated and killed by the owl (Macbeth)- Macbeth has destroyed the fate God had for Duncan
            • the owl at the time would have had connotations of darker imagery spewing from Norse legends
          • mimics Macbeths action has broken the natural divine right of things by killing Duncan
          • links to how the play is a national tragedy- Macbeths actions has resulted in the food chain being disrupted.
      • 'silver skinned laced with golden blood'
        • imagery
          • used to show the contrast between the dark blood and his light skin, makes the death even more horrendous to visualise for the audience
          • This paints Duncans body as almost treasure because instead of bleeing blood he bled gold. This shows the power of the monarchy
            • This shows how the person who has spilt the blood will have to pay a great price for it

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