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Fate In Macbeth

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Children are taught, “If you are good you will go to heaven, if you are bad you will go to hell.” Heaven is where all people want to be, but how do they get there? As shown throughout much of history and literature, the key to obtaining the elusive goal of heaven or suffering a terrible downfall may be linked to fate and its ability to be overcome. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.” This can be seen starting as early as with Adam and Eve, who illustarted that the fate of our lives is known to change through choices and decisions made because of free will. When it comes to fate, the eternal question much of literature seeks to answer is whether fate can be changed or whether …show more content…

In the beginning of this play, Macbeth states, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare). This bold statement demonstrates Macbeth’s belief in fate through his use of the word “chance” and his belief through fate he will be able to achieve his goal of becoming king. As evidenced by this statement from the beginning of this Shakespearean play, Macbeth believes that he should allow chance to take its own course, or “without [his] stir”, but this philosophy is quickly forgotten. Thus, after hearing the prophecies of the three witches, Macbeth arduously tries not to be hubris and does not seek the glory of becoming the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor, and, eventually, the King, which had been the prophecies. However, after being taunted by his wife, Macbeth begins to act on the prophecies and attempts to take control of the fate with which he had previously foregone interfering, by killing the current king and taking the throne for …show more content…

The narrator of this poem explains her regrets and her desire to change her fate. Dickinson starts the poem by stating the inevitability of death, with this theme even being expressed within the title of the poem itself: “Because I could not stop for Death” (Dickinson). Emily Dickinson personifies death by describing him as a well-dressed, polite man who is said to be riding in a chariot. Death is so charming he causes the speaker to forget about everything else. The reason for this personification is to show the reader that death surprises and kindly takes you away from the world. Because death is bound to happen, there is nothing to fear. Because the speaker is not afraid of death and knows that death is coming, she calmly welcomes him. Thus, just as the speaker is not afraid of the charming, gentlemanly death, she does not fear reaching her inevitable fate of death. Through death’s personification and the speaker’s acceptance of death, Dickinson is telling the readers that the fate of everyone is death. She also demonstrates that immortality is required in order to die, as evidenced by the line “The carriage held but just ourselves – And Immortality” (Dickinson). Dickinson adds immortality to the chariot because without it death may try to override an immortal person. Yet, despite the speaker’s acceptance of her fate of death, she shows a desire to

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