In Shakespeare's Macbeth, there is an unanswered question that that reader or observer of the play must figure out the answer to: Was Macbeth's downfall the result of irresistible fate or of his own actions? Certainly there are elements of fate in the play. The three witches, for example, make accurate predictions about his future titles, hailing him as "thane of Glamis," "thane of Cawdor," and then "King hereafter" (Shakespeare, Act I, Scene III, 48-51). Moreover, the three witches conjure up three apparitions that also make accurate predictions concerning him. The first apparition, an armed head, warns, "beware Macduff;" the second, a bloody child, warns, "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth;" and the third, a child crowned with a tree in his hand, predicts, "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him" (Act IV, Scene I, 77, 86-87, 100-102). Moreover, the three witches do their best to shape Macbeth's fate by tempting him to do wrong on every opportunity.
Ultimately, though, the responsibility for Macbeth's downfall is entirely his own. Although the witches can tempt him, they have no power to coerce him to murder anyone. All of his evil actions are the result of decisions that he makes himself. The witches do have the power to predict the future; they know how Macbeth will rise to power and how he will meet his end, but this does not suggest that his fate is sealed before he acts. On the contrary, Macbeth himself recognizes his own culpability in the murders of Banquo and the family of Macduff, stating, "For Banquo's issue have fil'd my mind; For them the gracious Duncan have I murther'd Put rancours in the vessel of my peace" (Shakespeare, Act III, Scene I, 64-70).
The question of whether Macbeth is the victim of cruel fate or the master of his own destiny reflects the question of whether a Christian is compelled by the devil to d
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