Macbeth is the most commonly studied Shakespearean play for GCSE, so there are a lot of good resources out there to help with understanding the play and its contexts. This guide provides a model response to an AQA question on the theme of fate, annotated to guide you through the process of creating something similar.

Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents the theme of fate in Macbeth. (30 marks) AO4 (4 marks)

ALL

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Second Witch

Cool it with a baboon's blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.

[...]

Second Witch

By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes.

Open, locks,

Whoever knocks!

 

Enter MACBETH

 

MACBETH

How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!

What is't you do?

ALL

A deed without a name.

MACBETH

I conjure you, by that which you profess,

Howe'er you come to know it, answer me:

Though you untie the winds and let them fight

Against the churches; though the yesty waves

Confound and swallow navigation up;

Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down;

Though castles topple on their warders' heads;

Though palaces and pyramids do slope

Their heads to their foundations; though the treasure

Of nature's germens tumble all together,

Even till destruction sicken; answer me

To what I ask you.

[...]

First Witch

Pour in sow's blood, that hath eaten

Her nine farrow; grease that's sweaten

From the murderer's gibbet throw

Into the flame.

ALL

Come, high or low;

Thyself and office deftly show!

Thunder. First Apparition: an armed Head

MACBETH

Tell me, thou unknown power,--

First Witch

He knows thy thought:

Hear his speech, but say thou nought.

First Apparition

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff;

Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.

Descends

MACBETH

Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution, thanks;

Thou hast harp'd my fear aright: but one

word more,--

First Witch

He will not be commanded: here's another,

More potent than the first.

Thunder. Second Apparition: A bloody Child

Second Apparition

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!

MACBETH

Had I three ears, I'ld hear thee.

Second Apparition

Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn

The power of man, for none of woman born

Shall harm Macbeth.

 

Descends

 

MACBETH

Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?

But yet I'll make assurance double sure,

And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live;

That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,

And sleep in spite of thunder.

Thunder. Third Apparition: a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand

What is this

That rises like the issue of a king,

And wears upon his baby-brow the round

And top of sovereignty?

ALL

Listen, but speak not to't.

Third Apparition

Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care

Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until

Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill

Shall come against him.

 

Descends

 

MACBETH 

That will never be

Who can impress the forest, bid the tree

Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements! good!

Rebellion's head, rise never till the wood

Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth

Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath

To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart

Throbs to know one thing: tell me, if your art

Can tell so much: shall Banquo's issue ever

Reign in this kingdom?

ALL

Seek to know no more.

Shakespeare presents the theme of fate in Macbeth as a powerful yet ultimately ambiguous force that interacts with human ambition and decision-making. In the given extract, Macbeth interprets fate in a way that justifies his actions and fuels his downfall, essentially attempting to manipulate fate – an idea that would have resonated with a Jacobean audience, who were concerned with divine order, the supernatural, and moral responsibility.

In the extract, Shakespeare uses rhythmic and enigmatic language to present the Weird Sisters as mysterious mouthpieces of fate (with their name, ‘Weird’ coming from the Old English ‘Wyrd’ meaning Fate). The witches’ chant-like speech (“Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and cauldron bubble”) uses trochaic tetrameter, a meter associated with incantation and spellwork. This poetic device creates a sense of ritual and danger, signalling that the knowledge they offer is unnatural and potentially corrupting. When Macbeth hears the apparitions’ prophecies, “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” and “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him”, he takes them literally, failing to perceive their ambiguity. The imagery here appears to offer certainty, but the modal verb “shall” is deceptive. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, as the audience understands that fate is not as simple as Macbeth believes. These riddles highlight how fate in the play is unclear and open to interpretation, not a fixed and infallible force. This reflects the early modern belief that misreading signs or attempting to outwit fate could lead to ruin, a fear reinforced by the growing influence of Calvinist ideas about predestination.

Elsewhere in the play, Shakespeare continues to blur the line between fate and free will. In Act 1, Scene 3, the Weird Sisters hail Macbeth with: “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! / Hail to thee, that shalt be king hereafter!” The use of anaphora in “Hail to thee” creates a ceremonial tone, echoing religious or royal blessing, and reinforces the impression of a preordained destiny. However, the witches do not tell Macbeth to commit murder; rather, they plant a seed. The modal verb “shalt” implies the future but not the means by which it will be achieved. Macbeth chooses to act on the prophecy by murdering Duncan, suggesting that his downfall is driven as much by his interpretation and ambition as by fate itself – with many arguing that this wilful ignorance of nuance in the interest of ambition fulfils the hamartia requirement of Aristotelian conventions of tragedy. This reflects a tension in Jacobean thinking: while many believed in fate and divine providence, there was also a growing emphasis on individual responsibility, particularly in the context of political stability and the moral expectations of those in power. Indeed, much had been made of Elizabeth I’s failure to provide an heir.

Shakespeare also uses Macbeth’s language to show how his belief in fate changes over time. Early in the play, Macbeth is hesitant: “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me / Without my stir.” The repetition of “chance” suggests a passive acceptance of fate, juxtaposed against the active “stir”. However, as he becomes more consumed by power, he seeks control over fate, declaring in Act 3, Scene 1: “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus” – with the adverb “safely” being ironic, considering that his actions make his security less, not more. His shift from passivity to obsessive control illustrates a tragic misunderstanding of fate. By attempting to manipulate prophecy, Macbeth actually ensures his downfall, especially through the murder of Banquo, whose descendants are prophesied to inherit the throne, and through the murder of Macduff’s family, whose vengeance seals Macbeth’s fate. This reflects contemporary fears around regicide and usurped authority, particularly relevant to an audience who had recently lived through the Gunpowder Plot and viewed King James I as divinely appointed, as per his assertion of the Divine Right of Kings in his Basilokon Doron and elsewhere. Essentially, the entire play’s preoccupation with fate, in relation to kingship, is an affirming ‘nod’ to the new king, and Macbeth’s new patron, James I – the country is behind you.