Fate, Free Will and Agency in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Macbeth

Abstract

Macbeth and Julius Caesar have many common elements and themes. But one important theme shared by them is the theme of fate. In fact, the signs that foretell such a fate are so strong that the characters with no belief in fate change their mind. But there is also a degree of free-will, so human beings, being wise, can change their fate. But Caesar's pride consumes his wisdom and he submits to his written fate, which is getting murdered, while he could easily change it. In the world of Macbeth, unlike that of Julius Caesar, promises of the three witches are of the kind of self-fulfilling prophecies. According to Robert K. Merton, "The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come 'true'." So this means that human beings make the prophecy come true by their own will. Macbeth, then, is not destined or forced to do anything. He chooses his own path, makes his way to the throne and fulfills the prophecies. Two major prophecies in this play, which are motivations of Macbeth for the two murders at two critical points of the play, like  murdering Duncan, and murdering Macduff's family, are in fact self-fulfilling prophecies. But Macbeth, servant of his ambition, chooses to take the lead and make them come true, which in turn leads him to his downfall. This paper intends to show how fate functions (if ever) in these two plays. A study of the texts shows that in the world of Julius Caesar, every human being has a fate written for him.