Is Macbeth A Hero Or A Villain

Shakespeare presents Macbeth more extensively as a villain using methods which would be more understood in the era the play was composed, which was the Jacobean period, but influenced by the reign of Elizabeth. During the Elizabethan period people were preoccupied with the supernatural, which is one of the main topics in Shakespeare’s play. In my opinion Shakespeare structures the play to make the audience see Macbeth transforming from a hero into a villain, we can also see how Macbeth’s character transfigures from a valiant, noble soldier to a deceitful traitor.

As works of literature mature, the line between good and bad begins to become unclear. With Shakespeare’s works especially, things are usually not what they initially seem; a character may reveal to be the protagonist, antagonist, or even an anti-hero. A character may take actions that border on the antagonistic side, but still be the protagonist in which the audience is emotionally, though not always ethically, invested in. An anti-hero can be viewed simply as a protagonist who lies somewhere on the spectrum of villain and hero; never quite touching each end. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare makes it clear that Macbeth is really an anti-hero through his changing public appearance, his encounters with the witches, and his feelings concerning his own actions.

Throughout a variety of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the audience is presented with a protagonist who appears to be a “tragic hero” in the overall play. In other words, this character is one who has made an error in his judgement, providing that this error eventually leads to their own ruin or destruction. Within Macbeth, Macbeth the character is regarded as a tragic hero, but with the distinct and evident explanation of his evil and the succession of his acts of violence, it may not be as clear cut as to whether he is a tragic hero or not. Though Macbeth does commit an error that leads to his eventual destruction, he knows that his judgement is evil and he is aware of the nature of the deed that he wishes to commit in order to reach his ambitions. His knowledge of the nature of his thoughts and actions first appears after an incident he experiences with his imagination and in fact, imagination plays a big role in the motivating identity for his will to commit regicide. Imagination begins by acting as a self-contradicting identity by providing a form of motivation, but also contributing to some hesitation towards the murderous act. As the play progresses though, it becomes solely a motivating identity towards the evil that contributed to the deterioration of Macbeth, and it is this resulting torment that becomes evidence of what evil does onto Macbeth’s mind and heart.

It is important for Shakespeare to present Macbeth as a hero in order to prepare the reader for his tragic downfall. Shakespeare first presents Macbeth as a hero when he is called “brave Macbeth” by the captain. In many ways the captain represents the whole army and this could be a way for Shakespeare to show how Macbeth is viewed by the army it could also show how Shakespeare is seen as brave by a high up member of society. As well as being praised by the captain Macbeth is also praised by the King, the line ‘more is thy due than more than all can pay’ shows how the King respects Macbeth “more is thy due” shows Macbeth is a hero in the eyes of the King as the King believes he owes Macbeth for what he has done.

Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare in the year 1606, is a prominent tragic play that is notoriously recognized for its excessive use of violence. The author mainly elaborates how Macbeth, who used to be a proud hero of Scotland, spreads his turmoil throughout the whole kingdom. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is widely regarded as an honorable hero because he is a valiant warrior who wants to protect the kingdom to the best of his abilities. As the play progresses, however, Macbeth’s personality, motives, and character start to vary dramatically. His personal greed and overconfidence to fulfill his ambition for power leads him to commit malevolent actions that brings upon remorse, despair, and guilt within him and for the

Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is someone of great importance or royalty. The hero must go through something terrible such as a relative’s death. We must feel what this character is feeling throughout the story. Aristotle also said that a tragic hero scan be defeated by a tragic flaw, such as hubris or human pride. In Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, both Creon and Antigone are tragic heroes.

   The dark aura surrounding Shakespeare's Macbeth is well deserved, as is the darkness shrouding its title character. Although Macbeth is certainly a villainous, evil man based solely on his actions, a fuller examination of his character's portrayal leads to a more sympathetic view of him. The play does not portray Macbeth simply as a cold-blooded murderer, but rather as a tortured soul attempting to deal with the atrocities surrounding him.

‘Macbeth’ is a play by William Shakespeare that shows a protagonist going from bad to worse throughout the play. Shakespeare wrote this play, taking in mind current affairs at the time of 1603-1606. This is the time when a Scottish king, James I was given the English crown. This king was obsessed with witches, so Shakespeare brought this theme strongly into the play. It also brings the theme of treachery towards the King. This pleased King James and also pleased him about showing the line of Stuart Kings, James descendants, in Act 4, Scene 1.

In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, destruction is wrought when ambition goes rampant by moral constraints. “Macbeth” amplifies the fight amidst good vs evil, analyzing the psychological effects of King Duncan's murder. This tragedy concerned the plunge of a great man (King) from his position of nobility to humility on behalf of his ambitious pride. This pride causes the downfall of Macbeth that triggers a series of deaths down the line. Ambition is the driving force of the play.

Throughout the story of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth acts in a much despised manner: he becomes a murderer and later, when king of Scotland, a tyrant. Many who have read or seen the play are left wondering how a man’s whole approach to life can change; how Macbeth turned from the hero whom all adored, to the tyrant who was hated and ended up a lone man, fighting for his life.

Poetics, where he defines what makes a tragic hero. Aristotle suggests that a tragic hero is a

Macbeth is truly loved by the king, as the speaker reveals in act 1. Now one may ask, what is Macbeth's tragic mistake? He is an ambitious man who is willing to do what is best for the country. But almost right after hearing the witches' prophecy, he contemplates the king's end. There are instances where he is having a tug of war with his conscience. He wants be the emperor. But in order to do that, he has to kill the king; but his wife ends up killing the king. Later in the story Macbeth can be identified as a liar also to get his wife out of the blame of murder. But the tragic part plays into the story after Macbeth is crowned king. Many more actions from Macbeth show the negativity that has built up in the hero. He has the wisdom and restraint to stagger in his ambitious drives. But no, Evil waits patiently in the wings as good distorts. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted to show that man is in conflict with himself against the force of evil in his own heart and that evil has many faces. The monster identified here would be Macbeth’s guilt. This guilt ate up the person he was before and made him grow restless until his death.

The play “Macbeth” is a tragedy, because of Macbeth; the hero aspect in the play is brought to ruin. Although he is not an idealistic hero, he’s the main character and suffers great loss, even death; the witches had caused him to bring it upon himself, by misleading his blind ambition.

What makes someone a tragic hero? Many agree that Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is a good description. The description comes from Aristotle’s Poetic, “The tragic hero is "a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake” (Poetics). The mistake or

in all purity. This is mainly due to the fact that he was willing to