Macbeth: The Tragic Hero Essay

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

"Macbeth" is a tragic play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600’s. It revolved around the character Macbeth and his urge to become king of Scotland. Macbeth had to do anything possible to become the king including murder, lying, and deception. However, Macbeth committed these evil deeds due to some influential people in his life. Between Macbeth’s wife persuading him to do anything to become king and the witches prophesying over him causes Macbeth to try and bury the past and control the future.

     A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Macbeth was, shortly after the murdering incident, driven insane by the immense guilt produced by his withered conscience. The dagger that was used in the killing of King Duncan haunted him before the murder took place. This tragedy in the play gives us both fear of where the sword came from and pity for Macbeth's character that had degraded to such a point that he has become paranoid.

Macbeth is often referred to as the hero or protagonist of the play. n Shakespeare's play, he would often be called the "tragic hero. " A tragic hero is: "a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction." These were very popular in Shakespear's plays and were in all his tragedies.

After Banquo speaks to himself about his suspicions of Macbeth and the possibility of his sons becoming king, Macbeth enters and asks Banquo multiple times if he will be attending the feast. Banquo replies that he will be away for the day, but will make it back for the dinner. Eventually Banquo departs, leaving Macbeth to speak a soliloquy about his fears about Banquo. Macbeth decides to murder Banquo and his son to prevent Banquo’s children from receiving the throne. Two murderers enter the room and Macbeth begins to chastise them in order to persuade them to kill Banquo. Macbeth exploiting these characters shows how he has grown more wicked and similar to Lady Macbeth throughout the play.

Lady Macbeth intends that if Macbeth was a true man, he would follow his word, before when saying that he was going to kill Duncan for the throne. She uses Macbeth’s weakness against him, in order to get want she wants, which is a trait that the kingdom would look down on in this era. Lady Macbeth’s manipulative speech towards Macbeth reveals Shakespeare’s role in providing the reader with consideration to decide the reality of her character. In addition, Banquo reveals his suspicions about Duncan’s death as he learns more about the kingdom and connects the pieces of the murder. Wanting to review the case once again, shows his personality and loyalty to Scotland:

Macbeth’s major flaws are his ambition and impressionability. Due to their flaws, a Tragic Hero’s actions are often atrocious and cause them to battle with their conscience after their desires have been accomplished. These battles with their conscience evoke empathy from the audience. A Shakespearean Tragic Hero will always lose their life in the end of the play as a result of re-establishment of what is good in the play. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title

He still knows what the witches said about Banquo, that his children will rule. So, Macbeth sends out assassins to kill Banquo and Fleance. They successfully murder Banquo, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth is angry, he feels that with Fleance alive his throne can be easily taken away from him. At the castle party, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost sitting at the dinner table.

They are the ones who physically slather Banquo, despite the fact that Macbeth is the one who orders them; this event turns Macbeth into a monster who feels impulsions to create more assassinations. Before this incident, Macbeth feels like he is given the “fruitless crown” (III, i, 62), and “a barren sceptre” (III, i, 63). However, as the bloody murder happens, the deterioration of Macbeth’s mentality begins; this is one of the major problems in the play. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth is also affected by the murderers; she starts off as a barbaric character who leads Macbeth to kill Duncan, but after the murderers assassinate Banquo, even her tough personality cannot take more guilt.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth follows the journey and downfall of the titular protagonist, and it illustrates the effects of Macbeth’s descent into villainy on his once loving and close relationship with Lady Macbeth. As their initially mutually trusting and co-dependent relationship deteriorates through the progression of the three great crimes, Shakespeare demonstrates how murder can permanently destroy a person and their relationships. Leading up to the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth is an influential and spirited figure as she persuades Macbeth into committing the crime, however, her sanity weakens with guilt after the murder. This contrasts Macbeth, who becomes bolder in his descent to ruthlessness as his

After being given ambiguous predictions by the three witches, Macbeth has a certain confidence and believes he cannot be killed. Of course, a tragic hero must suffer, which again adds to the tragedy of his story and continues to show how human he is. “What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes!” (II.ii.59). Macbeth suffers psychological trauma after his first kill. He is overwhelmed with guilt, so much so that he does not even recognize himself.

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a

One of William Shakespeare’s most recognisable and well known tragic heroes to readers and audience members that bare this typical and wide-spread opinion. Macbeth has been repeatedly and famously identified as a strong hearted nobleman, yet he displays extreme psychological frailness in stressfull and moraly questioning situations. Exhibiting qualities of ‘Aristole’s Tragic Terms’, such as hamartia. A quality describing one’s fatal flaw leading to a hero’s downfall. However this bespoken qualitiy lies dormant in Macbeth’s personality until the first principle action of the play, hence Macbeth’s unchecked and insatiable ambitions only ever being triggered by a conglomeration of people and circumstances such as ‘The Wëird Sisters’ evil intentions and his wife, Lady Macbeth’s greed and manipulation. In turn, proving Macbeth’s victimhood to not only people and circumstance, but himself as well.

Murdering Duncan was the only true action enticed by Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s desire to get rid of Banquo demonstrates that he truly is malevolent. Macbeth demands that “his death were perfect” when hiring murderers to remove Banquo and his son from his path (3.1.108). The king's determination to be the only one in power has caused him to lose the ethical characteristic that is seen in the first act. Banquo was the only person to ever secretly doubt and aside from this, the prophecies created panic for Macbeth. While speaking to the hired murderers, Macbeth agrees with them by saying “So is he mine” claiming that Banquo is an enemy to all, including the king (3.2.116). The slander spoken by Macbeth ruins the image of loyalty and