Macbeth as a Shakespearean Tragic Hero Essay examples

     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.

The tragic downfall of Macbeth was not determined by one single cause. It was rather caused by a combination of three dark forces: supernatural, external, and internal. Supernatural forces are represented by the three witches and dark powers behind them. Lady Macbeth is an outer force that pushes Macbeth towards the bloody deeds. Macbeth's own ambition acts as deciding power in brining him to his downfall.

Macbeth’s unrestrained ambition to gain power turned him into someone completely different from who he was originally. When the play begins and Macbeth is introduced, he is labeled as brave, honorable, moral, and kind. He is such a well-versed person that his wife fears his nature is too kind for the harsh world, speaking of him with words of, “Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness…” (1.5.16-17). He makes his first appearance to the audience just after arriving from battle, and his behavior on the field is described by, “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—…” (1.2.16). Macbeth is a man that many admire, even King Duncan himself, who shortly thereafter names Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. Following his new label, Macbeth, with the help of three witches’ prophesies suggesting he will become king, notices the power that comes with such a title. Kenneth Deighton describes Macbeth’s behavior with, “When he is informed that Duncan had made him Thane of Cawdor, he at once gives way to the temptation suggested by the words of the witches, and allows his ambitious thoughts to

"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.

A tragic hero is defined as, “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is

An important character in ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare was Macbeth. Macbeth is shown as the protagonist of the play and is the person who drives the plot of the drama. Macbeth changes dramatically throughout the play as in the start he is portrayed as the tragic hero who would do anything for his King and country. As the plays continue he becomes ambitious and, encouraged by a prophecy. After that, he ends up killing a lot of people/becoming a tyrant.

A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is

Macbeth is a tragic hero, in The Tragedy of Macbeth, as many people refer it as, has a main antagonist Macbeth who is by fault of character flawed and is destined to experience death, suffering, and downfall. And during the beginning of the play there was a supernatural force involved in giving Macbeth the temptation. And many can argue that the 3 witches in the beginning of the play made him do it but that’s not necessarily true they never forced his hand in the murder of King Duncan and the numerous murders he had involvement in. He did this on his own due to the lack of his loyalty, sanity, or whatever trait other people wish to give him. Regardless of what trait he lacks the story and Macbeth do follow in the criteria of a tragic hero.

His infidelity breaks the trust between him and Duncan because of his immense betrayal to not only the King, but to the country of Scotland. He quickly becomes a man whom Duncan could no longer rely upon, for this reason, Duncan awards the title to a noble and courageous soldier, Macbeth. Dramatic irony is presented in this line because as Duncan is addressing the unfaithfulness of the old thane, it is followed by the entry of Macbeth to the scene, a man who later misuses his power to betray the King. To Duncan, Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, is appeared to be virtuous and courageous because of his heroic performance in the battle for defeating the opponent, Macdonwald. The King demonstrates his satisfaction towards Macbeth through a conversation with Banquo. He describes Macbeth as “full so valiant, And in his commendations [King Duncan is] fed; It is a banquet to [him]… It is a peerless kinsman.” (1.4.56-60). In this speech, King Duncan truly admires Macbeth’s valiancy and describes him as a man without equal. He congratulates Macbeth for his courage on the battlefield and as followed by the witches’ prophecies of Macbeth, “...All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor…” (1.3.50), he replaces and becomes the new Thane of Cawdor. This speech reveals the gullible nature of Duncan who once trusted the old thane and anew, believes the new thane will be loyal to the country. By all means, Duncan is clueless of

At the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as a courageous soldier who is loyal to the King but is corrupted from the witches prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeth’s ambition. Their marriage is of convenience for Lady Macbeth, but for Macbeth it is more than that. He loves his wife, and she takes advantage of that. She is continuously making him feel guilty, for being weak, and challenges his manhood, with these words "When you durst do it, then you were a man, and, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I,vi,50-52), which means, Be a man, and I will love you as one.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are different themes that occur in the play. Two important themes that take place in Macbeth are the supernatural and prophecy. The supernatural and the prophecy are essential to Macbeth because it carries the atmosphere of how the play is presented through the book. In essence by using the supernatural and prophecy in the play, we see how it affects Macbeth and the decisions he elects that is his freewill.

Today was the day I so patiently had been waiting for, coronation day! As a commoner it was almost unheard of to be able to visit the castle amongst the royals. I walked up to the tall door and entered the grand dining hall. The dining hall was dark and cold sending a shiver up my spine. The sound of laughter and conversation bounced off the walls overpowering the room. That was when I saw him, Macbeth, our future King, accompanied by his wife. Macbeth looked even taller and wiser in person, he was the type of man anyone would want as their king. At least that was what I had thought.

At the beginning of the play “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, Macbeth illuminates a heroic character. Conversely, when the reader is introduced to Lady Macbeth one learns Macbeth may not be the heroic person he may seem. The way Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth it appears as if he is a coward and not as heroic as previously learned in the house. As the play proceeds, Macbeth is no longer a heroic character and Lady Macbeth is not as ruthlessness as she was at the start of the play. In the play, “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” written by William Shakespeare two of the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, experience a role reversal.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, malicious characters are portrayed as obviously evil and influential. Macbeth, however, is one character that is not represented in this way, in fact he is quite the opposite. The new king is seen as a victim of his foul wife’s influences and the witches prophecies but is really only supported by them and these ideas, leading him to make decisions based on evil ambition and a wicked desire for power. Readers are pushed to believe that Macbeth deserves sympathy, but as all humans do, Macbeth has free will allowing him to make his own decisions which means that if he were a victim, he would only be this due to his depraved actions.