Shakespeare's Macbeth - A Tragic Hero

Macbeth: A Tragic Hero

The Macbeth character in Macbeth by William Shakespeare can be

played many ways. Macbeth's relationship with other characters in the play

and Aristotle's theory of a tragedy are ways in which Macbeth is shown as a

tragic hero.

At the very beginning of the play, Macbeth and Banquo are returning

to Scotland from a fierce battle between the Norwegians and the Scottish.

They have just won the war for Duncan. This shows a noble virtue of

Macbeth, a requirement of a tragic hero according to Aristotle. It shows

that Macbeth is a loyal person to the King and that he is a great warrior.

As they are returning to Scotland, three witches appear and make prophecies

about Macbeth and Banquo. The three witches say “All hail, Macbeth! hail

to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of

Cawdor! All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (A 1, S 3, 48).

Here, Macbeth is interested in what the witches have to say, but he does

not really believe them. A few minutes later, Ross enters. He tells

Macbeth that the thane of Cawdor is in line for death and that Duncan has

named Macbeth the new thane of Cawdor. Now, Macbeth is absolutely shocked.

The witches prophecy has come true! He can not believe it! But now

Macbeth has a lot more on his mind; the third prophecy about becoming the

King. Macbeth knows that if something were to happen to Duncan, Malcolm

and Donalbain, Duncan's sons, would be the rightful heirs to the throne.

How can Macbeth be King when he is nowhere near the next in line to the

throne? Another requirement for a tragic hero is that he must have a

tragic flaw. Macbeth's tragic flaw is that of ambition; Macbeth's ambition

will cause him to decline.

At this point, Lady Macbeth knows all about the witches prophecies.

She really wants to be Queen of Scotland so she encourages Macbeth to do

what he has to do to get rid of Duncan. Lady Macbeth is putting an

enormous amount of influence on Macbeth. He thinks that Duncan is a great

King and he considers Duncan to be a good friend. Finally Macbeth gives in

to Lady Macbeth and decides that he will kill Duncan while he is visiting

Macbeth's castle that same night. That night, Macbeth kills Duncan.

However, afterwards, Macbeth is feeling very sorry for himself. He can not

believe what he has just done. His ambition has caused him to kill a good

friend and even worse, the King! Here, Macbeth is going crazy.