The Tragic Hero of Macbeth

The tragedies of William Shakespeare often include a tragic hero. A tragic hero is one who brings about his own ruin and the ruin of those he loves. The tragic hero is not necessarily evil, he is simply human and has human flaws. Often there is a "fatal flaw" which leads to his downfall. In the play, Macbeth the tragic hero is the lead character, Macbeth. He is tempted by the chance to take the throne and he will do anything to get it. He becomes progressively isolated until in the end he dies alone.

Three factors contributed to the fatal flaws in Macbeth's character. He is prepared to allow his actions to be influenced by superstitious beliefs. The three witches told Macbeth that he would become King and he believed that because it was a supernatural prophecy, it would come true no matter what he did. He has a consuming ambition to be King and this prevents him from exercising reason and good judgement. In some circumstances, ambition can be seen as a strength of character. However in Macbeth the combination of his love for Lady Macbeth and ambition allows him to be influenced by her, contributing to his downfall. He held considerable and increasing power in Scotland. He sees himself as invincible and he does not believe that anything can bring him down. It is this belief that leads him even to murdering Duncan and to his eventual downfall.

Macbeth was a good man but ultimately he did do the wrong thing. It is important to take note that Macbeth did take the wrong path. His conscience told him that what he was doing was wrong and despite this Macbeth continued with his actions. This is another thing that makes him a tragic hero. He knowingly made the wrong choice and beca...

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...n between he and Macduff takes place. Macbeth tells Macduff that "none of woman born" can harm him. It is here that it is revealed to Macbeth that Macduff did not have a normal birth. Macbeth is killed and the all important order is restored to Scotland.

Every human being has some character flaws. Macbeth's were his ambition, his love and his self-image. These alone are not enough to make him evil. He was simply tempted by power. It was not he that got him into the mess but he was pushed by his love for his wife. The whole time the witches were being puppet masters to everyone's lives. While Macbeth did make some poor judgements his compassionate state of mind can't be ignored. It is tragic that so many noble qualities were destroyed and even in his last defence you can only admire the struggle of a brave will with a cowardly conscience.