Macbeth: Hero or Villain

Macbeth: Hero or Villain

In this essay, I will be divulging into 'Macbeth' written by William

Shakespeare in 1603, to try and answer the question 'Was Macbeth a

true hero or villain in the play?'. Macbeth is a play of villainy,

murder, deceit and oftenly described as a 'play fit for a king'. In my

personal opinion, the evidence from Shakespeare's original text and

Roland Polanski's video version strongly suggests that Macbeth was a

true villain rather than a hero. An example of his villainy is the

fact that Macbeth assassinated his King to thrust himself to power in

Act 1, Scene 2. A second example is when Macbeth sends murderers to

kill the family of Macduff, a nobleman of Scotland, in Act 4, Scene 2.

Although I strongly believe that Macbeth is a villain, there is much

evidence that does suggest that Macbeth was in fact a hero. This

evidence is mainly shown in the opening scenes of the play, where we

see Macbeth leading Scotland to defeat against Norway as General of

the King's army. Here, his heroic qualities are shown when Macduff

refers to Macbeth as 'Brave Macbeth'.

The initial evidence in both the text and the video that suggests the

view that Macbeth is a hero mainly takes place in the opening scenes

of the play, Act 1, Scene 1 through to Scene 4. These scenes basically

show or refer to a battle between Scotland and Norway. In these

scenes, Macbeth is shown as General of the King's army, who

victoriously led his King and country to defeat against Norway. The

view that Macbeth was a hero at this point is evident when a sergeant

who was present at the battlefield refers to Macbeth's braveness and

courage when reporting to K...

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...an's son, Malcolm, and a strong English

army. It is my personal opinion that the end of play saw Macbeth

basically get his comeuppance, as the person in which Macbeth had

turned into, mainly due to his overwhelming ambiton and the dominance

and persuasion of Lady Macbeth, was a character of evil and

greediness. I personally that Macbeth did not actually take the route

of villainy and strongly regretted it afterwards, yet he could not

find the strength to be able stop himself. Saying this, I still agree

with my original interpretation that Macbeth was a true villain rather

than a hero. I think this as he betrayed his King and country when he

murdered King Duncan in Act 2, Scene 1. He also condemed the murder of

Macduff's innocent family in Act 4, Scene 2 and of his loyal general

and best friend Banquo in Act 3, Scene 1.