Macbeth as a Tragic Hero in William Shakespeare's Play

Lay on, Macduff; and damned be him that first cries “Hold, enough!” (V. viii. 30-34) In the end, Macbeth’s greed and search for power leads to his degeneration. His death is the final part of his downfall and the final aspect of being a tragic hero. In conclusion, Macbeth is a tragic hero because he shows various elements of being such a character similarly to Oedipus. In the play, Macbeth is of nobility, and experiences an epiphany as a result of his actions.

Is murder and betrayal really worth power? Macbeth is one of the most tragic, powerful, and gruesome plays William Shakespeare has ever written. Shakespeare is the father of tragedies. More importantly, with every tragedy he wrote, he based it around a moral or a lesson that should be learned after the completion of the play. This being the case, in the play Macbeth, Shakespeare puts forth the idea that by betraying others one is in turn betraying themselves.

He has a fatal flaw that combined with fate, brings on a tragedy of all sorts. The Weird Sisters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself play key roles in the downfall of Macbeth and each of them is to blame for the deaths of many people in the play. Shakespeare therefore allows them to set other people up for their crimes, especially Macbeth who gives a sense of vulnerability to many obvious culprits to the crime, making the play more enjoyable to watch and listen to. Along these lines, Shakespeare?s plays and books are the guidelines to many other tragic plays and books recorded through centuries and centuries of great literature.

In the play Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth transforms from a gallant war hero to a tyrannical murderer. As soon as Macbeth enters this life filled with tyranny his fate is doomed to a tragic downfall. Throughout the play, Shakespeare makes Macbeth responsible for his actions but Shakespeare also uses other characters as influences upon him which gives the character of Macbeth only partial responsibility for what he has done. In the scenes which lead up to the murder of Duncan, Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as an unnatural being with a strong influence on Macbeth who drives Macbeth to his fatal flaw which is similar to the witches in the beginning of the play. In order to gain control over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth questions his masculinity in Act 5 Scene 1.

In the play, the central protagonist Macbeth, is confronted with the supernatural and the prophesy of becoming king. He cannot help but want this position, as this flaw also includes his weakness through over ambition. It is generally said that those possessing a flaw will die. The first Thane of Cawdor was a traitor, Duncan was too trusting, Banquo did not act on the knowledge he had about Macbeth’s murders, Lady Macbeth helped plot the murder of Duncan, and Macbeth destroyed the natural order and harmony of the time. All of these deaths are a result of Macbeth’s over ambition to become king, fuelled by the prophecies of the evil witches.

We see the degeneration of a valiant soldier, ‘Noble Macbeth’ to a vicious murderer, ‘this dead butcher’. However, is Macbeth seen by the audience in a sympathetic light? The audience could take the view that Macbeth is not responsible for his deeds and that he was manipulated into committing them through external forces. It could be argued unsympathetically that the witches chose him precisely because of his flaws and through this he acts of his free will. This essay will examine to what extent Macbeth is truly responsible for his actions, and equally to what extent the audience perceives him as a tragic hero.

Macbeth as Tragic Hero The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are many factors which contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth of which three will be discussed. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth's degeneration are the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's growing character degenerates from a noble man to violent individual. The prophecies which were told by the witches were one of the factors which contributed to the degeneration of his character.

The celebrated play, “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare, chronicles the events of the protagonist by the same name. His rise, his transformation, and ultimately his demise. Although some may argue Macbeth is a monster due to his actions, it is his human nature that triggers his grievous destiny. A classical hero is an individual who is of noble stature, who has a tragic flaw that can lead to many things including Hamartia, Peripeteia and pathos. Macbeth represents the classical definition of the term, “tragic hero.” His tragic flaw leads to a reversal of fortune, despite his treacherous behaviour, the audience exudes sympathy for Macbeth and, his tragic flaw (his ambition) pilots his downfall.

In conclusion, to a sympathetic extent, we can feel pity for Macbeth. His fatal flaw was exploited by the witches who toy with his mind, when Macbeth thought he was merely fulfilling his fate, and Lady Macbeth's manipulation. However we also remember that his ambition was more important than other people's lives; the murder of his best friend Banquo, Lady Macduff and Macduff's son, and even the suicidal death of Lady Macbeth, which he seemed not to care about. However describing Macbeth as a “dead butcher” isn't a fair summary of his character. His downfall was more emotional than this, if we remember the loyal soldier Macbeth was to begin with.

In the ending result Macbeth further shows noble stature when his actions led to his death by Macduff causing Macduff to become the king of Scotland, the role that Macbeth so treasured. Therefore, Macbeth shows Noble Stature throughout the play when his actions lead to not only his fall from an honorable man, but a now dead man who affected others’ lives. Macbeth is a tragic hero indeed when it comes to noble stature, but he also shows many characteristics of a tragic flaw. Tragic flaw is when a hero falls due to a flaw or weakness in their personality. Macbeth displays tragic flaw throughout the play with his over excessive pride, and letting the pressure and guilt get to his head.