Pride Goeth Before The Fall

His flaw of being led too easily is evident through the actions of characters who influence Macbeth. Macbeth is involved in a story intertwined with evil, disorder, conflict and failure; all resulting finally in his death. Part of being a tragic hero is possessing a flaw. A flaw which will inevitably lead to self-destruction; the fall of the tragic hero. In the play, the central protagonist Macbeth, is confronted with the supernatural and the prophesy of becoming king.

Macbeth is an extremely ambitious character; he knows what he wants and how to get it, even if that means murdering Duncan to become King. Macbeth battles with his conscience throughout the play, he feels imprisoned inside his own mind; this is also a trait that a Shakespearean tragic hero has. Another typical characteristic of a Shakespearean tragic hero is that they suffer, usually in contrast to their previous happier life, and they normally suffer as a result of their actions. Macbeth causes his own suffering by murdering Duncan, Macduff's family and Banquo, making the people of Scotland turn against him. Macbeth actions don't just affect him, they affect others around him, Scotland and the natural order itself.

Macbeth was a true tragic hero. He had many noble qualities as well as several tragic flaws. He was a courageous, brave and good nobleman who was haunted by superstition, moral cowardice and an overwhelming ambition. (Boyce) Macbeth’s ambition to be king starts off as just a desire and progressively as the play goes on it becomes his tragic flaws. Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to murder king Duncan by putting his manhood and courage at stake.

His avidity towards gaining power leads to his tragic death. In conclusion, Macbeth has committed treasonous and despicable crimes to both his friend, Banquo and the King of Scotland in order to obtain rank. He may be referred to as a monster, however he is the classical definition of a tragic hero. His reversal of his fortune foreshadows his doom, despite his treacherous behaviour and disloyalty, the audience experiences sympathy for Macbeth and his ambitious nature evokes his tragic, untimely death. Shakespeare effectively uses Macbeth to model the dangers of unchecked ambition and its consequences.

Though Macbeth begins as a loyal thane and general, he quickly has a change of heart, evolving into a ruthless murderer, and finally into a corrupt tyrant. From the beginning, Macbeth never realizes the long-term effects of his choices, and that, along with his lust for power, is what ultimately leads to his downfall. Macbeth never would have predicted that his life would turn out the way it did, saying “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/And make my seated heart knock at my ribs...?” (Mac.1.3.145-147) when the thought of killing the king infiltrated his mind. Through Shakespeare's use of blood and animal imagery, Macbeth's metamorphoses between a humble thane, a brutal killer, and his ascent to a murderous, eccentric king impelled by his pride and lust for power is vibrantly illustrated to readers. Macbeth, described as an eagle and lion in Scene I, is praised and canonized by his fellow soldiers on the battlefield.

Macbeth had a problem of hesitating, he was a very courageous man but his easily persuaded personality became a roadblock to his pursuits. When talking about killing Duncan he changed his mind multiple times before actually going through with it. He was the type of guy who had to be pressured by someone like his wife or the wit... ... middle of paper ... ...ther than late, but by the time Macbeth did it was too late. He realizes he messed up but now backing down wasn't an option because even though he was cruel and greedy he was still nobel underneath everything “ Why should I lay theRma fool and die/ on mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the gashes do better upon them”.

After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140).

Macbeth reaches a point where he is too busy fulfilling his own ambitions that he was not fulfilling his obligations as king. “Those he command move only in command, / Nothing in love…” (5.2.22-23). His obsession with power caused him to murder his good friend Banquo, and Banquo’s son. Macbeth’s out of control ambition has caused him to lose his emotion. He progressively sta... ... middle of paper ... ...two apparitions make Macbeth feel like his title as king is safe.

Macbeth’s major flaws are his ambition and impressionability. Due to their flaws, a Tragic Hero’s actions are often atrocious and cause them to battle with their conscience after their desires have been accomplished. These battles with their conscience evoke empathy from the audience. A Shakespearean Tragic Hero will always lose their life in the end of the play as a result of re-establishment of what is good in the play. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title figure of the play can be seen as the Tragic Hero.

The stolen crown gives him no satisfaction, for he is riddled with guilt over the murder and fear of being discovered. All of these foul things Macbeth does to gain the throne are considered to be evil triumphs, which fuels his greed even more. In his own mind, he faces serious internal conflict, seeing these triumphs as not enough, because he wants to achieve absolute power. The climax of the play is at the banquet scene, when Macbeth can no longer hide his anguish and convicts himself saying "Thou canst say I did it." From this point on in the play, this is the end for Macbeth.