The Extent to Which Macbeth is Portrayed as a Tragic Hero in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

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.

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.

He does this because he is too malcontent with how he is currently living and is allured by the thought of what Duncan has: power. After the witches tell Macbeth his prophecy, and Lady Macbeth plots Duncan’s murder, Macbeth contemplates the reason he is killing Duncan. He realizes this would most likely be an egregious mistake, as he says, “...Not bear the knife myself. Besides, Duncan / Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office, that his virtues / Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off” (1,7,16-20). This being said, not only does he understand the consequences of killing Du... ... middle of paper ... ...ing himself.

Austin White Mrs. Morgan ENG 3U1 05 November 2017 Macbeth Essay Tragic heroes often have distinct qualities to them which makes them different compared to the other characters. Often times, the tragic hero has an abundance of ambition to acquire a certain goal. This leads to the tragic hero to obtain guilt,, as they have trouble accepting what they have done, or the person they have turned into because of their ambition. Lastly, pity and fear is felt by the audience, often during the downfall of the tragic hero. William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth displays a tragic hero perfectly.

The witches Prophecy upon Macbeth cause him to feel restless and have thoughts about if it is destined for him to become king. Macbeth ends up going through with the murder of Duncan. After the murder takes place, Macbeth’s morals and his judgement begin to become opaque. Guilt commences Macbeth an... ... middle of paper ... ...itant about making the prophecy of killing Duncan a reality until, Lady Macbeth makes him feel un masqulin. Macbeth now convinced that he must prove his manliness by becoming king and he must make this happen by murdering Duncan.

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.

Macbeth English Units ½ Shakespeare essay: Macbeth Topic: “The instruments of darkness brought about Macbeth’s downfall.” Do you agree? William Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrates the ultimate downfall of a tragic hero manipulated by evil. The forces of evil, namely witches, initiate Macbeth’s downfall, seducing him with the concept of power, firing up his ambition to become king. However, despite their obvious involvement, Macbeth delves deeper into the darker side of his nature on his own, seeking evil and wading further into his imagined river of blood. His downfall was brought about by the instruments of darkness – they planted the idea of Macbeth’s rising power in his head and their influence saw him fall from a noble man to a tyrant of a ruler but regardless of this it was his own conscious choice that ultimately led to his fall from grace.

In Act 3 the murder of Duncan has already taken place. During this murder Macbeth is apprehensive and is persuaded into it by Lady Macbeth: Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'/ Like the poor cat I' th' adage? Macbeth needed no persuasion, however to decide to kill Banquo and attempt to kill Fleance. He is worried that if the witches' prophecies are true his dynasty will be short lived and he will be replaced by Banquo's sons: For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered,/ Put rancours in the vessel of my peace/ Only for them, and mine eternal jewel/ Given to the common enemy of man,/ To make them kings, the seed of Banquo Kings. Here, although speaking sympathetically of Duncan he is already planning his next murder and is not actually sorry for his actions.

His cold and calculating wife controls Macbeth through manipulations and evil ideas. Additionally, Macbeth encounters three weird sisters who ambiguously give Macbeth false hopes and cloak the whole truth, leading to his over confidence and greed. In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth, Macbeth is doomed by the influence and manipulation of external forces as opposed to internal forces, consequently leading him to make atrocious/dastardly decisions and causing his ultimate demise as seen through the inevitable forces of fate, Lady Macbeth, and the witches. The play Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy; therefore, fate plays an extremely important role in Macbeth’s downfall through its inevitable characteristics and use foreshadowing. The majority of the characters die because of the hero and their flaw which leads them to make bad decisions.

There are multiple characters that either lit the fuse of Macbeth’s ambition, or cut the fuse to make it shorter, thus leading him along the path to evil. Although one could argue that both Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters affected Macbeth, they only played a minor role. The main fault lies with Macbeth himself, a man so blinded by ambition and rage that he resorts to murder to achieve his goal. The main source of evil is Macbeth due to his twisted reasoning on the prophecies that he hears, as well as the sinister feelings that are hiding inside of him even from the beginning of the play; illustrating that even those who seem most noble and valiant can have evil present within them. One of Macbeth’s greatest tricks is his power of deception, which he shockingly uses to betray his friends, colleagues, and even his king.