The Soldier Macbeth Is A Hero, The Man Macbeth Is A Coward

Macbeth is a hero and a coward, often at the same time depending on what meaning of the words you use. Macbeth is the hero of the story but he doesn’t act like a hero, except for a time at the beginning of the play (Act 1 Scene 2). After Macbeth murders Duncan, he doesn’t ever become his heroic self again. Macbeth then becomes a coward, which he demonstrates by killing in cold blood all the people that pose even a small threat to him, including his companion and comrade, Banquo who is suspicious of him, which can be seen in the text.

Banquo. Act 1 Scene 3 Line 120

“That, trusted home,

Might yet enkindle you unto the crown

Besides thane of Cawdor.”

If we were to say Macbeth was a coward in today’s meaning of the word, which is an old one at that and use it in a Shakespearean play, which was written in 1606, we could be seriously misinterpreting the word. The word coward comes from the Latin derivation meaning simply “tail”, but we can also see this word as meaning not just “one without courage” (Chambers Dictionary) but also meaning one without pity, objectivity or compassion, which Macbeth shows very few signs of.

By killing the king while he was sleeping, Macbeth was displaying some very dire signs of being a coward.

Macbeth. Act 2 Scene 1 Line 62

“I go and it is done; the bell invites me

Hear it now Duncan, for it is a knell

That summons thee to heaven, or to hell.”

Macbeth is blaming others- the Bell- for his cowardly act.

But, by using the old meaning of the word, Macbeth would be the tail, but he cannot be, because he is a Thane, which is someone who is wealthy and has lots of land.

If we were to say Macbeth was a hero, we could also be misinterpreted. Chambers Dictionary says that “Hero” coming from the Greek words “Heros” means that the Hero is “the principal male figure, who career is the thread of the story”. This meaning would be correct, but hero also can be seen as meaning the saviour of the story who defeats the enemy.

Macbeth cannot be seen as acting in a heroic way as he is the one who killed all those people in cold blood and committed regicide in order to obtain the throne.

Macbeth can also be seen as acting in a very brave way by even attempting to kill the king, but it is a also very stupid thing to do because if he were to get caught he would almost certainly be killed.