Why Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero

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Throughout the play Macbeth, Macbeth goes from a brave, honored soldier to a crazed tyrant. How does one make such a drastic change? Why did Macbeth come to accept his role as a murderer? Macbeth has come to be known as a tragic hero in today’s terms. A tragic hero is a main character who, throughout the story, realizes his flaw and accepts that he cannot control the outcome of his actions. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth has a lot of situations that ultimately lead to his demise and tragic conclusion. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as a brave hero who was already named Thane of Glamis, also receives the title Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth was known as the bravest soldier to many in Scotland. While Macbeth and Banquo are heading back, they encounter the three witches. The three witches explain to Macbeth that he gained the new title of Thane of Cawdor, and that he will become king one day. Since one of their prophecies had already come true Macbeth proceeded to write a letter to his wife Lady Macbeth explaining the good news. This brings about the first situation that influences Macbeth’s beginning …show more content…

If he did not listen to Lady Macbeth he would have been a successful man. Instead, he became hungry for more power. Macbeth realized that since he had already killed a few, more would not hurt him. Macbeth killed many people, which made everyone angry. Macbeth hurt and put rage in Macduff’s eyes by killing his family. That one decision of killing Duncan ruined his whole life ahead of him. One example of another tragic hero, similar to Macbeth, is Hamlet. Hamlet was the Prince of Denmark so he was already looked up to. His father was murdered and, like Macbeth, he saw ghosts. The Ghost was supposedly Hamlet’s father and he told Hamlet to avenge his death. Being blinded by what he was actually doing, he proceeded to kill and it ended in his own

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