Macbeth: The Tragic Hero

649 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Shakespeare as a tragic hero

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.
Firstly, Macbeth experiences a reversal of fortune as a result of his tragic flaw, indicating the presence of Peripeteia and that Macbeth is doomed. “Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou may’st revenge” (Act3, Scene3, Lines17-18), Banquo cries to Fleance, his only son, before he is slain by the murderers and Fleance escapes. Prior to Act 3 everything has gone as planned for Macbeth, the turning point or reversal of fortune is Fleance’ escape since it is his first failure. Macbeth fears Banquo will have more sons (strengthen his bloodline), continue to raise suspicion and he will lose his kingship to Banquo’s bloodline as the witches foretold, therefore, he orders their murder. His ambitious nature and fear of losing power provoke the decision made to kill them. The audience is again reminded of the witch’s prophecy, Fleance does not die therefore the possibility of him acquiring the throne in the future is still a possibility. Despite his greatest efforts, Macbeth’s ambition does not trump destiny.
Secondly, the audience expresse...

... middle of paper ...

...eal to him is his future rank. Despite murder being unfathomable to him, he is willing to kill Duncan if it means he can claim his fate. Macbeth did nothing to obtain Cawdor, however he chooses to accelerate his means of obtaining the throne by committing murder. 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.

Show More
Related

  • Macbeth the Tragic Hero

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth could justly be classified a “Tragic Hero” as his tragic story fills out the defined criteria for a tragic hero. Macbeth holds a significant social status, reveals essential truths about humanity through his suffering, has tragically wasted talent, contains a “tragic flaw” leading to his downfall and finally he finds some relief in his death.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: Shakespeare’s Two Key Motifs

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play “Macbeth”, by Shakespeare, contains many motifs. Two very powerful motifs that Shakespeare illustrates in this play are blood, and weather. Blood is important because it shows that this play is violent, and the blood physically shows that these characters in the play are warriors. Weather plays an important role because it usually foreshadows events that are about to take place. For example, a storm usually foreshadows terrible things, like death and destruction.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Macbeth

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, murders the king of Scotland and eventually murders several other people. In the end, Macbeth meets his tragic fate of being killed by the nobleman Macduff. Throughout the play, Macbeth makes decisions that affect his fate, but other characters manipulate his choices and his actions. Early in the play Macbeth, Macbeth has control over his actions, but due to the influence of other characters and his subsequent insanity, by the end of the play, Macbeth has no control over his fate.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: The Not So Great Macbeth

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare the main character Macbeth is a general in the Scottish army. After Macbeth and Banquo another general return from battle they encounter three witches the witches give Macbeth and Banquo three Prophesies. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Banquo will produce a line of Scottish kings although Banquo will never become king himself. King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth hears about king Duncan coming to their castle and try’s to persuade Macbeth to murder king Duncan. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural visions, including a vision of a bloody dagger. Macbeth now becomes king and Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes but kills Banquo. Lady Macbeth later kills herself while sleepwalking and Macbeth becomes depressed. Later Macduff comes with his army and beheads Macbeth. And Malcolm becomes king.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: The Tragic Hero

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the play Macbeth allows his pride to interfere with his judgment and succumbs to the witches’ prophecy, leading to his tragic downfall. “Macbeth orders a slaughter of innocents in a vain and futile attempt to preserve kingships threatened by prophecies” (Hassel). He murders King Duncan, his good friend, in order to secure his fate as king. Although Macbeth knows the difference between right and wrong, he is a victim of his tragic flaw: his ambition. His tragic flaw repeatedly leads him to deceit and murder.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: The True Nature of Man

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is described as being “valiant”. He is a skilled warrior, who is loyal to his king and his country. Almost single-handedly, he wins the war for Scotland. He defeats many of the enemy soldiers, including a traitor, all in the name of his king. But, when three witches encounter Macbeth and his friend Banquo, Macbeth’s ambition begins to grow. They tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King. Soon after, Macbeth meets with King Duncan. He informs Macbeth that he is the new Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is astonished, and from then on he is obsessed with being king. His ambition begins to become ruthless when Duncan proclaims that his son Malcolm is the Prince of Cumberland, and therefore, the heir to the throne: “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step/On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, /For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/Let not light see my black and deep desires:/The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” (I,iv,48-53) At this moment, Macbeth, realizing that they stand in the way of the witches’ prophecies, decides that both Duncan and Malcolm need to die for him to be king. As soon as Macbeth kills Duncan, he enters into a world of evil. Later in the play, Macbeth’s ambition becomes increasingly ruthless. He kills his best friend Banquo, and almost kills Banquo’s son, Fleance, because he believes they would stand in the way of his reign. The witches told Banquo “Thou shall get kings, though thou be none.” (I,iii,67) This means that Banquo himself would not be a king, but that his successors would be. Macbeth tries to prevent this by killing Banquo and his son Fleance.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: The Cursed Scottish Play

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play Macbeth, or more commonly referred to as the Cursed Scottish Play, the multitude of death and betrayal covers up or destroys the potential heroism of many characters, except for that of Macduff. His purity, courage, and sacrifice throughout the course of the play enable this hero to eventually orchestrate the fall of Macbeth.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Argument Essay

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Typical of Shakespeare’s works, the play Macbeth has a protagonist who ultimately experiences a downfall that lead to his demise. The protagonist or tragic hero of this play is Macbeth, once brave and honorable, who eventually becomes tyrannical and feared by many due to what Abrams describes as his “hamartia” or “error of judgment or, as it is often…translated, his tragic flaw.” In this case, Macbeth’s tragic flaw proves to be ambition; however, he cannot be held solely responsible for his downfall. As a result of many outside influential factors, including the witches’ prophecies and a rather coaxing and persuasive wife, one should not hold Macbeth entirely culpable for his actions and tragic end.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: Tragedy

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does macbeth do this?

    Read More

  • Macbeth: An Analysis of Lady Macbeth

    401 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lady Macbeth, one of the main characters in the play Macbeth, is an example of a character that throughout the course of the play has had a change of heart of some sorts. Lady Macbeth's conscience, which seems to have never appeared or mattered to her before, suddenly becomes an uncontrollable part of her psychological state of being.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: A Tragic Hero

    1162 Words  | 3 Pages

    Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: A Tale Of Two Theories

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    text of the play seems to imply that Macbeth is indeed responsible for his own

    Read More

  • Macbeth: A Very Complex Character

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.

    Read More

  • macbeth as a tragic hero

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth can be considered a Shakespearean tragic hero because he possesses the tragic flaw of ambition. He is thought of to be a very ambitious man by himself and other characters, like his wife, Lady Macbeth. “Thou wouldst be great:/Art not without ambition, but/ Without ...

    Read More

  • Macbeth: From Hero To Villain

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Macbeth by William Shakespeare we see the transformation of the main character, Macbeth, from hero to villain. Translated, this basically means that Macbeth changes from a brave warrior to a serial killer!

    Read More

More about Macbeth: The Tragic Hero

Open Document