Macbeth As An Anti Hero

Macbeth, unlike many other famous plays of the time, features a main character with elements of being both a protagonist and an antagonist, which takes this play to another dramatic level that has rarely been replicated. Readers usually struggle with hating a man like Macbeth by the end of the play because he was once so highly spoken of and suggested in the beginning. William Shakespeare’s use of Macbeth’s ambition allows readers and observers to see him change from the dignified, first-rate man he once was into the anti-hero he virtually becomes. When the play first begins, the story introduces readers to a man many can’t help but love. Macbeth is a well-known and very well-respected thane and soldier. As a character, Macbeth is introduced

Anyone who can kill one of their closest companions for their own personal benefit is no longer a hero; they are now considered an anti-hero and are considered loathsome in the eyes of the reader. Macbeth even faces the burden of guilt once he sees the ghost of Banquo at his feast. Macbeth states, “Ay, and since too, murders have been performed Too terrible for the ear. The time has been That, when the brains were out, the man would die, And there an end. But now they rise again With twenty mortal murders” (3:4:80-84). He says that in older times the act of murder, though it may be too hard to see or hear, is definite. Once someone was killed they were dead, but now if someone dies they rise with the wound they suffer and haunt all those who surrounded them. He only gets worse as he kills the innocent family of Macduff. He has become unrecognizable, and he no longer is the heroic Macbeth readers are first introduced to. Though Macbeth has shown his worst qualities, he shows glimpses of his heroism again at the end of the play. He says though he sees the woods move toward him, he will not fear. He pledges to fight to the end, which is something only a true hero would do. Even after Macbeth realizes that he has no chance against Macduff because he wasn’t born of woman, he still fights. He would rather die fighting than surrendering to Macduff. This shows that he is a mixture