Macbeth as a Shakespearean Tragic Hero

Macbeth as a Shakespearean Tragic Hero

In this essay I will be exploring how far Macbeth is considered to be

a Shakespearean tragic hero. According to A.C Bradley, the man who

defined what a Shakespearean tragic hero is, a typical Shakespearean

tragic hero is a person of greatness and high power. We can see at the

beginning of the play that Macbeth is the 'Thane of Glamis' but is

then promoted, due to the execution of a traitor, to the 'Thane of

Cawdor'.

A Shakespearean tragic hero also has many character flaws, which lead

to their downfall. Macbeth is an extremely ambitious character; he

knows what he wants and how to get it, even if that means murdering

Duncan to become King.

Macbeth battles with his conscience throughout the play, he feels

imprisoned inside his own mind; this is also a trait that a

Shakespearean tragic hero has. Another typical characteristic of a

Shakespearean tragic hero is that they suffer, usually in contrast to

their previous happier life, and they normally suffer as a result of

their actions. Macbeth causes his own suffering by murdering Duncan,

Macduff's family and Banquo, making the people of Scotland turn

against him.

Macbeth actions don't just affect him, they affect others around him,

Scotland and the natural order itself. When Macbeth first murders

Duncan, the "chimneys were blown down and "the earth was feverous and

did shake"; a Shakespearean tragic hero's actions normally affect

other people or the country itself and this is what is happening here.

Normally the audience feel great sympathy for the Shakespearean tragic

hero. The audience feel pity and sympathy for Macbeth because he ha...

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...st all of his greatness due to his own actions but.

Macbeth would not have lost it all if Lady MacBeth wouldn't of pushed

him and taunted him, MacBeth wanted to become king but was unsure

about murdering Duncan.

At the end of the play Macduff kills Macbeth. I think that Macbeth had

to be killed at the end of the play. I think this because Macbeth

being king brought pain and hardship to Scotland and also the people

that lived there. Also it was inevitable that he had to die at the end

of the play because he had killed Macduff's family and Macduff wanted

revenge. Macbeth needed to be killed at the end of the play because of

the injustice that he caused in Scotland. It was the just thing to do.

Also he needed to be killed because of the concept of evil, evil

needed to be destroyed to allow Scotland to function properly.