Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

A villain by definition is “a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime” (dictionary.com). In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and King Lear, the heroes suffer tragic fates at the hand of the villains; but what makes these villains iconic is that they are in fact, women. Shakespeare went beyond the notion of creating a quintessential male villain and instead toyed with the idea of a woman having the ultimate control over a tragic heroes’ fate. In King Lear the reader is shown not one, but two villainous women, Goneril and Regan; two sisters who betrayed their father and caused mayhem with their bloody decisions. They are shown as a pair or duet because both of them overtook their father and made the decisions together; while in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the catalyst in Macbeth’s impending disastrous ending because she was the one that planted the ideas of betrayal, murder and gaining more power in his mind, after he was given premonitions

by Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 7. "I have no spur to prick the sides of my

Shakespeare succeeds in making his audience understand and emphasise with a tyrant. He has many methods of executing this. For example, he makes Macbeth talk to the audience, explaining what he is feeling and what his true desires are. This is called a soliloquy; he uses many other techniques and I am going to clarify what they are.

‘So clear in his great office…’ He has many reasons why he shouldn’t kill Duncan, and he seems almost positive that he isn’t going to go through with it. Even the audience starts to have respect for Macbeth compared to in act 1 scene 4, when Macbeth is deceiving Duncan about the true nature of his friendship, our emotional response to him is one of intense dislike. ‘The service and the loyalty I owe, in doing it, pays itself.’ Macbeth exaggerates his respect for Duncan.

In many respects Macbeth, of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is the least admirable tragic hero of literature. Typical tragic heroes have at least a few admirable character traits. One may, or may not like the hero, but there is something in their characters or their situation on which one can hang some sympathy, even if there is not enough for us to rationalize away their actions. But Macbeth is a mass murderer, who does away with friends, colleagues, women and children, often for no apparent reason other than his own desires. Why should Macbeth be considered a tragic hero?

It could be said that Macbeth´s strive for power affects every aspect of his life, and this motivation eventually leads to his demise. Many different factors play a pivotal role in deciding his ill-fated future. With his wife´s cajoling, and the three witches´ foretelling of his future, Macbeth, will stop at nothing to gain position as King of Scotland.

The tragedies of William Shakespeare often include a tragic hero. A tragic hero is one who brings about his own ruin and the ruin of those he loves. The tragic hero is not necessarily evil, he is simply human and has human flaws. Often there is a "fatal flaw" which leads to his downfall. In the play, Macbeth the tragic hero is the lead character, Macbeth. He is tempted by the chance to take the throne and he will do anything to get it. He becomes progressively isolated until in the end he dies alone.

Tragedy: a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character. A story or play can achieve the title of a tragedy through fluent and consistent heartbreaking and misfortunate occurrences. For example, in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, the main character is faced with an abundant amount of experiences that can be classified as tragic, and his tragedy is caused by one main factor. Despite the actions made by Lady Macbeth and the three witches to persuade Macbeth’s own conscience and thoughts, Macbeth himself is responsible for his own tragedy due to his ambitious nature and lust for power which caused him to conduct actions that ultimately led to his downfall.

    Aristotle defined a tragic character is a man who “falls into misfortune through some flaw." (Grube, 5) Shakespeare's tragic hero is a man who falls from his position of honor and respect due to a flaw in character and ultimately arrives at a fatal end. (Nostbakken, 2) Macbeth is an epitome of a tragic hero. He had a good nature, but was driven by greed and a quest for power. Macbeth had been a military hero,  loved and praised by the people, but his blind ambition resulted in his destruction, and all his past greatness and happiness were lost. This essay will explore Macbeth’s path toward destruction and show how he became the epitome of a tragic hero.

Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, expresses clearly the strong pull that desire for power can have over a man. Macbeth, the title character of the play, is often expressed as being the villain of the tragedy. However, through studying the play closely it is clear to see that, rather than being an innately evil character, Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the start to descend into the madness which he did. Had it not been for his hamartia and his interaction with the witches and his wife then the play would have had a very different ending.

saying, "When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And to be more

And to be more a man than what you were, you would be so much more a

     In William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth we find a guilt and fear-ridden usurper of the throne of Scotland. Let us study this character in this essay.

out, had I so sworn as you have done this." She says this, yet nowhere

The moment he goes from a famed hero to a villain is when he goes against Duncan’s and the rest of Scotland’s trust. His excessive pride and thrive to become King has turned him down the path of a murderer. Though his wife and accomplice, Lady Macbeth, persuade him to go through with the murder, he still was in control of himself. He is capable of reasoning cold blooded murder is not the right way to go about getting what they wish for. In the lines “Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast” (II,ii,47-52) Macbeth begins hearing voices in his head. The murder symbolizes Macbeth’s fall from grace, as well as showcases the beginning of his insanity. While he is now a criminal, he does have remorse. He knows he has done wrong, but, as his insanity quickly consumes him, he falls