In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth the main character, Macbeth, is considered by many to be a tragic hero. The definition of a tragic hero would be a hero who initially makes a judgment error and inevitably has to suffer for it. In other words, he/she brings upon their own downfall and destruction. They usually have a single character fault that causes their slow descent to evil. In Macbeth’s case, it is his ambition to claim the position of a ruler. Macbeth proves to be a tragic hero through the following behaviors: firstly he starts off as an honorable and good person and slowly descends into evil, and secondly he brings upon his own death with his own treachery.
The first main incident proving Macbeth to be a tragic hero surfaces when Macbeth makes a judgmental error. This error causes him to descend into malice. Macbeth at the beginning of the play is valiant and honorable; however, after the witches’ prediction that he will become King, Macbeth seizes this knowledge and does whatever he can to make that prediction come true. The incentive moment of his demise is when Macbeth murders King Duncan. Not only was Duncan Macbeth’s king, but he was also his cousin and guest. Macbeth committed an act of traitorous murder just for his own personal gain. The dishonorable act of killing his cousin Duncan would bring him closer to becoming King himself. Before the actual murder, Macbeth does indeed question whether he should go through with it. He decides to bail out on the idea but his wife confronts him about it and persuades him otherwise by belittling him and accusing him of being cowardice. “Wouldst thou have that / Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, / And live a coward in thine own esteem, / Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,' / Like the poor cat i' the adage?” (Act 1, Scene 7, 42-46). She basically calls him a coward, and the fact that Macbeth gives in to this just shows that he has an ego that makes him weak-willed. He would rather kill his King then be called a coward by his wife. Also, the character trait that drives Macbeth is the ambition and desire to take a position of power, and it doesn’t go well for his mind and conscience. “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No....” (Act 2, Scene 2, 61-62). Once he looks at the blood on his hands from murdering Duncan, he realizes his error in judgment. Nothing can wash away the guilt that is stained there.
The second major incident proving Macbeth to be a tragic hero is that he brings upon his own death with his own treachery. After Macbeth murders Duncan, he becomes the new King of Scotland. Macbeth then uses everything in his power to stay as the King of Scotland. His biggest fear at the moment is Banquo, since Banquo was the only other person present to hear the Witches’ predictions. Banquo was promised by the Witches that he will beget Kings, therefore threatening Macbeth’s line. When Macbeth feels that Banquo suspects him of the murder of Duncan, he hires three murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Banquo is successfully killed, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth hears of this news, and during the dinner banquet he sees Banquo’s ghost. This guilt proves that Macbeth himself is aware of how his character is changing, and it causes him to snap as he challenges the ghost of Banquo in front of his guests. Word soon spreads of this incident, and Macbeth feels he has no choice but to keep on with murders to get rid of any witness to his crimes so that he will stay as the King of Scotland. “I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er” (Act 3, Scene 4, 142-144) So go o’er he did. Macbeth seeks out the witches again, and is told that he must now beware of Macduff, and that no man born of a woman should harm him and that he shall never be vanquished until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. And so, knowing that Macduff is in England, he murders his family just to bring Macduff back to Scotland so he can murder him as well. In the meantime, Macduff, Malcolm, Donalbain, and Ross are planning to attack Macbeth and bring him down, since he has become a tyrant. They, along with the English troops, disguise themselves as trees by covering themselves with branches and they march to Dunsinane Hill. A great battle takes place, and Macbeth finally falls at the hands of Macduff. Macbeth overlooked the fact that Macduff was born by Cesarean section meaning that he wasn’t technically born from a woman naturally. Macbeth’s death was clearly a result of the avenging actions towards his wicked behavior, thus proving him to die by his own treachery.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth has to be one of the most famous tragedies of all literature. The most intriguing thing about the tragedy of Macbeth is the main character. Many people consider Macbeth to be a tragic hero, a hero who does something that eventually leads to their demise or downfall. Macbeth started out as a valiant and honorable subject of King Duncan, but with a little knowledge of what the future could hold, he succumbed to wickedness. He murdered Duncan so that he could become King, and afterwards he did everything in his power to kill those that were suspicious and got in his way. Macbeth got what he wanted, which was to be King, but with it came a sacrifice of something priceless: his humanity. Even his wife succumbed to the guilt and committed suicide, but Macbeth had just become used to it that it did not affect him anymore. He became a cold man, all because of this lust for power and the ambition to do whatever it would take for him to get what he wanted. Macbeth’s own evil actions caused the people to revolt against his tyrannical rule, and in the end it was his own stubbornness and malice that killed him. Thus Macbeth, the noble and honorable hero that was taken over by the malicious darkness, died, proving him to be the epitome of a tragic hero.
