The other characteristic of a tragic hero is a flaw in the character. In Macbeth’s case, it is his unnaturally large sense of ambition and pride, his imagination and insecurity as a man that contributes to his demise. His unnaturally large amount of ambition is even acknowledged by Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 7. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other..”. This refers to Macbeth’s motivation to kill Duncan. Macbeth’s ambition is the central driving force for almost all of his actions in the play, and it is the witches who play on this ambition.
Macbeth’s insecurity as man is another one of his character faults. Macbeth can “prove” his manliness on the battlefield easily, however Lady Macbeth’s knowledge of Macbeth’s lack in manliness in other areas allows her to easily manipulate Macbeth to kill the king. In Act 1 Scene 7 after Macbeth makes the tentative decision not to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood by stating, “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. Lady Macbeth also offers another taunt in Act 3 Scene 4 after Macbeth’s ‘sight’ of Banquo’s ghost by asking “Are you a man?” to call for Macbeth’s regain in composure. This insecurity in his manhood is played upon by Lady Macbeth and others in such a way that leads Macbeth to commit dreadful deeds.
Macbeth’s last character fault is his imagination. This flaw grows in size as the play progresses. At first regarding the witches prophecies, his imagination allows him to contemplate killing the king. Then as his imagination grows more fanciful he begins seeing ghosts. This delusional behaviour is a manifestation of Macbeth’s imagination in real life. As a result of all these character flaws, Macbeth is driven on to murder increasingly until he realises that to turn back would be just as hard as to keep going.
Even though now, Macbeth fits some of the criteria as an evil tyrant – someone who is merciless, has a lack of compassion for others, is generally disliked, and kills for his own personal gain; it is important to note that Macbeth did not start out as evil. He was once a “worthy gentleman”. Even when Macbeth is at the epitome of his evil, he still has a sense of compassion in which he demonstrates when Lady Macbeth kills herself. Here, he broods on life’s futility, clearly in a weak show of grief; “out, out brief candle, life’s but a walking shadow”. Another sign that Macbeth has not turned into an evil tyrant is his willingness to show mercy.
Before Macbeth kills Duncan, Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth and convinces him to eliminate Duncan. However Macbeth shows reluctance to be disloyal to his king and tells his wife that he “..will proceed no further in this business..” as he has “golden opinions from all sorts of people..”. In this case, Macbeth shows mercy and proves that he has a conscience and is not purely evil.
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must also evoke pity and sympathy from the audience. From the moment that Macbeth decides to live a lie in Act 1 Scene 7 “False face must hide what false heart doth know,” the audience knows that he has condemned himself. They know that all the things he thought of in the soliloquy earlier in the same scene (Act 1 Scene 7, L1-28) will come true – that the killer is damned for eternity and that the killer will be killed. The audience immediately feels a pang of pity for the once valiant man now so obviously on a trail to self-destruction. From here, Macbeth digs his own pit and his thoughts do come true, with Lady Macbeth committing suicide and rendering Macbeth loveless and the arrival of Macduff and the English army to overthrow Macbeth.
When Macduff does arrive and threatens the “hell hound” that he will be exhibited in captivity if he will not fight, Macbeth chooses death, as he could not bear to be subservient to Malcolm and be exhibited like a caged animal. Macbeth’s choice of death over capture gives him back some of his earlier stature and the audience’s pity and sympathy for the once great man rises to a climax. This ability to induce pity and sympathy in the audience is the last ingredient of the ‘tragic hero formula’. Its presence proves Macbeth is not simply a tyrant.
In conclusion, Shakespeare’s character Macbeth is a perfect tragic hero, not a tyrant. Macbeth was once a great man of high distinction whom, because of his fatal flaws of ambition, insecurity and imagination commits the most heinous of sins and unwittingly brings about his own downfall with the effect of creating sympathy and pity from the viewers. Macbeth moves from a loyal heroic warrior, to ‘hell hound’ to one who regains some of his earlier nobility and dignity before he dies. These factors combine to produce a masterfully crafted tragic hero who is far more then a simple tyrant.
