Macbeth as A Tragic Hero

Barnes

Elmer Barnes

Mrs. Cox

English IV Honors

December 18, 2001

Macbeth as A Tragic Hero

The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are many factors that contribute to the character of Macbeth of which three will be discussed. Macbeth is a typical tragic hero through his personality, actions, and qualities.

One of Macbeth’s traits that evoke the idea of a tragic hero is that he is worthy of the reader’s interest. A tragic hero must be worthy of reader’s interest, concern, or sympathy. Macbeth shows this through his bravery. In the begging of the play a battle goes on between King Duncan of Scotland and Macdonwald of Norway. Macbeth fights bravely on Scotland’s side, and he even killed Macdonwald himself (I. Ii. 9-23). King Duncan hears of Macbeth’s brave and noble qualities and crowns him the new Thane of Cawdor (I. Ii. 63-65). Edward E. Foster writes that, “This excellence and honor, which initially qualifies him for the role of a hero, ironically intensifies the horror of the murder Macbeth soon commits. Another issue that makes the reader stay alert is Macbeth’s downfall. The process of a tragedy is slow to let the audience become comfortable with the power and happiness of the main character. Then signs appear and the main character heads towards downfall. Macbeth is over his head, and his mind starts to play tricks on him. “Is this a dagger I see before me, the handle toward my hand? / Come let me clutch thee/ I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” (II. i. 33-36). In this scene, Macbeth imagines a bloody dagger. This is the first sign that Macbeth’s conscience feels guilty of murder. A second sign of Macbeth’s quilt is when he sees the Ghost of Banquo

(III. iv. 93-107). Macbeth’s bravery and downfall are interesting in this play.

Macbeth showed many human flaws in this drama. According to Corley Olson, “Part of being a tragic hero is possessing a flaw. This flaw must inevitably lead to self-destruction, the fall of the tragic hero” (15). One of his flaws is his weakness to be persuaded by others. Lady Macbeth convinced her husband that he wasn’t a man unless he went through with the murder of Duncan. She threatens his manhood by saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man” (Act I. vii, 49-51). Macbeth’s ambition is also a major flaw. During the play Macbeth’s ambition brought him to achieve his goals but as the play evolves, it forced him to face his fate. His ambition led him to become greedy, violent, and power hungry. Corley Olson also writes, “Macbeth is confronted with the supernatural and prophecy of becoming king. As this flaw also includes his weakness through over ambition.

One of Macbeth’s features that educe the idea of a tragic hero is his stupendous affect on the other characters in this play. Patricia Hammond writes a tragic hero must have a great impact on those around him (114). The reader can simply see that Macbeth influences numerous lives throughout this drama. One family that suffers because of Macbeth is Banquo’s when Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo. Fleance, his only son, escapes to unknown parts (III, iii. 111-135). As a young man, Fleance must go to strangers for advice. The impact of seeing his dad decimated must have been ...

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After Macduff goes to England to get help from Malcolm, Macbeth has his entire family demolished. Upon discovering the news of his family’s murders, Macduff is outraged. He returns immediately to Scotland and kills Macbeth (IV. iv. 71-85). Almost everyone would be devastated by such a monstrous act. The worst impact that Macbeth makes in this drama is on Duncan’s family. After their father’s murder, Malcolm and Donalbain depart Scotland for England and Ireland (II. iv. 71-75). These heirs to the throne run for their lives because they dread that they will also be killed. By murdering Duncan, Macbeth not only deprives these young men of their father, but he also strips them of their rightful place in the Scottish court. “Even a grandly passionate man, . . . , must not be ‘a beast’” (Storey 3). Through his evil ways, Macbeth has an enormous impact on other characters.

Macbeth makes a dramatic change of character when he goes from a heart of good to a heart of evil. A typical tragic hero is a person who undergoes a transfiguration (Hammond 114). The prophecies, told by the witches, contributed to the degeneration of Macbeth. The witches tell Macbeth that he was to be the Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland (I. iii. 48-50). As a result of the prophecies, this arouses Macbeth’s curiosity of how he could become the king. Another change in Macbeth is when he murdered his best friend Banquo. Macbeth uses the service of three murderers to elimate Banquo (III. iii. 7-18). Denton Snider writes, “He who put down the traitor has himself become the successful traitor, and has secured his position by removing Banquo (212). The final change in Macbeth is that he once fights for Duncan, and then he murders him. Before being transformed into a murderous monster, Macbeth is a model Scottish noble. He shows great loyalty and devotion to King Duncan in his fight against the Scottish rebels. Macbeth turns his back on Duncan when he is persuaded to kill King Duncan (II. ii. 14). According to Corley Olson, Macbeth stands especially apart because here the hero becomes progressively evil” (42).

A tragic hero often has an extraordinary destiny within his grasp (Phillips 123). Macbeth feels that he is destine for greatness and he is not happy by just being the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth fights courageously on Scotland’s side during the battle between King Duncan and Macdonwald. According to Edward Foster, “Macbeth has just returned from a military success that has covered him with glory in defense of the crown. He is rewarded by the grateful Duncan, with preferment as Thane of Cawdor” (3591). From this scene on, Macbeth’s ambition plays a huge role in him wanting to become king.

In Macbeth’s actions, he violates many morals. The play examines the effects of evil on Macbeth’s character. One moral that he breaks is the murder of King Duncan.

Macbeth’s ambition influences him to commit this crime. Edward Foster writes, “His actions become more cold-blooded as his options disappear. His growing resolution and steadfastness in a precarious predicament are admirable, but his specific actions are repugnant” (3592). Another moral that Macbeth violates is Banquo’s murder. Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo (III. iii.18-19). “Evil breeds evil in that, to protect himself and consolidate his position, Macbeth is almost forced to murder again,” says Edward Foster (3592). Banquo is next to him in greatness and in prospective power. By removing Banquo, Macbeth secures his position as king. Macbeth’s worst action is when he brutally exterminates Macduff’s family. Macbeth has one murderer to do the job (IV.iii.78-81). Macbeth decides from this murder to act on impulse and not think or feel remorse for any action he does.

A second quality that Macbeth enhances is that he is not too dull, stupid, or young to be incapable of understanding what is happening to him (Phillips 123). One reason that Macbeth shows he is not dull is by not refusing to fight Macduff. At the beginning of the battle, Macbeth is reluctant to fight Macduff because Macbeth feels guilty for killing Macduff’s entire family (V.viii.17-22). But according to Chris Hassel, “If Macbeth refuses to fight Macduff and die, Macduff will become the manager of a freak show whose star attraction is a coward-tyrant and whose action is his public humiliation on earth.” Macbeth knows that Macduff wants revenge, but Macbeth fights like the brave, noble man he once was. A second reason how Macbeth shows he is in capable of understanding what is happening to him is by his guilty conscience. When Macbeth commits the murders of Duncan and Banquo, he starts to imagine things. After Macbeth kills King Duncan, he later regrets his wrong doing. Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth has doubts about committing such a horrible crime. Macbeth then imagines a bloody dagger that points in the direction of Duncan’s room, and he thinks that this is his sign to follow through with the murder (II.i.33-47). When Macbeth kills Banquo, his conscience plays a major role. Macbeth imagines a ghost because of his guilt. Banquo’s ghost obligingly appears at Macbeth’s banquet with twenty mortal gashes on his head, and he sits in Macbeth’s chair (III.iv.36-51). Macbeth knows that murdering Banquo is wrong but his ambition and fear of losing the throne takes over. Edward Foster writes, “Macbeth knows what he is doing, but his agonizing reflections show a man increasingly out of control of his own moral destiny” (3592).

Another one of Macbeth’s qualities that he bears is he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly bad. Macbeth is an ambitious man that is overpowered by his high aspirations. Macbeth develops a close relationship with Banquo, but in the end turns his back on him, in spite of jealously. These two were once best friends who fight in battles together, but then Macbeth has a drastic change of heart. Macbeth feels this way because of the witches’ prophecies for Banquo. (I.iii.67). Banquo is told that he has kings in his lineage and Macbeth is threated once he becomes king. Macbeth then feels that if he eliminates Banquo and Fleance, his only son, he can secure his position as King of Scotland. Macbeth demonstrates another way he is neither good nor bad. Macbeth is presented as a magnificent man who is willing to fight for his king and his people. He possesses all the characteristics of a king and more. Macbeth undergoes an immense change and kills the king whom he battles for. “Here is someone who is not only a great warrior, capable of inspiring men to victory after victory, but who, though by nature ‘too full of the milk of human kindness’, is able to murder in cold blood and to stick to the outcome willy-nilly”(Bond 47). Macbeth is not good because he murders his king nor bad because he puts his life on the line for him. Anthony Bond recaps Macbeth’s qualities by saying, “His strength is not resisting grace. He has the stature of a saint in reverse, a fallen angel, and is terrible and magnificent in equal measure” (47).

Macbeth shows many qualities of a tragic hero. To qualify for a tragic hero, a character must lose the respect of his fellow men (Erring 213). The first sign of Macbeth losing respect is when Banquo suspects him of killing Duncan (III.i.1-10). Banquo becomes suspicious of Macbeth and notices that Macbeth’s prophecies are all coming true. He suspects that Macbeth may have something to do with the murder to make his prophecy real. Macbeth’s actions also lose the respect of Macduff. Macbeth feels that if he kills Macduff’s family, Macduff will return to Scotland. Once Macduff finds out that his family is dead, he is furious and loses all respect and honor for Macbeth. Corley Olson writes, “For one of Macbeth’s punishments is that he can no longer be a part of humanity or break bread with his fellow man.” This statement clearly explains that Macbeth definitely loses respect for others.

Macbeth is a true Shakespearean tragic hero. He has many noble qualities as well as several tragic flaws. He is a courageous and brave nobleman who is haunted by superstition and an overwhelming ambition. In conclusion, Macbeth’s personality, actions, and qualities show that he is the ideal tragic hero.