Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

Is Macbeth a tragic hero according to the classical definition of the term or is he merely a monster? Once in awhile comes along a character who can be thought as differently from multiple perspectives, and Macbeth is just that. At the start of the story, Macbeth was an amazing war general. Him and Banquo both defeated two separate armies. As the story went on, Macbeth ended up turning into what some people may call a tragic hero. But Macbeth was really a true monster because he had a great hidden need for power, he killed King Duncan himself, and had Macduff's family slaughtered. Macbeth was seen as a loyal general serving to King Duncan at the beginning of this story. But deep down inside of him, he had a great desire for power. His craving for power all started when the three witches popped up and told Macbeth,” All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth. thou shalt be king hereafter!”(Shakespeare,1.3). After this, Macbeth pondered about what the witches said and demanded that they explain more. But shortly after, they …show more content…
Macbeth let his anger get the best of him and the only way he saw to fix this problem was murder. While speaking to Lennox, Macbeth states , “To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done: / The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls.”(Shakespeare,4.1). To secure his power, Macbeth states that he will murder Macduff and all of his family. Macbeth wants to murder all traces of Macduff because he considers him a traitor for joining Malcolm in England. Men that are sent by Macbeth show up to Macduff’s and quickly slaughter all of his family. Thus, leaving an example to all others that they should not dare to get in the way of