William Shakespeare's Macbeth As A Tragic Hero

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Macbeth’s actions make him appear to be a tragic hero, but there is much more to Macbeth that eliminates him from possibility for being a tragic hero. Macbeth is a Scottish nobleman who is Thane of Glamis, which is like a governor, and he is married to Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a very pushy wife who wants her husband to be powerful at all costs. Macbeth on the other hand is a bit timid but with urging he will do whatever his wife wants. One day Macbeth was walking in the forest with a man named Banquo, when several witches went up to him and gave him a prophecy that he will become King of Scotland and Thane of Cawdor. Very soon after Macbeth’s encounter with the witches he receives word from some other thanes that King Duncan of Scotland …show more content…
One demonstration of Macbeth’s noble status is when King Duncan has just arrived at Macbeth’s castle and Macbeth is thinking about how he is going to claim his prophecy and become king. “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door…” (1.7.13-15) This shows how Macbeth is in the upper echelons of society in Scotland, and so he is very close to the king. He earned the titles; Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis because he fought to protect his nation and his king from harm, and it was through that dedication to the king that Macbeth achieved positions of power in Scotland. A perfect example of Macbeth choosing to bring upon his own demise is when he is deep in thought about his strategy in claiming the throne of Scotland and to what lengths he will go to have control over Scotland. He is also describing why he feels a need to potentially kill King Duncan. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition…” (1.7.26-27) Macbeth is saying that his sole motivation for killing Duncan and becoming king is his ambition. Macbeth has an ambition to be a godly figure in the eyes of the people of Scotland because he wants to feel content with his life’s achievements. He is motivated by a need to have godly power and he recognizes that the path is not easy, but he will stop …show more content…
Macbeth constantly deceives readers that he is a tragic hero because he falls into the categories of noble birth and he brought about his own demise, however, he does not learn anything from the pain he caused others or the mistakes he made. This incapability to reflect is what eliminates Macbeth from contention for being a tragic hero and is why his suffering is not meaningful but rather punishment for heinous crimes that he committed. Macbeth displays a facade of a tragic hero throughout the play, however, his emotions reveal that he is not a tragic hero, but rather a nobleman who experiences and creates tragedies in a strive for

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