Macbeth:Tragic Hero

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a very noble and courageous person. He is extremely loyal and honorable. Macbeth is responsible for Scotland’s victory over Norway and he is appointed Thane of Cawdor proving that he is honorable in the eyes of King Duncan. The witches spark ambition in Macbeth, by prophesizing he will become the King of Scotland. The witches prophecies stirs Macbeth’s ambition, but what drives him to become even more powerful is his wife. She challenges Macbeth’s masculinity in order to manipulate him to commit murders.

And, to be more than what you were, you would

. . .
An action that emphasizes Macbeth’s moral deterioration is when he orders the murders of Macduff's family in act IV scene III. Macbeth’s drive for power and maintaining his power is the reason for his downfall. He later decides to kill Macduff’s family as well, because he decides that from now on he will act on whatever his heart tells him to do. Macduff leaves for England to plead with Malcolm to return home to Scotland to aid in his quest to defeat Macbeth.

The very firstling of my heart shall be

The firstlings of my hand. He instructs his men to ring the alarm because he knows he's going to lose, and he might as well lose with honour. He now feels invincible and lets power finally penetrate and corrupt him. Lady Macbeth is no longer involved in the decisions of Macbeth’s life, decisions over which she used to be in total control. There is no persuading or direction from others, plainly showing the rapid decent of Macbeth's character. Macbeth causes his downfall by deciding to go fight and seeing the witches which gave him false confidence.

(IV, I, 147-148)

By murdering Duncan, Macbeth begins to gain strength which he never before possessed. This is evil behavior, which is solely Macbeth's decision. He starts to take charge of his own actions, and Lady Macbeth loses control of him.

Macbeth confidently orders his men to hang his banners on the outer walls of the castle, claiming that his castle will hold until the men who attack it starve of famine. The following speech spoken by Ross, demonstrates exactly the type of destruction Macbeth has brought to this once noble and beautiful country

Alas! Poor country:

Almost afraid to know itself.

Common topics in this essay:
Lady Macbeth, Birnam Wood, Macbeth Macbeths, Alas Poor, Duncan Macbeth, Scotland Macbeths, King Scotland, Killing Duncan, Country Macduff, AC Bradley, tragic hero, lady macbeth, macbeths ambition, macbeth responsible, nation scotland, duncan macbeth, shakespearean tragic hero, witches prophecies, macbeth begins, causes downfall, king scotland,

Approximate Word count = 1088
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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