To what extent can Macbeth be considered a Tragic Hero?

Introduction:

Use this to outline your argument – keep it brief and concise and make sure that you actually
answer the question in the form of a thesis statement. Aim for 100 words or so

Potential things to include:

 That Macbeth’s status as tragic hero or villain is oft discussed debated

 Establish what tragedy is as a genre
 Focus on Aristotle’s Poetics (briefly) and provide a quick overview of how Macbeth (the
character) corresponds to these
 Establish argument – to what extent is he a tragic hero?

Body Paragraph 1:

Each paragraph should open with a topic sentence that helps focus your discussion on the essay
question. You need provide at least two bits of textual evidence and make sure that you link this to
some form of context.

Potential things to include:

 Macbeth initially depicted as brave and heroic (1.2) – he is the defender of Scotland and the
King. Fights to ensure natural/divine order is preserved.
 Those who are treacherous or who look to subvert the natural order (e.g. The Thane of
Cawdor who aligns himself with Norway in the opening battle) are punished – Macbeth seen
as fighting God’s cause. Force for good.
 However, despite Macbeth = noble, brave (good) early signs may indicate his
savage/demonic tendencies (graphic description of his killing on battle field also the
reference to Golgotha – the place of Christ’s crucifixion – used to foreshadow Macbeth’s
fall– what he does to Duncan is comparable to the killing of Christ?)
 The corruption of Macbeth’s soul begins early – he is closely associated with the witches
(1.1. ‘There to meet with Macbeth’ and his first words ‘so foul and fair a day I have not seen’
(1.3) echo the words of the witches in 1.1, then easily seduced by the weird sisters/witches
(who can be seen as agents of evil/devil). Is Macbeth powerless in the face of a wider evil
force?
 Acts completely in knowledge of his crimes and what he’s doing – tragic hero?

Quintessential Shakespearean tragic hero

BY killing the King, he uproots the natural social hierarchies  disrupts order of things, shocks the
audience, but still pity him because he’s trapped
Body Paragraph 2: Hamartia

 Easily manipulated by wife and witches

o We feel pity for him. Act 1 scene 7 he decides against killing Duncan (should
protect him etc.) He would only do it if it had no consequences. He realises the only
reason he has for killing King is his own personal ambition
o No good shall come of this, except him becoming king
o His personal motivation won’t benefit anyone
o Changes his mind directly after, when LM talks him into it  informed decision
shows his desperation
o Thinks he will lose his status as a man
o Also, his loyalty to his wife???
 Ambition (wanting to become King) is insatiable
o “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” – Macbeth Act 1 scene 3
 Immediately drawn to the thought of becoming King
o “ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other.” – Macbeth Act 1 scene 7
o Triggered by the witches telling him that he’ll become Thane of Cawdor and then
King
o After he is then made Thane of Cawdor, he believes fate will make him king
automatically but LM wants it to happen faster
o Classic Greek tragic heroes suffer from moral blindness which completely contrasts
Macbeth
 He’s completely aware of the consequences, knows what he’s doing
o Act 3 scene 1 “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus” shows being King isn’t
enough, he needs to be safe as well – it’s a thirst that can’t be quenched
 Lust for blood
o Bloodthirsty killing machine
o “Memorise another Golgotha” Act 1 scene 2
o “As cannons overcharged with double cracks” Act 1 scene 2
o Reduced to a weapon, built for killing
o Natural that he would want to kill Duncan to become King

Body Paragraph 3: Peripeteia/ Anagnorisis

 Act 1 scene 7 LM calls him a coward and persuades him to kill Duncan; demasculinises him
o Personalises it and says she’d kill their own son if she’d sworn to it
 He realises what the witches are saying is coming true in act 5 scene 4
 Act 5 scene 8 Macbeth realises Macduff is the one ‘fated’ to kill him
o “Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripp’d” - Macbeth Act 5 scene 8
 “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
shall come against him” – a witch Act 4 scene 1
Body Paragraph 4: Catharsis

 Been played by the witches and his wife, but he’s the one who must live with the
consequences of it
o Audience is somewhat relieved when he dies; he’s done with fate and the witches
 Pity
o He’s been through such dire circumstances, but he isn’t really the one at fault
o Potential greatness seen in Macbeth by the other characters + audience but he
destroys it – he became Thane of Cawdor because of Duncan, not because he did
something that affected it
o Propelled forward by circumstances beyond control  fate
o He’s been abandoned by his wife and God
o “I could not say Amen” – Macbeth Act 2 scene 2
o “But wherefore could I not pronounce ‘Amen’? I had most need of blessing and
‘Amen’ stuck in my throat.” Macbeth Act 2 scene 2
o A character that was god like and fully respected has changed throughout the course
of the play and has lost God, religion, status as a man, wife
 Becomes weak, manipulated, we can see ourselves within him
 Didactic; don’t succumb to ambition
 None of the characters have seen the witches or LM urging on Macbeth, they don’t know its
not his fault therefore they won’t pity him, but we will

Body Paragraph 5: Conclusion

However, these are somewhat overlooked by the audience, as Macbeth’s

1) Noble, heroic and high status at the start ACT 1 SCENE 2, actions on the battle field,
DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS
2) Hamartia – his ambition to be King is preyed on by dark forces, witches, ACT 1 SCENE 3
a. He has got enough moral awareness to realise what he’s doing is morally wrong
– demonstrates his nobility
b. SOLILOQUY the only thing pressuring him to kill the king is his vaulting ambition,
that’s not enough justifies why he shouldn’t kill the King
c. But then other dark force – Lady Macbeth persuades him to do it, she savages
him ACT 1 SCENE 7
d. Beginning of his downfall
e. Conclude by saying his weakness, tragic flaw could be ambition itself OR
susceptibility to being easily influenced
3) Downfall – the moment he kills the King, the collapse of his character begins at a rapid
rate
a. Psychologically tormented, fears he can’t sleep anymore, thinks his hands will
wash the oceans red
b. Turns into a monstrous figure, kills MacDuff’s wife
i. Noble figure has descended into a monster – terrifies the Elizabethan
audience, refer back to Aristotle
c. We pity him because he’s a good man but because the dark forces have
propelled him down this route, we now terrify him but SIMULTANEOUSLY pity
him
d. Pity intensifies again when the witches deliberately mislead him – Birnam Wood
and no one born of a woman can kill him
e. “Out brief candle”, mindset of life now, he thinks life is pointless and “signifies
nothing” SOLILOQUY
4) Death of Macbeth
a. Significant in regard to whether he’s a tragic hero or not
b. End of a tragic hero should have a cathartic event – his suffering has been so
great, and his fall has been so far, bloody and agonising
i. He knew what he was doing all along
c. When MacDuff kills him (a symbol of virtue and goodness) he restores the
natural order of the universe
d. Cathartic relief because of the restoration of the natural order, but also because
of the release of Macbeth
5) Conclusion - Macbeth as a tragic hero
a. Used by Shakespeare as a terrifying notion that even the noble and brave are
only distanced from the evil and the depraved slightly
i. Terrifying for the audience, reminds us that we too are all capable of it
b. Witnessing the fall of Macbeth influences us to respect the natural order of
things
c. This play was written a year after Guy Fawkes
i. Essentially a propaganda piece which encourages the audience and the
people to respect the natural order of things
In Macbeth’s case, he gives into his ambitious desire of becoming King of England, and so therefore
can be classified as being a tragic hero in this play.

ESSAY – To what extent can Macbeth be considered a tragic hero?

In Aristotle’s “Poetics”, he states that a tragic hero must evoke a sense of fear and pity in the
audience, embody virtue and nobility rather than perfection, as well as having a change of fortune
from good to bad. He also suggests that the hero’s misfortune is brought onto them by some “error
of judgement”, or a flaw in personality. An oft-discussed Shakespearean character that conforms to
these characteristics and could potentially be warranted worthy of such a title is Macbeth. Indeed, in
Arthur Miller’s “Tragedy and The Common Man”, he describes a tragic hero as a person who tries to
“gain his rightful position in society”, yet simultaneously finds it hard to maintain his dignity. At a
first glance, it seems that these characteristics all apply to Macbeth. However, in order to fully arrive
at a conclusion, it is necessary to evaluate Macbeth further in relation to all these qualities.

At the beginning of the play, the audience starts to see both sides of the protagonist; Macbeth; he’s
painted in a heroic light, fighting against people who wish to disrupt the natural order. He acts as the
defender of both Scotland and King Duncan and is therefore seen as fighting to preserve the divine
right of kings, an Elizabethan belief that a king is chosen by God himself, and so Macbeth is
supposedly fighting for God’s cause. The first that we hear of Macbeth is in I.II, from a captain who
calls him “brave Macbeth”, stating that he fully deserves that title. We are also told that Macbeth is
the man who kills MacDonwald and in doing this, restores the natural order. Likewise, King Duncan
calls Macbeth a “worthy gentleman”, demonstrating to us Macbeth’s valiant qualities, as the King
himself is singing praises for him. To an Elizabethan audience, this would, without question, establish
that  these qualities were a factual aspect of his character. However, despite qualifying as a
righteous opponent early on, we also see indications of his savage and bloodthirsty tendencies, with
the reference to his wanting to “recreate another Golgotha”, showcasing his violent persona. The
reference to the death of Christ foreshadows the killing of King Duncan, which in turn serves to
reinforce the abhorrence of Macbeth’s act of regicide. His vicious qualities are further reinforced by
his link to the ‘wyrd sisters’, meaning fate in Anglo Saxon culture. Macbeth’s line “so foul and fair a
day I have not seen” echoes the witches’ first lines in the play, which immediately aligns him with
forces of evil. Elizabethans believed witches to be agents of the devil, so the link between the
witches and Macbeth allows the audience to question Macbeth’s true nature. He is of high estate
and virtue, and in this way, he conforms to the stereotypical Shakespearean tragic hero. Although
his predatory nature perhaps calls this into question, the audience begins to wonder if this is what
causes his misfortune.

As the play continues, we start to see his hamartia, – having been told by the witches that he will
become King, Macbeth starts to explore the possibilities of it happening, yet in his first soliloquy, he
still has enough moral awareness to realise that killing the King would be wrong, stating that he has
no reason to do it apart from “vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself”, further demonstrating his
nobility. However, his ambition to become King is preyed on by dark forces, the first example being
the three witches. In his first encounter with the witches, Macbeth immediately shows interest in
their prophecy, asking the “imperfect speakers” to tell him more. The second evil influence is Lady
Macbeth. Indeed, upon hearing that Macbeth will “proceed no further” in killing Duncan, she brands
him as a coward, saying that had she so sworn, she would’ve taken her own child and “dashed the
brains out”, seeking to expose his weak-willed nature, and hence persuading him to murder the
King. Similar to the witches, she is seen as a monstrous, and almost supernatural force; asking to be
unsexed and inviting evil spirits in. There is a lot of ambiguity as to whether Macbeth’s hamartia is
ambition itself, or his susceptibility to being easily influenced – by both the witches and Lady
Macbeth. Macbeth is left powerless in the face of such dark forces, and must succumb to them,
hence why the Elizabethan audience is able to pity him rather than despising him. The pity we feel
for him is important in him being considered a tragic hero, as he isn’t an inherently immoral
individual, but simply a man who makes an error of judgement.

The King’s murder is hugely significant in regard to whether Macbeth is a tragic hero or not. From
the moment Macbeth kills King Duncan, the collapse of his character begins at a rapid rate. He is
unable to say ‘Amen’ when he is in “most need of blessing”, he fears he’ll never be able to sleep
again, and that all the blood on his hands will turn the sea red, showing perhaps that he has been
deserted by God. He turns into a monstrous figure, killing Macduff’s wife and family, and we see that
the once noble and proud figure has now descended into a monster, which serves to terrify the
audience. However, the audience is still able to pity him because they’ve witnessed his whole
journey; it is made aware that it’s the dark forces which have propelled him down this route. So they
simultaneously terrify him for what he’s become. Their pity for him intensifies yet again when the
witches deliberately mislead him in IV.I, saying that “none of woman born” will be able to kill him,
and that he has nothing to worry about until “Great Birnam Woods” comes to Dunsinane Hill.

The final and perhaps most significant factor contributing to Macbeth being a tragic hero is his
death. By Aristotle’s standards, the end of a tragic hero should have a cathartic event; his suffering
has been so great, and his fall has been so far, bloody and agonising for us as an audience to witness.
When Macduff finally kills Macbeth, as a symbol of virtue and goodness, he restores the natural
order of the universe, and we feel a cathartic relief because of that restoration, but also because of
the release of Macbeth from his existential malaise. Moreover, in his final soliloquy in act V.V, he
states that “Life’s but a walking shadow”, showing his belief that life has been stripped of meaning,
as he realises he’s been deceived. He goes on to tell us that our lives are just stories told by idiots,
“signifying nothing”, which, whilst contrasted with his previous more optimistic soliloquies,
highlights his peripeteia.

It seems that Macbeth can be considered a Shakespearean tragic hero. Although it is ambiguous
what his hamartia is, both the evil forces and his ambition cause him to kill the King, from where we
see his tragic decline. The play itself, which was written just a year after the Gunpowder Plot,
essentially serves as a propaganda piece which further encourages the audience to pay heed to the
natural order.  Shakespeare uses Macbeth as a shocking notion that even the noble and brave are
only slightly distanced from the evil and the depraved. This is terrifying for the audience, as it
reminds us that we are all too capable of it, no matter how unexpected. Witnessing the fall of
Macbeth from a valiant character to one who kills purely for power, encourages us to respect and
remember the natural order. Furthermore, this leaves the audience in a state of enlightenment
about human nature.

1271 words