Is Macbeth A Hero Essay

He has lost everyone whom he holds dear. Lady Macbeth dies due to illness over the death of King Duncan, he has killed his best friend, Banquo, and to top it off the majority of the thanes hold no respect or love for him. He regrets several of his recent decisions however, when his castle is under siege he pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind as a good commander must. Going into the battle he still believes he is invulnerable due to the witches’ prophecies. Therefore, he has complete confidence that is demolished when Macduff claims the he “was from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d.” If Macbeth had time to think about the past before he was beheaded, he would have only felt remorse for his

Shakespeare effectively focuses on the cynical repercussions of ambition in 'Macbeth' and how it can lead to one's failure. Macbeth is shown as a wellborn protagonist after being regarded as "Noble Macbeth" by the King of Scotland, King Duncan after slaying the Thane of Cawdor and winning

Throughout the story of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth acts in a much despised manner: he becomes a murderer and later, when king of Scotland, a tyrant. Many who have read or seen the play are left wondering how a man’s whole approach to life can change; how Macbeth turned from the hero whom all adored, to the tyrant who was hated and ended up a lone man, fighting for his life.

In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s communication changes from humble and selfless to arrogant and selfish over the course of the play. In the beginning when King Duncan praised Macbeth, Macbeth’s communication was humble and selfless, “The service and the loyalty I owe / In doing it pays itself” (1.4.23-24). This shows the humility and selflessness of Macbeth. He served the king not for personal recognition, but as a show of loyalty.

Initially, Macbeth is viewed as a brave and loyal soldier, with Duncan praising him by expressing that “More is thy due than more than all can pay” (1.4.21). At this point, he has not been influenced by the three witches. Yet, by Duncan implying his importance, Macbeth gains a sense of self-worth and this arouses power within. His clear desire to be titled Thane of Cawdor while then having a growing temptation to commit regicide clearly demonstrate the early stages of his corruption and forms a basis for utilizing illegitimate power.

Likewise, Macbeth initially starts out as a strong and bold warrior who is full of prowess and recognized for his heroic actions. He is full of compassion for others and has many strengths. These strengths included “His bravery...His kindness...His imaginativeness”(Shakespeare-online, 1). Macbeth even defeats “The merciless Macdonwald” (Act One), and in doing so earns a good reputation with King Duncan. In doing so, King Duncan promotes Macbeth to the thane of Cawdor when he states “What he (Macdonwald) hath lost noble Macbeth hath won”(Act One). It is also at this same time, that the three witches tell Macbeth that he will become king as well as thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is still skeptical at this point, and still maintains his strong reputation and allegiance to the king, as is noted when he states “The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself”(Act One).

Just as the character spectrum flows from hero to villain, Macbeth also gradually makes his way down the line. In the very beginning of the play (before making his appearance), Macbeth’s fellow Scots and lords praise him for his loyalty and noble deeds. Here, it is made clear that the public initially views him as a heroic figure who is loyal to Scotland; “for brave Macbeth, (well he deserves that name)”(9) Admittedly, Macbeth does unseam a man “from the nave to th’ chops”(9), however this is considered an act of valor in the service of his country and his king. However, Macbeth’s loyalties soon become questionable, as he plots to and then commits the murder of his honored king, Duncan. At this point, the audience

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth the reader watches as Macbeth changes gradually as the play endures. He are transforms from a loyal person with a loving and loyal disposition with other people, into a tyrants who are willing to kill in order to keep himself on the throne. He is tormented with fear, regret, and guilt. When someone does something they know is wrong it causes them to fall prey to their own emotions.

The tragedy Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, follows the rise and fall of a loyal Scottish warrior. Macbeth is portrayed as a man of multiple sides, presenting three main traits – bravery, ambition, and self-doubt – throughout the play. The character is an example of how ambition and guilt can have terrible effects on an individual lacking in strength of character. Although some people may perceive Macbeth as malicious, his weak character shows that he is incapable of conquering guilt and self-doubt. The prime themes of the play are: ambition, loyalty and betrayal, good and evil, appearance versus reality, supernatural and fate. Shakespeare presents these themes through the actions of Macbeth and their results: the corrupting effects

Macbeth clearly demonstrates his inner conflicts within the first act. He begins to have frightening thoughts of killing King Duncan for his own power, and Macbeth’s awareness of these immoral thoughts remains throughout the entire play. Now, although Macbeth has the ability to perceive what is morally logical, he does not always follow through. After Macbeth learns of the prophecy, he grows eager to fulfill these great revelations; being the flawed creature that he is, Macbeth had a steadily increasing measure of greed and angst that grew with each success. After a certain point, Macbeth had learned to ignore the guilt that nearly gnawed him raw after such heinous crimes. Only then did the greed and natural instinct to success really take hold of Macbeth’s mind.

     A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Macbeth's ambition also influenced his downfall. However, Macbeth's ambition had not been strong enough to carry the motive to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth's influence also comes into play because if not for Lady Macbeth, his ambition would not have been strong enough to drive him to obtain and maintain his title of King of Scotland no matter what it took, even if it meant murder. Macbeth's ambition blinded him of the moral thing to do and his conscience no longer had any say in what Macbeth did to maintain his thrown. These events taking place in his life caused us to see a new side of Macbeth. This new side of Macbeth contained greed, violence, and power hunger. Macbeth illustrates this side until the last act when he says, “that keep the word of promise to our ear, and

An important character in ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare was Macbeth. Macbeth is shown as the protagonist of the play and is the person who drives the plot of the drama. Macbeth changes dramatically throughout the play as in the start he is portrayed as the tragic hero who would do anything for his King and country. As the plays continue he becomes ambitious and, encouraged by a prophecy. After that, he ends up killing a lot of people/becoming a tyrant.

Selfish desires and ambitions can have great sovereignty over one's actions as their thirst for power only grows. In the play, a loyal, honourable hero transforms into an evil murderer which is driven by his greed and ambition. Macbeth is portrayed as a brave, loyal and courageous nobleman who is incapable of committing evil deeds. Nevertheless, this changes when the witches prophecies are introduced which causes macbeth to think about his aspirations for power and his nobility ranking. He betrays king Duncan when he kills him and obtains the Scottish throne for himself. An example of his loyalty in the beginning of the play in the place when king Duncan thanks Macbeth for his bravery and victory in the battle; Macbeth responds and says, “The service and loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself. Your Highness’ part is to receive our duties, and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants. Which do what they should, by doing everything safe toward your love and honour” (I, iv, 25-30). Macbeth is pleading a great deal of loyalty by expressing that serving him is its own reward and

A Tragic Hero is a common figure in many of Shakespeare’s works. A Tragic Hero is usually a figure of royalty, fame or greatness. This person is predominately good, but falls from prominence due to personality flaws that eventually lead to self-destruction.