A. Macbeth -- Macbeth Is The Tragic Hero Of This Play By Shakespeare. His Tragic Flaw Is ‘over-reaching Ambition’, Or Being Too Ambitious. This Flaw, Combined With The Role Of Both Lady Macbeth And The Witches, Is What Causes His Downfall. Discuss How

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Topic no. A, Essay on Macbeth

Macbeth is written by Shakespeare and is a tragedy play. According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, he owns a high social standing or honor because of his bravery and moral strength of character. Likewise, this tragic hero also contains a weakness or tragic flaw which results in his downfall and he becomes morally corrupt. Macbeth is a tragic hero and he is shown as a brave and veteran war soldier. Besides, King Duncan and the public of Scotland speak highly of him however, his downfall starts because of his overreaching ambition. Moreover, the three witches and Lady Macbeth also make him a tyrant through their prophecies and manipulation, respectively.

Lady Macbeth’s ambitious and cunning nature persuades Macbeth to kill King Duncan and become the king of Scotland. She corrupts Macbeth’s mind with the thoughts of jealousy and revenge. Moreover, she ignites his doubts which motivates him for the murder. Besides, she maligns his passive feeling that it was because of his bravery that Scotland won the war. Additionally, she questions his manhood and ambition. This emotional blackmailing and persuasiveness leads him to take the dagger for the final act. She does not stop her malign scheme there and plots his actions for the future too and forces him to repress any sign of rebellion against him. She hires private murderers and gets Lady Macduff and her son killed as well. Unlike Macbeth, she does not doubt her heinous actions and when Macbeth takes over the throne, she controls the context of his first speech as well. However, she cannot resist fate and slowly drives herself into madness and sleepwalking which leads to her suicide. Lady Macbeth plays an exemplary role in changing the conscience of her husband and she compels Macbeth to attain kingship to gain authoritative control and power.

The three witches are employed by Shakespeare in the play to reveal the depravity and greed present in human nature. When they first meet Macbeth and Banquo, they prophesize for Macbeth and Banquo both but these predictions affect Macbeth and the chain of events that follow afterward. On the other hand, Banquo chooses to ignore these predictions because his heart is free of weak emotions. Besides, when their first prophecy comes true and Macbeth becomes the Prince of Cawdor, he starts trusting these prophecies blindly and brushes aside his doubts. He disrupts the natural order by assassinating King Duncan and Banquo's son Fleance so that the other two prophecies can be fulfilled. Moreover, he goes back to the sisters once again when he fears a chance of rebellion from Macduff and they tell him that only such a man who is born of no woman will defeat him. Besides, his kingdom will be overthrown when Birnam woods will start to move. Macbeth forgets that these prophecies are twofold and the natural order will manifest itself because King is a deity and his murder is a revolt against the natural order. These prophecies start unfolding themselves and Macbeth’s downfall occurs as a result.

Lady Macbeth's ambitious and cunning nature lures Macbeth into murdering Duncan and then he never stops and indulges in mass murder. Besides, the prophecies given by the three witches take hold of his weak moral character and he decides his future actions based on these predictions. However, his doubts and jealousy cannot be overlooked as key factors that make him appear as a tragic hero at the end of the play. I love watching drama enactments and fiction adaptations because the dialogues, artifacts and stage directions make the action close to reality. Macbeth is a classic play because it carries a universal appeal and discusses the tragedy of a man who was lured into murder and sin. These weak attributes are prevalent in the real world too.