Macbeth Tragism
The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic
hero.
There are many factors which contribute to the degeneration of
Macbeth of which
three will be discussed. The three points which contribute
greatly to Macbeth's
degeneration are the prophecy which was told to him by
the witches, how Lady
Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's
judgment, and finally Macbeth's
long time ambition which drove his desire to
be king. Macbeth's growing
character degenerates from a noble man to violent
individual. The prophecies
which were told by the witches were one of the
factors which contributed to the
degeneration of his character. If it had not
been for the witches telling him
that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of
Glamis, and King of Scotland,
Macbeth would still be his ordinary self.
As a result of the prophecies, this
aroused Macbeth's curiosity of how he
could be King of Scotland. As the play
progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on
the witches prophecies. Shakespeare uses
the witches as a remedy for
Macbeth's curiosity which corrupts his character.
The influence of
Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth also contributed to his
degeneration of
character. Lady Macbeth's character in the beginning reveals
that she is a
lovable person. When Lady Macbeth was ready to kill King Duncan
herself, it
showed that Lady Macbeth could not murder King Duncan because he
reminded her
of her father. This proves that Lady Macbeth has a heart deep
inside her.
Lady Macbeth plays an important role in this play because she
provided a
scheme which caused Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan. After Macbeth
had
killed King Duncan, he later regrets on his wrong doing. At the point of
this
play the audience can note the change in Macbeth's character. Macbeth's
first
murder was a trying experience for him, however after the first
murder,
killing seemed to be the only solution to maintain his reign of the
people of
Scotland. Therefore, it was Lady Macbeth who introduced the
concept of murder to
Macbeth. Macbeth's ambition also influenced his
declining character. However,
Macbeth's ambition had not been strong
enough to carry the motive to kill King
Duncan. Lady Macbeth's influence
also comes in to play because if not for Lady
Macbeth, his ambition would
not have been intensified enough to drive him to
obtain and maintain his
title of King of Scotland no matter what it took, even
if it meant murdering.
Macbeth's ambition influenced the cause of his new
character. This new
character of Macbeth contained greed, violence, and power
hunger. Macbeth
shows this when he kills King Duncan. In conclusion, the
prophecies given to
him by the witches, Lady Macbeth's influence and plan, and
his intensified
ambition, all contributed greatly to his degeneration of
character which
resulted to his downfall...death. Therefore Macbeth character
displays strong
signs of a tragic hero, making him the ideal classic example.