Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay Example

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth is a tragic hero and his own actions lead to his downfall. He is responsible for his own tragedy because of the murders he committed, his ambition and allowing himself to be easily manipulated. 

King Duncuns ambition to kill King Duncun led to his downfall. After killing King Duncun, Macbeth hears a whisper saying ¨Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.”(2.2.44).  Sleep symbolizes peace of mind, innocence and purity.  This shows that Macbeth is no longer innocent after killing Duncan and he wont have a peace of mind.  He will no longer be able to sleep because he is filled with guilt and only the innocent sleep. This murder resulted in his own tragedy because he is tempted to continue to commit more murders because once he started he cannot stop. Lady Macbeth says  “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (1.7. 49), telling Macbeth to boss up and be a man. Lady Macbeth played a minor role in convincing Macbeth but he is responsible for his own decisions.

Next, his ambition led him to killing Banquo. He felt that Banquo was another threat to the throne. Lady Macbeth is no longer convincing him to kill Banquo, he is making his own decisions.  Macbeth feels as if Banquo is stopping him from achieving his dreams. The witches said ¨"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (1.3.68), he is told that Banquo's sons will be future kings. Even though Macbeth and Banquo are friends he believes that Banquo is another obstacle he has to face to secure his spot as king. So he decides to kill Banquo to protect himself. Banquo says, ``New honors come upon him / Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould / But with the aid of use. (1.3.49-61). Banquo knows about the prophecies and knows Macbeth for whom he actually is. Therefore, he is a threat to him. Macbeth is also envious of Banquo and he describes him in the following words ¨Our fears in Banquo/Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/ Reigns that which would be feared¨ (3.15.51-53). He is afraid of Banquo's kingly qualities and with him being around he can never be safe. Macbeth wants to kill everyone that is in the way  This shows that Macbeth is an insecure man that is full of fear. 

Macbeths also killed Macduff's family. At this point, Macbeth is not in his senses. When Macduff missed Macbeth's inauguration he grew suspicious that Macduff might know that he killed Duncun and so plotted to kill his whole family. He says ´´seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line´´ (4.1.168–170). He is getting out of hand when he decides to kill innocent people. He did not want to lose the crown to anyone in his family. Macbeth doesn't realize the aftermath of situations, just because it feels good right does not mean it won't affect you in the long run. 

Macbeth's tragic flaw is his ambition and that ultimately leads him to his downfall. Macbeth is a naturally good natured person but he desires power and would do anything to get it. He says ¨To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus (3.1)¨ This shows that even after having the position of becoming king, he is still not satisfied. He is not at peace. He is more anxious because he doesn't feel safe and to him, being king is nothing if he isn't safe. After killing Duncan, he feels the need to continue with his evil acts to maintain the power he gained. His ambition caused his own death because after killing Duncan to become king and have the power he craves, he felt the need to kill more people which hurt him at the end. To maintain the power he has gained, he committed many murders and he cannot be stopped. His ambition got the best of him. His biggest desire is to become king and would do anything he can to secure his spot. Macbeth says ¨I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls on th' other" (1.7.25-28). He fully confesses that the only thing that is driving him to murder the king is his ambition.  His ambition causes him to do things that are not in his human nature. 

Macbeth is easily influenced by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth doesn't see Macbeth as a real man, he lacks courage and bravery. Since she is far more ambitious than him, she influences him to murder King Duncun. She says “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (1.7. 49).  She attacks his weak spot, courage. She tells him that he is a man if he kills the king. He wasn't ready to kill Duncun but with the influence of his wife, he killed him. She manipulates Macbeth and plays with his manliness and bravery. Lady Macbeth says ´´hat tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.´´(1.5.31-33), which proves that she is far more powerful and ambitious than Macbeth so it will be easy for her to manipulate Macbeth. Although, at the end it was his decision whether or not he wanted to commit the murder and since he wanted to be king, he did. Macbeth is easily influenced by his wife. This shows that Macbeth is impressionable. Macbeth allows himself to be easily manipulated. 

Macbeth was also easily influenced by the witches. They prophesied that he will be a Thane, he will be king and Banquo's sons will be kings. Whether the witches tried to manipulate Macbeth or not, when the witches said ¨thane of Glamis¨ (1.3.53) it set the whole plan in motion. He became power hungry. After he killed King Duncan, he easily let the witches control his mind. The witches planned Macbeth's downfall but it was Macbeth's choice to let them control him or not. He wasn't going to kill Duncan but with the thought of the prophecy he did it.  He soon becomes obsessed with the witches' prophecies. He believes that the witches will grant him immortality but all they are doing is trying to control Macbeth into ruining his destiny. He started to fall to his downfall when he started feeling guilty and couldn't sleep. He had trouble sleeping because he was no longer pure, he started to lose his innocence. He was overconfident in the decisions he made because he relied too much on the prophecies and couldn't make decisions on his own.

In conclusion, Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall because he murdered numerous people, his ambition and he gets easily influenced. Macbeth started off with killing Duncun but after killing he felt the need to kill more and more people. He killed everyone that made him feel uneasy because he wanted to feel safe when being king.  Macbeth is not in his senses and the only thing that keeps him going is his tragic flaw, ambition. He also allows himself to get easily influenced by the witches and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth plays a minor role to his downfall because she persuades him to murder Duncun but at the end the decision was Macbeths and he chose to kill him. Everything after murdering the king, he did on his own. Macbeth gets influenced by the witches when he hears the prophecy of him being king. He trusted them because he thought he would gain immorality but they were just plotting his downfall. This shows that he is impressionable and can not make decisions on his own.