The character of Macbeth is a example of a tragic hero.
There are many factorswhich contribute to the deterioration of Macbeth of which three will bediscussed. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth’s deteriorationare the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbethinfluenced and manipulated Macbeth’s judgment, and finally Macbeth’s long timeambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth’s growing characterdeterioates from a noble man to violent individual. The prophecies which weretold by the witches were one of the factors which contributed to thedeterioration of his character. If it had not been for the witches telling himthat 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, thisaroused Macbeth’s curiosity of how he could be King of Scotland. As the playprogresses, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies. The influence ofMacbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth also contributed to his deterioration 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 LadyMacbeth could not murder King Duncan because he reminded her of her father.
Thisproves that Lady Macbeth has a heart deep inside her. Lady Macbeth plays animportant role in this play because she provided a scheme which caused Macbethto assassinate King Duncan. After Macbeth had killed King Duncan, he laterregrets on his wrong doing. At the point of this play the audience can note thechange in Macbeth’s character. Macbeth’s first murder was a trying experiencefor him, however after the first murder, killing seemed to be the only solutionto maintain his reign of the people of Scotland.
Therefore, it was Lady Macbethwho introduced the concept of murder to Macbeth. Macbeth’s ambition alsoinfluenced his declining character. However, Macbeth’s ambition had not beenstrong enough to carry the motive to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s influencealso comes in to play because if not for Lady Macbeth, his ambition would nothave been intensified enough to drive him to obtain and maintain his title ofKing of Scotland no matter what it took, even if it meant murdering. Macbeth’sambition influenced the cause of his new character. This new character ofMacbeth contained greed, violence, and power hunger.
Macbeth shows this when hekills King Duncan. In conclusion, the prophecies given to him by the witches,Lady Macbeth’s influence and plan, and his intensified ambition, all contributedgreatly to his deterioration of character which resulted to hisdownfall. . .
death. Therefore Macbeth character displays strong signs of a tragichero, making him the ideal classic example.Shakespeare
