Macbeth - Tragic Hero or Tyrant

By Alastair Lagrange, Student

Macbeth changes from a loyal heroic warrior, to 'hell hound.' Before he dies he regains some of his earlier stature. Macbeth is therefor a masterfully crafted tragic hero, far more than a simple tyrant

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most emotive plays, works on many different levels, each portraying a different message, all equally powerful and moral. The play itself, is short, but has a complex plot. It follows Macbeth, who, armed with some character flaws and some prompts from other characters, begins a journey that starts with him as Thane of Glamis and ends with him as King of Scotland. Macbeth cuts a bloody trail to achieve what he does, and as he says, 'blood will have blood.' Macbeth's downfall at the end of the play is not unexpected and it creates in the audience, a strong sense of both pity and fear. Macbeth therefore fits the role of a tragic hero, not a tyrant. In his poetics, Aristotle outlined what makes a tragic hero. He said that the hero must be a man of higher than mortal worth that is exhibited as suffering a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistaken act to which he is lead to by his harmatia or tragic flaw. This fall evokes both pity and fear in the audience causing them to experience a feeling of catharsis. In Macbeth's case, it is his imagination, insecurity as a man and unnaturally large sense of ambition that contribute to his demise. After the latter two of these failings were targeted by the other characters in the play including Lady Macbeth, who questions Macbeth's manhood and the witches who play on his ambition, Macbeth ponders about, and then murders Duncan, setting his already overripe imagination into something so real he can 'see it.' This drives Macbeth on to murder increasingly until he realizes that to turn back would be just as hard as to keep going. He cuts a bloody swath through all that oppose or annoy him… including Macduff's children. Finally, as if all the heavens had turned, Macduff and the entire of England's army come to cleanse Scotland of Macbeth's tyranny. The witches, in their prophecies had told Macbeth that he should fear Macduff, and that he would not be hurt by any of woman born. The moment where Macbeth finds out that Macduff was born by caesarian section and is therefor going to kill him, he is given back some of his former stature and the audience's pity and fear for the once 'noble Macbeth' are heightened greatly. An important point to note is that Macbeth did not start out as evil. He was once a 'worthy gentleman.' Even when Macbeth is at the epitome of his evil, he still has a sense of compassion. He shows this when Lady Macbeth kills herself; he broods on life's futility, clearly in a weak show of grief; 'out, out brief candle, life's but a walking shadow.' The fact - that Macbeth is not purely evil and never actually started off as purely evil, proves the point that he is not a tyrant, but rather, a tragic hero. Macbeth is presented at the start of the play as a noble man, one full of all the good qualities a man could desire - bravery, strength, loyalty, manliness and health. As Macbeth is a tragic hero, this is an essential element of his character. It is developed with a number of techniques, most prominently, the battle talked about in Act 1 Scene 2. Here Macbeth is talked of as a Heroic warrior that 'brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution.' Both the Captain and Duncan acknowledge this and Duncan even comments 'O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman.' Further evidence of Macbeth's goodness is shown by his vacillation before the murder of King Duncan. This is displayed in Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 7. Here he dreams of a life after the murder of King Duncan free of any metaphysical consequences. However, he also argues that to murder King Duncan would be against all things good and morale. His conscience will not let him commit the deed and it is only after Lady Macbeth probed his manliness, that he was able to murder Duncan. The qualities that Macbeth embodies are very much a part of the tragic hero character, not the tyrant. The tragic hero must also have tragic flaws. One of Macbeth's is his unnaturally large amount of ambition. In Act 1 Scene 7, this is stated outright by Macbeth. 'I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other-' This refers to Macbeth's motivation to kill Duncan. However, Macbeth's ambition is much more deeply set than just the desire to be King. It is the central driving force for almost all of his actions in the play. Some have argued that Macbeth's love for his wife is one of the major contributing factors towards his decision to kill Duncan 'Who could Refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make's loves known?' This theory is completely true. We must however look at what this is driven by and surely, the only thing it could be is ambition - ambition to prove his love for his wife both to himself and to her. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth wants only his life to be as it was previously - free of inner turmoil. In other words, what he desires is a stable life 'whole as marble, founded as rock.' This desire, or ambition leads Macbeth on to kill more; anyone who poses a threat to his peace of mind is killed. This continued killing sees Macbeth in a state of increasing mental sickness until he is all but proclaimed mad. Macbeth says that 'It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood' and it is almost certainly true - Macduff kills Macbeth in return for the murder of his family. Macbeth's insecurity as a man is another of his flaws. Macbeth can 'prove' his manliness on the battlefield easily, however, it can be ascertained that Lady Macbeth knows about Macbeth's manliness in other areas to which we are not privy. Her use of this sensitive issue to persuade Macbeth to do things he would otherwise not, is seen frequently. In Act 1 Scene 7 after Macbeth had made a tentative decision not to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth entered the scene. She challenges his manhood 'When you durst do it, then you were a man.' This chiding pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan despite the horrid consequences of which he knows. In Act 3 Scene 4, Lady Macbeth offers another taunt, similar yo the first. After Macbeth's 'sight' of Banquo's Ghost she asks 'Are you a man?' She is calling for Macbeth to regain his composure - a real king is a real man - not one whom the sight of a ghost would bother! Macbeth also uses the issue of manliness to gibe others who he deems are lower than him. This can be seen when he meets with the murderers in Act 3 Scene 1. When Macbeth mocks the murderers, the First Murderer replies 'We are men, my leige.' This is simply stated, powerful and above all, truthful. It hurts Macbeth that these low-life scum are more manly than him. He taunts them that they are men only as dogs are men. They retort that they are hardened criminals who have seen and lived a life as worse as possible and that they are so desperate they will do anything. Macbeth envies their lack of conscience, which was a very manly characteristic in the Elizabethan era. This insecurity about his manhood is one of Macbeths large character faults and is played upon by Lady Macbeth and others in such a way that it 'sets the ball rolling' for Macbeth's consequent dreadful deeds. Macbeth's last character fault is his imagination. This flaw grows in size as the play progresses. It is however his imagination regarding the prophesies of the witches that leads him to contemplate what he ends up doing (had he not had such a wild imagination he would never have sent the letter to his wife that suggests becoming King through evil means). Detracting slightly, on the battlefield, Macbeth is a fearsome warrior. Here he has no time to think about who he is murdering, their virtues and the consequences. He just kills. Conversely, in his castle Macbeth has time to brood on each murder… his imagination getting more and more fanciful all the time until the stage where he even sees ghosts. This delusionary behavior is a manifestation of Macbeth's imagination in real life (not helped by the fact that 'Macbeth doth murder sleep'). It drives him to extremes of ruthlessness. 'Strange things I have in head that will to hand, which must be acted ere they may be scanned.' By this stage (Act 3 Scene 4), Macbeth is so tormented by his imagination and conscience, that he discards the latter completely and decides to act by the heart and not by the head. He vows to kill all in his path as returning to his previous state is just as hard as going further - both will result in disaster. It is here that we begin to feel the first twinge of sympathy for Macbeth. It is Macbeth's imagination which, powered by both ambition and insecurity grows to such a monstrous size that it over powers his rational mind, renders him crazy and sets him on a path toward self-destruction. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must also evoke pity in the audience. From the moment that Macbeth decides to live a lie in Act 1 Scene 7 'False face must hide what false heart doth know,' the audience knows that he has condemned himself. They know that all the things he thought of in the soliloquy earlier in the same scene will come true - that the killer is damned for eternity and that the killer will be killed. The audience immediately feel a pang of pity for the once valiant man now so obviously on a trail to self-destruction. From here. Macbeth does dig his own pit and the thoughts do come true. Lady Macbeth kills herself thereby rendering Macbeth loveless. He feels immense hollowness at her death and talks of life's futility. Macduff flees to England and summons it's army to overthrow Macbeth. Macbeth, full of bravery due to a combination of both his tragic flaws and the witches prophesy - 'none of woman born shall harm Macbeth…beware Macduff' and 'Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood comes to high Dunsinane hill,' awaits the arrival of Macduff and the English army. However, unbeknown to Macbeth, the English army is Birnam Wood. The audience know that all is over for Macbeth, but it is not until later that he accepts the Apparition's words. When Macduff comes to face Macbeth in Act 5 Scene 8, Macbeth boasts that no naturally born man call kill him. Macduff reveals his Caesarian birth and Macbeth refuses to fight, as he knows it will spell his end. The Apparitions had falsely raised his hopes with their double talk. They both lied and spoke the truth about Birnam Wood and 'no man of woman born.' Macduff threatens the 'hell hound' that he will be exhibited in captivity if he will not fight. Macbeth chooses death, as he could not bear to be subservient to Malcolm and exhibited like a caged animal. This is the moment of catharsis. Macbeth's choice of death over capture gives him back some of his earlier stature and the audiences pity for the once great man rises to a climax. He has suffered at his own hands to the point where he dies. The audience feel that he had no choice in the matter and deserved not, however evil man he was, to die in such a way - by a man that may for all intensive purposes, have been himself. Macbeth's fall from valiance causes the audience to experience a strong sense of fear for their own livelihoods. To understand the depth of this fear, we must look at the context of the time. When Macbeth was King, to be a King was to be the closest thing to God. In fact they were thought to be so close to each other that one was thought to rule the mortal world, and the other the heavens. Throughout the play, this godlike Macbeth is deceived and told half-truths. For example, in Act 1 Scene 7, Lady Macbeth tells him ' I have given suck…I would have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out had I so sworn as you have done this.' Macbeth actually never swore he would murder Duncan, finding the decision to hard to make. Soon after Lady Macbeth's provoking, he, determined to prove his manliness, commits the crime. The apparitions then tell him half-truths. Hecate, in Act 3 Scene 5 promises to use magic to ruin the over-confident Macbeth. This magic is used, and in Act 4 Scene 1, the apparition's tell Macbeth his future. He becomes more brave and this ultimately leads to his downfall (perhaps the magic Hecate was referring to was this prophesy). The fact that Macbeth can be lead so easily by others, especially since he is almost a god, leads the audience to experience heightened fear. They would have been asking themselves that if a great man could suffer such a turn of fate and find himself so cornered by his own actions, then why could not they, even more easily. This ability to induce a fear in the audience is the last ingredient of the tragic hero formula. It's presence proves Macbeth is not simply a tyrant. In conclusion, Shakespeare's character Macbeth is a perfect tragic hero, not a tyrant. He was once a great man who, because of his harmatia commits the most heinous of sins and unwittingly brings about his own downfall with the effect of producing a creating catharsis in viewers. The audience watching the play would be greeted by a great man of high distinction, they would then proceed to watch the man bring about his own doom because of his ambition, insecurity and imagination. The man moves from a loyal heroic warrior, to 'hell hound' to one who regains some of his earlier nobility and dignity before he dies. The change in circumstances causes the viewers to feel sympathy for Macbeth and for fear themselves. These factors combine to produce a masterfully crafted tragic hero who is far more than a simple tyrant.