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Essay / Shakespeare's Macbeth as a tragic hero - 1762
Macbeth as a tragic heroFor Macbeth to be considered a "tragic hero", he must have a certain potential nobility, good qualities that make his fall terrifying. He must be examined as a human being with human weaknesses. Is he the one who, as Lady Macbeth says, Act I, Sc. v, "is too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way" or is he the "butcher" that Malcolm sees as being in the final scene of the play? Or is he the victim of his ambition or his moral weaknesses or his limited conception of virility, or even of a combination of circumstances which cause him to fall? From the opening scene, Macbeth is chosen as the target of temptation; witches, as agents of evil, prepare their trap; the stage is therefore set for his fall. One of Macbeth's good qualities is his bravery. We learn of his physical prowess and bravery on the battlefield - "the brave Macbeth", "the servant of courage", "the valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!", he is an eagle, a lion, "the bridegroom of Bellona. These are the external signs seen by the Captain, Duncan and Ross, Act I, Sc.ii. Unfortunately, Macbeth is prone to temptation. In the next scene we observe his interest in the witches' predictions. He is tempted: “Your children will be kings”; but temptation is not guilt. When Ross tells him that he has been named Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth asks, "Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?" Does this suggest that at this point he does not want any honor that is not rightfully his?* A Materialist - In this (apart) monologue from Act I, Sc. iii, we see how the realization of the first prediction acts on him. Is he showing himself to be materialistic here, in search of success and turning a blind eye to the fact that success and goodness do not necessarily go hand in hand? Is this what Lady Macbeth sees in him when she says in Act I, Sc. v, "would you not play falsely and yet win wrongly?"* Virtuous or hypocrite - He is aware of his duties as a subject "...and our duties are to your throne and your state, the children and the servants, who do only what they should, doing all that is safe towards your love and your honor . Is this an inclination of his virtue, or is it hypocrisy?* Conscience?