Evaluate Macbeth as a Tragic Hero

Answer

Evaluate Macbeth as a tragic hero.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) first defined the idea of a tragic hero based on his study of Greek drama in his treatise, namely “Poetics” (335 BC). He described a tragic hero as “an intermediate kind of personage, not pre-eminently virtuous and just” between chapters 6-14 of this book.

In literature, writers of different periods create tragic heroes to add depth to their writings. Among the many, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is great in making the tragic heroes. Macbeth is a successful creation of a tragic hero in the third shortest Shakespearean tragedy, namely “Macbeth” (1623). Let us elaborate on some essential requirements to prove Macbeth, a tragic hero from the text. 

Balanced Personality: Aristotle recommends that a tragic character should be a person of average class. He must not be so good or bad. In the beginning, Macbeth is a good and noble general who shows his bravery on the battlefield between Norway and Scotland. He is a patriot who can not be worse. But his better human nature gets degenerated by the influence of the witches and the criminal incitement of his wife. The bloody dagger scene is a hallucinated expression of his guilty mind. So, Macbeth is a well-matched dramatic persona with the concept of a tragic figure.

Hamartia: Hamartia is a Greek word that means tragic flaw that causes the hero’s downfall. It does not refer to moral falling or the absence of morality. Instead, it indicates the three facts: ignorance of circumstances, error of judgment, and voluntary commitment to error. Here, Macbeth fulfills all the facts of tragic flaw due to his soaring ambition and how he commits murders. Macbeth says,

Stars, hide your fires!

Let not light see my black and deep desires.

Hubris: Hubris is a Greek word for excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things. Macbeth is engulfed with hubris. He is caught by hubris as soon as Duncan declares that his elder son Malcolm will be the next king of Scotland. Now, Macbeth ponders over the possibility of his being king. He violates the natural order and decides to kill King Duncan. 

Peripeteia: The Greek word peripeteia implies the reversal of fate, which is one of the prime features of a tragic character. It is the journey of a tragic character from happiness to misery or from misery to happiness to distress. Until the criminal activities were done, Macbeth was one of Scotland’s happiest and most prestigious men. His fate is wholly reversed when he kills Banquo. A physically brave general like Macbeth turns into an internally cowardly man. In Act 2, scene 2, after murdering Duncan, he is completely overwhelmed by the growing physical and mental fear, which is why he cannot return to the place of murder.

I’ll go no mor: 

I am afraid to think what I have done: 

Look on’t again I dare not.

Nemesis: Nemesis prescribes the punishment and suffering for a tragic character. The tragic character must suffer the utmost because of his hamartia and hubris. Macbeth’s hallucinations can be cited as an example of his suffering. Lady Macbeth’s incurable sleepwalking and madness destroy his happy and sensational conjugal life. Thus, Macbeth’s life becomes a heap of destruction.

Catharsis: Catharsis refers to pity and fear roused within the audience. There is no audience worldwide who cannot but shed tears seeing the damnation of Macbeth. Though Macbeth’s ruin is poetic justice, it brings about the purgation of pity and fear because he was a patriot and did not wholly commit the crime out of his intention.

In conclusion, Macbeth is a downright tragic hero like others of Shakespeare, including Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo, and Brutus. He touches on all the requirements of a tragic hero, as recommended by Aristotle. Through him, Shakespeare proves his mastery of creating tragic characters. Today’s world should learn the moral outcome of his distressful journey to avoid their downfall.