Macbeth- a tragic hero

Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero, one who is has the ability to become a hero, but can not because there are obstacles in the way. The tragic hero encounters his/her tragic flaw, which is the main cause of his/her tragic fall. The play begins with King Duncan praising Macbeth for being such a fantastic soldier and how he is destined for greatness. Duncan appoints Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor for his bravery on the battlefield. Allowing Macbeth to be given the title Thane of Cawdor demonstrates that he has the ability to be a great leader because of his bravery and wits. Just as a tragic hero, he is destined for greatness. However; a tragic hero has a tragic flaw, a characteristic stopping them from achieving greatness. Macbeth is a very ambitious man, and he even admits this to himself when he talks about murdering King Duncan. When Macbeth hears his prophecy from the three witches that he will be Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland, his ambition gets the best of him. He does whatever he can in order to become king, instead of letting fate take its course.

Macbeth plots to kill King Duncan in order to achieve his greatness. The desire to become king affects his judgment and he comes a murderous traitor to his king and later on his companion, Banquo, whose sons will become king according to the prophecy of the witches. Ambition is Macbeth’s tragic flaw, because it ultimately ruins his character and causes his tragic fall, when he begins to hallucinate, seeing the ghosts of people he’s murdered. His insanity is derived from his ambition, in relation to the tragic hero, his tragic flaw of ambition caused him to fall by going insane and not able to rule the kingdom that he worked so hard to get in the first place.