Macbeth

Macbeth by Shakespeare

There is always one consistent element in Shakespeare 's tragedies - the tragic hero . Each of them has his own story but they all have certain common traits that contribute to their tragedy . These are men of particular significance in the society , their characters are not that simple and one can not just kill them and be sure that all the consequences of the deeds are eliminated

Whether Othello or Macbeth , Hamlet or Romeo , each hero is always a man of higher estate or higher ranking . These characters do not

have to be necessarily good ' or positive , or moral , they are even mostly negative ' ones , but they must have some potential that is undiscovered and that makes the audience understand that they could have done great things if not the tragedy of their character . The audience usually either admires or pities these characters for that reason , but when the death of the tragic hero arrives it often brings a sense of relief and it feels that the tragedy is over . One of the best examples of a typical hero is Macbeth , whose death also brings relief . There is always a course of events which lead to the death of a tragic hero and one can learn of the process every tragic hero goes through on the path to his downfall . And the same happens with Macbeth

Before we even meet Macbeth we hear Duncan and Ross speaking of his greatness . When it is known that the Thane of Cawdor has surrendered Duncan decides to give Macbeth this title : What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won (1 .2 .70 . And at this very moment we see Macbeth 's rank , which leads him in the right direction for a tragic hero

As Macbeth starts to believe the witches ' prophecies that he will be the Thane of Cawdor , Glamis , and the King , we start to feel his obsession with his destiny : Stars , hide your fires / Let not light see my black and deep desires (1 .4 .50-51 . And namely this great ambition of his will turn into the flaw that brings Macbeth to his tragedy and downfall .Macbeth is convinced , by his own ambition as well as by his own wife that he should murder Duncan in order to become the King . As in many other tragedies , the events which follow move quite quickly , and Macbeth executes his plans and kills Duncan : I go , and it is done . The bell invites me / Hear it not , Duncan , for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven or to hell (2 .1 .63-65

After that Macbeth is to become King just as he wanted , but as it happens with other tragic heroes , Macbeth seems to be left isolated from the people who he began this journey with . We see that Macbeth is changing . When the audience finds out about his plans to kill Banquo , it becomes clear that Macbeth has turned into a completely evil character It is concluded , Banquo , thy...