Macbeth

One of Shakespeare’s great protagonists, the character of Macbeth is one steeped in complexity and tragedy. A warrior, a thane, a king, and then a tyrant, Macbeth’s character is amongst literature’s finest and is a shining example of Shakespeare’s ability to craft a tragic figure. Based on a real king of Scotland and the wars he fought to claim the throne, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is no mere king, as this character goes beyond anything expected of such a role, delving into the unknown and dark world of the supernatural to represent grand themes of power, destiny, and ambition. Whether you consider him a monster or hero, there is much to discuss about the eponymous character of the play.

The major question that should be answered in regards to Macbeth is whether he is a tragic hero or simply a villain. Firstly, let’s define what a tragic hero is – according to Aristotle, this is a character who carries a fatal flaw that leads to their tragic but deserved death when they realise their wrongdoing. Certainly Macbeth’s unrelenting ambition serves as his fatal flaw, as he gradually becomes blinded by the power he receives. It is only when everyone abandons him, even his wife driven to madness and implied suicide, that he finally repents before meeting his end in battle. Macbeth’s soliloquy is the strongest piece of evidence supporting Macbeth as a tragic hero, as Macbeth’s rumination on the nature of life and its futility are fitting of the often-introspective nature of a tragic hero realising the errors of his ways. His line “it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing” can be interpreted as Macbeth finally realising the pointlessness of his pursuit for power and coming to terms with the crimes he has committed. Macbeth the tragic hero is a character for the audience to realise their own folly and encourage to give up their own petty ambitions. He is a man twisted and blinded by evil forces of darkness that exist within him to commit horrific acts and eventually receives an end befitting his crimes.

Now with that perspective established, it is now time to analyse Macbeth as a villain. Though pushed into a prophecy claiming he will be king and having doubts about murdering his king and kinsman Duncan, Macbeth still decides to do it, for it seems he has control over his actions and decisions. He chooses to stay and listen to the witches. He chooses to listen to his wife and to kill the king. He chooses to kill the servants so they do not reveal his murder. He chooses to blame the death of the king on Malcolm and Donalbain. He chooses to kill Banquo and attempt to kill his son Fleance to maintain power. He chooses, even after seeing the ghost of the friend he had murdered, to not only visit the witches again, but believe himself invincible from their prophecy then using the confidence gained from it to kill his enemy’s entire family as punishment for treason. And finally, when all have abandoned him, his prophecies have betrayed him, and his wife kills herself, he still refuses to surrender nobly and meet a just punishment. This is the path Macbeth chose to follow.
 
Macbeth throughout the whole play is depicted as a suspicious and paranoid man, not out of guilt but rather fear of punishment. Quotes such as “Prince of Cumberland, that is a step on which I must fall down or else overleap” and “if it were done when its done, then ‘twere done quickly” highlight the scheming nature of Macbeth even before the murder and his cruel declarations of “hang those who talk of fear” and “seize upon Fife and give the edge of the sword to his wife and babes” display the monster Macbeth has become.

Though both valid, there are flaws in each of these interpretations, the major one being that both are too absolutist and simplistic. Shakespeare does not create a simple world in Macbeth – rather, it is one filled ambivalence, as many of his characters are simply not good nor evil but rather results of their natural human emotions and desires, and that is how Macbeth should be perceived. There are obvious Aristotelean influences with his character, and there is enough evidence to mark him as somewhat heroic, but that does not take away from the fact that Macbeth has unsavoury aspects to his personality, namely his ambition and the arrogance and cruelty that derives from it.

Whether pondering if the ocean can ever wash away his crime of killing Duncan or having his guilt possibly manifest itself as Banquo’s ghost in front of him, it is clear Macbeth is suffering from the psychological ramifications of his actions. Much like the tragic hero argument, Macbeth’s “tomorrow” soliloquy can help justify this middle path, as its words can be interpreted simply as those of a man who has lost everything but the pride to remain defiant. It can be argued that Macbeth did die a tragic hero’s death, and that the real human Macbeth died with his soliloquy, finally coming to peace with his life and actions, and the man who was killed by Macduff was a hollow shell, the “the sound and fury” he described.