The Tragic Heroism of Macbeth

The Tragic Heroism of Macbeth Some say that Macbeth, the protagonist in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth , is an unforgiving villain who allows himself to be influenced by evil and his lust for power, those of which lead him to murder and treason. However, Macbeth is more justifiably a tragic hero. Macbeth is firstly a hero because he is acknowledged as an honourable man in nature. Though what makes him a tragic hero is that he possesses a fatal flaw, otherwise known as a hamartiaby Aristotle, that is ambition, which consequently catalyzes the destruction of himself as well as those around him. Macbeth may further be classified as a tragic hero since he is able to foster a catharsis and immense pity from the audience. As a result of these vindications, Macbeth is proven to not be a villain, but rather a tragic hero. Macbeth may be simply perceived as a hero since he is intrinsically an honourable man. At the very beginning of the play, Macbeth’s honourability is shown through his courage and bravery while the captain proclaims, “The merciless Macdonald / Worthy to be a rebel / … / But all’s too weak, / For brave Macbeth ㄧwell he deserves that nameㄧ / Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish’d steel, / Which smok’d with bloody execution” (I, ii, 9-18). Presumably, Shakespeare has these compliments spoken notably at the beginning of the play to give the audience an initial impression of Macbeth as a hero, since he leads the army to victory against the Norwegians. His fellow soldiers speak highly of him for his undismayed courage and efficacy in situations that seem hopeless, thus displaying his honourability. Furthermore, Macbeth is evidently an honourable man when Lady Macbeth comments on her husband’s character. She states, “I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness / … / What thou wouldst highly, / That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false” (I, ii, 15-20). Lady Macbeth, with whom Macbeth has a very intimate relationship with and ergo she is expected to understand Macbeth well, describes Macbeth as being charged with human kindness and conscience that restrain him from wrong-doing and dishonesty; she even goes as far as to say that he is “too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. This exemplifies that Macbeth is a moral being in nature who is able to acknowledge the principles of right and wrong. Even Charles Beauchamp suggests, “[Lady Macbeth] fears Macbeth’s nature, not because it is cruel, but on the contrary because it is ‘too full o’th’milk of human kindness’. ‘Human Kindness’ means both those qualities peculiar to mankind and compassion” ( Shakespeare: Macbeth: Notes,28). Beauchamp is further advocating that Macbeth undeniably possesses much of the human instincts of compassion that make him honourable, and that this sense of honourability will not allow him of crime. For these reasons, Macbeth is proven to be a hero. Aside from being a mere hero, Macbeth is a tragic hero because he possesses a hamartia, that is ambition, that leads to his own downfall, as well as the destruction of others. The destruction of Macbeth himself by his fatal flaw of ambition is manifested in Macbeth’s soliloquy that expresses his contemplation towards killing Duncan. He states, “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself / and falls on th’other” (I, vii, 25-28). This indicates that Macbeth is fully aware that his hamartia is the only thing that is motivating him to perform the murder and other crimes. It persuades him towards evil, consequently leading to his destruction. Macbeth is even able to acknowledge that his “vaulting ambition” is unrealistic and “o’erleaps itself”, meaning that it aims too high in things that could never be achieved righteously. In addition to the destruction of Macbeth himself by ambition, there is also the destruction of others. In the Elizabethan era, according to The Great Chain of Being concept, they believed that if a rank in the chain was disrupted (for example, by the murder of the king who was at the second ranking of the chain, just beneath God), the remaining ranks would be disordered and chaotic until order was restored. Furthermore, the Elizabethans believed that all of the chain was interconnected, ergo if humans were at war, nature would reflect such behaviour. This is percepted when Ross illustrates, “Thou seest the heavens, as troubled with man’s act, / Threatens his bloody stage. By th’clock ‘tis day / And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp / Is’t night’s predominance, or the day’s shame, / That darkness does the face of earth entomb / When living light should kiss it?” (II, iv, 5-10). One may notice that after Macbeth’s ambition had driven him to murdering Duncan, a disruption in the Great Chain of Being is caused, where darkness, representing evil, buries daylight and all that is good and beautiful in the world. The whole world is now disrupted, madness and chaos are prominent in humans as well as in nature. It must be noted that it is not Macbeth’s own character that causes such a disruption. Yes, he did kill Duncan, however it was his ambition that led to the murder. What makes Macbeth a tragic hero is that he cannot be held responsible for possessing such a fatal flaw. Beauchamp further favors this while arguing, “For the sake of his ambition he silences his conscience and the voices of honour, he disregards the dues of loyalty and of hospitality” ( Shakespeare: Macbeth: Notes, 112). This indicates that it is Macbeth’s ambition only that blinds his conscience and consequently alters his judgment. It is the catalyst of Macbeth’s downfall and the destruction of others, it is not of Macbeth’s own fault. Evidently, through the arguments discussed, Macbeth is a tragic hero. Macbeth can be further interpreted as a tragic hero since he is able to foster a catharsis from the audience. Aristotle describes a catharsis as the expelling of emotions, commonly of pity, by the audience of a tragedy. Macbeth is able to produce this as he is speaking to the doctor towards the end of the play saying, “Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas’d, / Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, / Raze out the written troubles of the brain, / And with some sweet oblivious antidote / Cleanse the stuff’d bosom of that perilous stuff / Which weigh upon the heart?” (V, iii, 42-46). Although Macbeth is speaking about Lady Macbeth in this speech, he may be implicitly talking about himself, revealing that the guilt of the crimes he has done are tormenting his very being. A feeling of pity from the audience can arise from this speech since it demonstrates that even after all the murders that Macbeth has done, he still has that moral conscience that feels the agony of guilt and regret for his actions. Not only is catharsis provoked in this situation, but also while Macbeth thinks, “This supernatural soliciting / Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, / Why hath it given me earnest of success, / … / If good, why do I yield to that suggestion, / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart knock at my ribs” ( I, iii,129-135). While Macbeth is contemplating on the temptation of killing Duncan that makes his “seated heart knock”, the audience inevitably feels pity for Macbeth as they are able to see themselves in him. He is someone who is instinctively good and who is appalled by the thoughts of betrayal and crime, however as like everyone else, sometimes his mind unwillingly gets tempted by such malicious thoughts that present themselves as an easy solution for current problems. Many can agree that it is not simple to merely disregard these temptations even though natural conscience and societal expectations disapprove of them, hence why the audience feels pity for Macbeth’s character. This is may be further justified as Harold Bloom says, “Shakespeare accomplishes this, makes Macbeth eligible for the fear and pity that permit catharsis, by encoding many of our repressed impulses, many of the rash wishes society obliged us to abandon or conceal” ( Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's Macbeth, 135). Bloom is evidently stating that Macbeth’s character is a symbol of all humans who repress their deepest desires, often time unrighteous ones, to abide with the expectations of society. Once the audience recognizes this symbol, Macbeth is able to provoke pity from the audience. For these reasons it is clear as to how Macbeth is a tragic hero. Through all of the events that transpire throughout William Shakespeare’s Macbeth,it is palpable that Macbeth is a tragic hero. First and foremost, Macbeth is a hero since he is identified as an honourable man. Macbeth is, however, a tragic hero since his ambition, which is his tragic flaw, leads to the destruction of himself and others. Moreover, Macbeth is a tragic hero since his character is able to generate cathartic feelings of pity and compassion from the audience. Macbeth is potentially one of the greatest tragic heros, and like other tragic heros, Macbeth is, as Aristotle states, “a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle.”