Macbeth A Tragic Hero
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. ... The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeth’s tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeth’s influence, and finally, Macbeth’s excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. ... If a ship was toppled by something as small as the wind then Macbeth could topple the state. ... They kindle Macbeth’s ambition for kingship and quell his reasoning making him vulnerable to intimidation and seduction in the form of lady Macbeth. ... While they do not partake in any physical act they play on Macbeth’s inner desires, starting him off on a train of thought that will end in the murder of King Duncan. I feel that while they add temptation and influence to Macbeth they cannot control his destiny. Macbeth creates his own misery when he is driven by his own sense of guilt to not fulfilling “what makes a man” and to lady Macbeth. ... Therefore the three Witches are only responsible for the introduction of these ideas and for further forming ideas in Macbeth’s head, but they are not responsible for his actions throughout the play. One of the main characters in the play is lady Macbeth. ... Lady Macbeth is the personification of this phrase. ... In Macbeth’s letter she is as inspired as Macbeth was when he met the witches and sees what must be done: kill Duncan, but because Lady Macbeth is a woman, she does not have the strength in her female frame, either in heart, body nor mind to carry out the murderous deed. Therefore, she calls upon the aid of the supernatural to give her male powers, so that she may have the gall to go through with the plan to murder the King, and allow Macbeth to obtain the throne. ... Lady Macbeth feels that to commit this crime, she must become as cruel as she believes men are. ... It is obvious from the letter Macbeth sends to lady Macbeth that he is amazed and intrigued by these strange “women” with beards. If these people were to reduce Macbeth the strong general into a curious child in only a few words then she could surely pursued him to murder Duncan to achieve both their aims if she put her mind to it?