Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

Within the tragedy “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, the presence of Macbeth as a tragic hero is at hand. As stated by Frederick Morgan Padelford’s “Macbeth the Thane and Macbeth the Regicide,” a tragic hero is a character that although has evident flaws, “the spectator must feel moral companionship for the hero” (Padelford 236). Tragic heroes are characters that are able to be pitied or resonated with by the audience. They carry out questionable actions, but overall, they are pitiful and the audience can resonate with them. Macbeth is a tragic hero due to his hubris derived from the witches’ prophecies, his peripeteia that is present through the torment he experiences due to his visions, and his anagnorisis that is present when he hesitates

The symbolism of blood in this case highlights Macbeth’s peripeteia. He returns to his wife, stating that even all of Neptune’s oceans would be unable to erase the red marks of blood from his hands. Essentially, no matter what Macbeth’s actions of murdering Duncan will always haunt him. His character was compromised due to his actions, and he was mourning the once-honorable person that he used to be. The blood symbolizes the permanent suffering that Macbeth must endure due to his actions and the compromise or destruction of his once noble character due to his actions. This symbolism is a clear indicator of Macbeth’s peripeteia, or his excessive suffering due to his excessive pride. Macbeth also demonstrates peripeteia after his murder of Banquo. His hubris and ambition caused him to murder Banquo, since he wanted to solidify his position as king. After his action of demanding that Banquo be murdered, Macbeth experienced a vivid vision of Banquo returning from the dead at his banquet. This vision he experiences was derived from his excessive guilt due to killing Banquo, which is another clear manifestation of his peripeteia. His hubris resulted in Macbeth suffering immensely from guilt, so much so that he developed vivid hallucinations. Macbeth’s peripeteia is evident due to the symbolism of blood and his reaction to his hallucination and his

After all of his disgraceful actions, he acknowledges that what he did was awful and that it ruined his life. Macbeth’s use of metaphor regarding his life as a yellow lead furthers the presence of anagnorisis. He states that his life is like a yellow leaf and that his actions have caused him to lose all things worth living for. He mentions how because of his actions, he has lost all love, companionship, and people in his life and that the people who serve him only do so because they are obligated to. He acknowledges that his actions of repetitive murder led to him being in that position, and that his actions ruined his life. Due to his actions, he lost all things that make life with living, and this metaphor that he uses demonstrates his recognition of his actions and a level of regret for his actions. Furthermore, Macbeth demonstrates anagnorisis prior to his conflict with Macduff. He states that he does not want to kill Macduff because he already has enough of his family’s blood on his hands due to his actions of murdering Macduff’s family and servants. His hesitation in killing Macduff demonstrates his recognition of his actions- he knows that his murders were wrong and he does not want to repeat them, proving that he has developed anagnorisis. He urges Macduff to leave so that he does not have to carry through with the action that he clearly recognizes is wrong. This