Similarities Between Macbeth And Hitler

Hitler and Macbeth

By Zachary Potter

Hitler was a hero. However, not as a conventionally ‘good’ hero, but instead as a tragic hero in the perspective of Germany during World War II. When Hitler served in World War I, he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class, and thus became a decorated soldier. After the war, he twisted facts of his service to become known as a hero to the people of Germany purely for his ambitious means to become Führer (Bönisch). This inevitably led to his downfall, just like a tragic hero. Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Macbeth, was also known as a tragic hero. Originally a war hero, he went down a path of murder and manipulation because of the promise to rise in power. Eventually, though, he was seen as a tyrant

Ambition alone cannot be a tragic flaw, but when that characteristic controls someone to perform actions that lead to their downfall, then their ambition can be seen as a weight that holds them back from becoming a successful hero. Macbeth and Hitler are led to do terrible things because of their ambition, which sets them up as villains to be killed later in their lives. Macbeth’s ambition led him to kill King Duncan so he would assume the throne. Later, Macbeth killed other potential heirs to the throne, such as Banquo and an attempted murder on Banquo’s son, Fleance (Shakespeare). Hitler did something similar by assassinating any political opponents in his way to become chancellor, and later Führer, as well as killing or imprisoning anyone who spoke negatively of him or threatened his cause for world domination (“How Did Adolf Hitler Happen?”). Because of their ambition, they vowed to be more powerful than anyone around them, which led to them killing anyone who stood in their way. However, they are not completely the same, as the cause for their turn from a hero to a tragic hero are not

In the play Macbeth, the hero, which the play was named after, decided he didn’t want to kill King Duncan because he respected the king too much and hoped the prophecy told by the witches would fulfill itself in time and make him king. However, Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, wanted him to kill King Duncan in order to take the throne, manipulating him and insulting him in order to push Macbeth to perform the murder. After Macbeth gave in and killed the king, this began a pattern of murder after murder in order to sustain Macbeth’s position as king (Shakespeare). However, while Hitler did kill many others in his way, he did not have a ‘Lady Macbeth’ of his own to persuade him to do those things. He decided to murder for his own self. This differentiates Macbeth and Hitler, as Macbeth still had honor and was a praised hero before being convinced to turn to a life of murder, but Hitler only had honor in himself and convinced others to praise