Macbeth, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, is one of the most famous plays in history. Today, we would like to ask everyone on their views of whether Macbeth is really a tragic hero in the play, due to the witches and Lady Macbeth persuading him to commit regicide, or was he put on this path due to his own unchecked ambition?
Image credits: http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/bardathon/2020/03/06/macbeth-queens-theatre-hornchurch-and-derby-theatre-derby-theatre/
He is a tragic hero - the main characteristic of a tragic hero is that he has a fatal flaw. In this case, Macbeth's fatal flaw was his ambition, which he took to a new, highly dangerous level. Prior to meeting the witches his loyalty and patriotism existed. But after the encounter, his growing ambition replaces that and consumes him, leading him to terrorize the people. He killed Macduff's family out of his fear of losing power at the hands of Macduff, who had fled away.
Tragic hero does not mean that Macbeth was always a good person, nor does it mean that he was always evil. He was a righteous man who was manipulated into straying from the path of what was right to a more wicked and avaricious path that led to his doom.