Macbeth Murdered By His Flaws Essay, Research Paper

Macbeth Was Murdered by His Flaws

Macbeth s lack of will power and his great ambitions led him down the road of a tragic figure.

At first, Macbeth and nobility were synonymous terms. This was shown when Duncan spoke of Macbeth to the captain. Words one heard of Macbeth floated into one ear and out the other and left a stamp of grandeur associated with his name. Macbeth s reputation soon earned him the position of Thane of Cawdor. This carried Macbeth to the top of his mountain that he was soon destined to plummet from, after ambition and greed pushed him off the peak.

Macbeth was never neither wholly depraved nor virtuous. At times of integrity, a twinkle of malice could be seen within his left eye. At times of evil, a twinkle of reason and remorse could be seen within his right eye. This is a characteristic of a tragic figure as classified by Socrates in that a protagonist is neither good nor evil. However, as the story progressed, the twinkle of malice soon evolved to a blinding light of hatred.

Although Macbeth could not see himself sending Duncan to his grave, Macbeth s wife could. Lady Macbeth was able to persuade Macbeth, who lacked will power but possessed extreme ambition, to kill Duncan, as she controlled her husband like a puppet on a string. Although Macbeth felt guilt stab him in the heart with a dagger, Macbeth s unquenchable thirst to be king was too strong. Another quality of a tragic figure manifests itself in this. A tragic figure always has a fatal flaw that will send him down a cataclysmic road. One of Macbeth s flaws was his lack of will power, displayed when Lady Macbeth was able to convince him to kill Duncan.

Macbeth s final flaw, and possibly his largest mistake, made him look upon himself as an invincible god. Upon listening to the divination of the witches, Macbeth was told that no man borne of woman could harm him. Macbeth had interpreted the witches words too literally and threw all caution to the wind. In Macbeth s eyes, his skin had turned into an impenetrable stone. He had been stripped from fear and was no longer calculating in his moves, for who was not borne of woman?

Macbeth s final flaw was the last stride towards his downfall. Macduff, whose family had been slain by Macbeth, killed Macbeth. It was seconds before he died that Macbeth realized his mistake in interpreting the words of the witches. Macduff was not directly borne from his mother. Instead, he was stripped untimely from her womb. Realizing his mistake was the last quality of a tragic figure displayed by Macbeth. Although it seemed as if Macbeth never shed a tear of pity for those that he murdered, one could almost feel Macbeth shedding a tear for himself as he realized the blemish that delivered him to his untimely grave.