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Is Macbeth a tragic hero or just a savage butcher?

In my opinion, Macbeth  is an unfortunate hero. Throughout his life his been manipulated and tricked to believe one thing and then another. He was brainwashed by the subtle sound of the and given the fact his purpose was to clash swords with another you can’t help but question whether he could ever fight it. Then manipulated by the wife he loves so much. The woman he would do anything for her. If you think about it, he couldn’t repel three women in rags how was he supposed to deny his own wife. This essay is about my views on the question that was presented to me, ‘Is Macbeth a tragic hero or just a savage butcher’?

Firstly I would like to start of with the witches and their manipulative prophecy. Act 1 Scene 3. Macbeth and Banquo have just finished the battle against the Norwegians and the rebels from the civil war. Suddenly in an open field they encounter the witches. This point shaped the rest of Macbeth’s life.                                                                                                                                                                                             ‘All hail Macbeth Thane of Glamis.’                                                                                                                                                                   This quote was an important one in the matter of getting Macbeth and turning him from a loyal warrior to a tyrant with a goal and a weapon. This quote or line is what got Macbeth uneasy in the first place. Think of it, three random ladies, that you have never seen met before, covered in rags and would have been unpleasant to look at know who you are and your post in society as a Thane and where of. This would have gained the attention of Macbeth and Banquo. If this wasn’t the first witches line the whole play could of turned out differently. It wad a shame that witches knew exactly how to play Macbeth and this is one reason for why he is a tragic hero.

The next quote I would like to talk about is the third prophecy by the witches.                                                                                                   ‘All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter.’                                                                                                                                                 This line from the witches gave Macbeth the final blow. ‘Thou shalt be King hereafter.’ At this point in time Macbeth had just been told he was going to become King. Now most of you would be asking, why didn’t he just ignore them, that proves hes an un-loyal butcher. However that ties in with my previous point. The first line the witches say get him to believe what they say, but he was a little sceptical. The thing that kept his trust in them was that Ross came and answered the second prophecy ‘All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.’ If you were in his shoes you’d believe them to. Furthermore everyone would love for someone to come up to them and tell them that you’d become a King. In Macbeth’s time and in his mind. The first thing he thought about was his wife. He wants the best for her and therefore wanted to become King to provide for his family. Unfortunately for him eventhough he tried his hardest to do the best for his family his fate seemed to be sealed a long time ago proving that Macbeth is a tragic hero.

Many people say that once Macbeth was crowned he became a ruthless killer that maintained power through deaths. I say that part of that is true. He did maintain power through deaths but their bloods weren’t drawn by his blade therefore denying the phrase, ‘savage butcher’. Despite my views I cannot change the events that happened in Macbeth’s life. Macbeth is guilty of the death of many, and this is something I cannot ignore. A great example of this is that Macbeth ordered the death of his friend Banquo. He sent three assassins to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. No-one can deny that what he did was wrong but to him it was necessary, for him to keep his family as royalty. The prophecy sated that the son of Banquo will come to reign after Macbeth so to keep his families position he had to. Most of you might be thinking that Macbeth is a coward because a man of his stature was to afraid to duel someone instead he hires assassins. Well the my way of responding to that is, why do you think he didn’t do it personally? All of these events happened because he was determined to be king for his family.That means he had to eliminate Banquo but if he had done it personally he would have been caught and if not killed immediately people like Macduff will recpgnize his trechary and kill him then along with his wife. That is not being a coward thats being smart for the long term however by this time he had been manipulated so much that despite his own plans other plans were already in place. If Macbeth isn’t a tragic hero I don’t know who is.

I’m sure some of you might be wondering. How do we know Macbeth even remotely cared about Banquo? Well, after the death of Banquo we see Macbeth immediately regret it. When he was with his lords at their meeting Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo. This is the guilt that built up in him. If Macbeth didn’t care about him he would have no guilt. He’d say good job murderers one obstacle out of the way two more to go. No. Macbeth was haunted by the thought his best friend had just died and his son lost in the wilderness. That shows that Macbeth isn’t a savage butcher. A butcher would have no problem with killing Macbeth however Macbeth is a hero of sorts and most definiately a tragic one.

The point I’m about to share with you is the tragic in tragic hero. On his conquest to be the King of Scotland with no internal threats such as Macduff, Malcolm and even Banquo his wife dies. Lady Macbeth falls ill and dies. At this point Macbeth was distraught. He had worked so hard to get to where he was. Then suddenly the one person he loves dies. It was at that moment he realised the prophecy had tricked him. From there on out he struggled to continue and eventually karma visited and Macbeth was killed. If that isn’t the story of a tragic hero I don’t know what is.