Macbeth - how the brave hero/warrior becomes a villian - Essay Example

Macbeth - how the brave hero/warrior becomes a villain Macbeth, the world renowned tragedy by William Shakespeare, is mainly based upon the tragic flaw of the protagonist, i.e. Macbeth the warrior. First of all, his ambitious attitude was behind the murder of King Duncan and usurping the throne. The other reasons behind Macbeth’s tragic flaw include Lady Macbeth’s influence and the witches’ influence. Thesis statement: An investigation to unearth the influential factors behind Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play Macbeth proves that the same is closely related to his ambitiousness, Lady Macbeth’s and the witches’ influence (special references to the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare).

The influential factors behind Macbeth’s tragic flaw and his transformation from a brave hero and warrior to a villain I. Ambitiousness One can easily identify that Macbeth was genuinely ambitious in nature. For instance, he was not satisfied with the service under King Duncan. At the same time, he was not so brave or heartless to overpower King Duncan. He was aware of his power as brave hero and warrior. But he was not so sure about his manipulative power. His service under King Duncan proves that he was able to withstand almost all problems related to war heroism.

Still, his service under King Duncan proves his obedience and loyalty towards monarchy. From a different angle of view, Shakespeare did not try to inculcate cruelty to Macbeth’s character. Instead, Shakespeare made use of Lady Macbeth and the witches to instill over- reaching ambition into Macbeth’s mind. II. Lady Macbeth’s influence One can easily identify that the responsibility of transforming Macbeth from a brave hero and warrior to a villain is solely vested upon Lady Macbeth. She very well knew that ambitiousness is hidden in her husband’s mind.

So, she decided to influence him through her words and action. Macbeth’s deep love and loyalty blinded him from considering his responsibility towards his fellow beings as a warrior and hero. Lady Macbeth ignited Macbeth’s ambitiousness and forced him to be her partner in the conspiracy against the king. This proves that Lady Macbeth’s influence is one of the factors behind Macbeth’s tragic flaw and his transformation from a brave hero and warrior to a villain. III. The witches’ influence The witches’ influence or their prophecies about Macbeth’s future ignited ambitiousness in Macbeth’s mind.

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the third Witch greets Macbeth as “All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter” (6). But his feeble mindedness hindered him from overpowering King Duncan and usurping the throne. When his wife came to know more about the witches’ prophesies, she decided to make use of the same. This led to the conspiracy against the king, his death and usurping the throne. So, one can easily identify that the witches’ influence was one of the factors behind Macbeth’s tragic flaw and his transformation from a brave hero and warrior to a villain.

Summing, Macbeth’s over-reaching ambition is the most important factor behind his transformation from a brave hero and warrior to a villain. Besides, his loyalty and love towards his wife and her (Lady Macbeth’s) realization of the same added up to his transformation. In addition, the witches’ influenced Macbeth a lot by igniting ambitiousness and reducing loyalty towards King Duncan. In short, Macbeth’s tragic flaw and his transformation raise the play from other tragedies by recognizing human psychology.

References Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. USA: Aquitaine Media Corp, 2008. Print.