Macbeth an expose
Macbeth an expose" The tragic hero must be neither villain nor a virtuous man but a 'character between these two extremes...a man who not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity but by some error or human frailty."
-Aristotle(Poetics)
Macbeth is not a victim of fate. A tragic hero is someone who through no fault of his own follows a path of evil. Macgeth chooses to utilize whatever evil he deems necessary to assuage his insecurities and to achieve his selfish aspirations. His overpowering need to prove his manhood, his vain and insatiable ambition ultimately transform him into a bloodthirsty tyrant. His ascent to power is ironically paralleled by his moral decay. Macbeth is not a tragic hero because he is a villain by intent. He chooses the evil and violence that inevitably consume him. The only tragic thing is the pain and anarchy this supposed hero leaves in his wake.
Though not a hero, Macbeth is unaplogetically human. The issue of Macbeth's manhood constantly arises. Lady Macbeth manipulates her indecisive husband incessantly, disparaging his masculinity. Many of Macbeth's actions could be seen as attempts to vindicate his manhood. In weak opposition to the murder and in defense of his manhood, Macbeth argues, "I dare do all that may become a man who dares do more is none." His wife argues that by being more daring, he will become more of a man: (Act 1, Sc 7 49-51) " When you durst do it, then you were a man and, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." Later that night, Macbeth is executing his beloved monarch. In Act Three, Macbeth sees an appartion of the dear friend he had sentenced to death, Lady Macbeth cuts into him again with the vicious speech that asks again, "Are you a man?" This is not Macbeth as a hero, this is Macbeth as henpecked.
Macbeth's vain ambition consumes him. After hearing the witches' prophecy, Macbeth concluded,(Act 1, 3, 43144) "If chance will have me king, why then chance may crown me without my stir. Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor, yet when Malcolm is named Prince of Cumberland(hence heir to the throne), Macbeth's immediate response is anger and disbelief. He believes he is the rightful heir. He is dissatisfied. (Act 1, Sc.4, 48-53)"The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step/On which I must fall down or o'er leap/For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires!/ Let not light see my black and deep desires/The eye wink...
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