MACBETH AS A TRAGIC HERO   

In the annals of criticism, Macbeth is believed to be technically perfect of all Shakespearean tragic drama and its hero the most perfect delineated tragic figure. Innumerable critics of Shakespeare have the unshakeable view that it is only in this drama that he has scrupulously ventured to mold it on the lines which are traditionally accepted to be those of pure tragedy.

So far as Macbeth, the protagonist, is concerned, both technically and thematically, possessed of all those attributes which are strictly required of the major character of a tragic piece of literature. Its most tangible proof is that he has in him what can be dubbed as volition or initiative and, to be true, this is the most distinctive feature of a genuinely tragic figure. It is none but he who himself entertains the ambition of the acquisition of royal power in Scotland in the presence of king Duncan who has always treated him with kind benevolence and large-hearted accommodation. Here, one misunderstanding must be removed that it is not the weird sisters and his wife who induce him to the path of bloodshed but it is exclusively his own deep-seated desire for power that impels him to follow the path of the devil. This we can easily prove by referring to his spontaneous interest in the attractive utterings of the supernatural creatures in the heath. It can also be proved by citing the letter in which he addresses his wife and in which he expresses his secret but the vivid desire for occupying the throne of Scotland by hook or by crook. We are referring to all these to show that the supernatural creatures and his wife only externalize what he has in his mind and, by every yardstick, it is he himself who takes the initiative to give a practical shape to his secret plans and yearnings. In the light of the above submissions, it can convincingly be said that Macbeth, as a tragic hero, amply possesses the quality of bold initiative which is required of the major character in a tragic piece of literature.

The second but very important fact of a tragic hero is that he faces the tragic consequences of his previous doings boldly as well as unflinchingly. We, in fact, mean to say that he is all the time prepared to reap what he has sowed without showing any sign of wavering or cowardice. The most striking thing is that, in the midst of all the Shakespearean tragic heroes, it is Macbeth who most adequately fulfills the condition of unflinching confrontation of the circumstances around. He remains relentless and undaunted even when the last ray of hope is shattered to bits and he is left with nothing but sure shot death and destruction. The last prediction of the weird sisters stands fulfilled and now there is no escape from death for him. It is in this very dire situation that he decides to fight tooth and nail against his enemy who is present before him in the shape of the bloodiest Macduff. He prefers honorable death to abject surrender and it is something which imparts dignity and grandeur to him as a protagonist in Macbeth.

Macbeth is perhaps the only tragedy in which a villainous person has been presented as a hero and, to be true, it is the open violation of the rules laid down for a tragic piece of art and its hero. But the thing worth mentioning is that, despite his all villainies and bloodshed, he is clearly gifted with such attributes as go a long way towards making him a genuine of a tragedy. Along with other things, his act of taking bold initiative and unwavering confrontation of dire circumstances is something that definitely plays the most vital role in making him a perfect fit tragic character in the scheme of tragedy.