Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Tragic Hero

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald once said, “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy”. Decades apart, Fitzgerald did not know that he would be making a claim that William Shakespeare, the author of the play, Macbeth, had perfected before. According to Wayne C. Booth he would, “Take a good man, a noble man, a man admired by all who know him - and destroy him, not only physically and emotionally” (Booth 17). Shakespeare was shown a hero, Macbeth, and made his story into a tragedy resulting in Macbeth becoming a tragic hero. Macbeth is tragic hero because he has hamartia, hubris, and experiences peripeteia.
Hamartia, by definition, is the tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a hero.The tragic flaw that Macbeth possesses that leads him to his
Macbeth murdered several people in order to protect his seat at the throne, but there are two specific murders that Macbeth commits that are of the utmost disrespect. The first murder was of the beloved King Duncan. King Duncan was gracious king and was loved by many. People adored him, even Macbeth. Macbeth speaks of his praise when he said, “‘He hath honored me of late, and I have bought / Golden opinions from all sorts of people, / Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside so soon” (Ⅰ.ⅶ. 32-35). Macbeth spoke to Lady Macbeth reminding her of the mercy and kindness that he showed him. He appointed him to an honorable position, which resulted in people looking among Macbeth more favorably. He was a hero in the eyes of many of the people that he ruled, including Macbeth. However, Macbeth disrespected King Duncan in a way no one else did. He murdered King Duncan with his bare hands. The murder is especially disrespectful because Macbeth did it himself, even though he had some assistance from his wife, he was still the one who committed the act of murder. He took daggers and slit the throat of the man who just awarded him a prestigious position. Even though, he later regretted the murder. It can not undo the mistake that he made. The second murder that was incredibly disrespectful was the one of Macbeth’s trusted friend, Banquo. Banquo was dear to Macbeth’s heart and was there for him in the beginning. He was even there when the witches told Macbeth all of the great things that he would become, however, that ended up being the same reason that he died. Banquo was seen as a hero in the eyes of his son. His last living actions cause Banquo to be seen as hero through the eyes of the audience as well because, “His dying words are spoken in our presence, and they are unselfishly directed to saving his son” (Booth 22). Banquo knew that