Macbeth: A Proper Tragedy?

William Shakespeare wrote many plays, but is most famous for his tragedies, the last of which was titled Macbeth. In this play, Shakespeare portrays a dark and gloomy world, in which darkness dominates over the light; yet he also shows how this world was brought on by a choice. Macbeth, the main character, is shown a future to which he is most agreeable, a prophecy of a future with him as King. Soon after, he realizes what must happen for such a prophecy to come true, and then comes the moment of choice: should he succumb to the darkness, or should he resist? Macbeth is a noble and loyal knight, prone to resisting evil; yet, when faced with a choice in which he most shines, he forsakes his morals to live a life of greatness. His choice brings this play to a tragic end; Macbeth, at first noble and brave, spirals lower and lower until he becomes a mere shadow of what he once was, a villain, far gone into insanity.

" 'The proper subject of a tragedy,' it has been said, 'is the downfall of one who is possessed of noble qualities and attainments, but who through weakness or defect in character gives way to great temptations, or through rashness or folly brings down ruin on his head.' " Tragedy is an imitation of both action and life, revolving around choice. Choice is the main factor of whether or not you succeed, whether your life is what you wished it to be; Macbeth's choice of greatness over morality causes his downfall in the story.

"For Brave Macbeth - well he deserves the name-

Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,

Which smoked with bloody execution,

Like Valor's minion carved out his passage

Till he faced the slave;" (1.2.18-22)

This quote promotes the "good" qualities in Macbeth, bravery, and loyalty.

He is started as an ideal character, the protagonist of the story, for it was he who killed the traitorous Macdonwald.

Later in the play, weaknesses in his character appear. After hearing the prophecy of the Weird Sisters, Macbeth realizes that his only way to the throne of Scotland is though the murder of Duncan, yet he's reluctant to perform such a deed. When he tells his wife about the prophecy, she plays

...