Macbeth New Honors
Greed Is Murder The Shakespearean hero is a perfectionist and protagonist that has become the victim of tragic flaws. Macbeth tragic flaw was his vaulting ambition that made him want to kill the kind. His tragic flaw was also his greed for power and the trait of being gullible. This is what led him to self-fulfilling the witches prophecy and ultimately his downfall. Macbeth had many desires and obsessions that led to a great demist to himself, his marriage, and a letdown to his country. To begin with, Macbeth had many desires to become king of his country. Macbeth said “A prosperous gentleman; and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief” (I. 3. 73-74). Macbeth said again “Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor” (I. 3. 133). This gave an indication to the audience that he does want to be king after all. His desire for power grows throughout the play from when he had his first encounter with the witches. Macbeth then said to Banquo “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus, our fears in Banquo stick deep” (III. 1. 48-49). After he has murdered King Duncan and become king himself, Macbeth has a soliloquy in which he reveals that being king isn't enough; he needs to feel safe in the position, and he has reasons to fear Banquo. “But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer, ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep In the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake us nightly: better be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind to lie In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave; after life’s fitful fever he sleeps well, treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, can touch him further” (Macbeth. 3 16-26). If Macbeth would have not kill Banquo, he would still live in fear, sleep in fear and eat in fear with Lady Macbeth. The witches’ predictions gave Macbeth ambition and overconfidence, eventually leading his