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Macbeth as a hero
In multiple pieces of his literature, William Shakespeare includes elements of a Heros
Journey, that was created by Joseph Campbell. Specifically in the tragedy, Macbeth, the main character Macbeth shows many characteristics of being a hero as he follows along the heros journey. It is evident that Macbeth is a hero throughout Macbeth; for example, Macbeth has a tragic flaw, follows the heros journey, has the help of a supernatural aid along his journey, and undergoes the death of the hero. In the beginning of tragedy Macbeth, Macbeth is said to be a brave man who everyone looks up to; when Macbeth appears in the play, he is shown to be ambitious and assertive. His ambition and drive for power contributes to his fatal flaw: he is a megalomaniac. Macbeths fatal flaw is what pushes him to make his decisions. In order to gain power, Macbeth goes to great extents and is easily taken advantage of by his wife. He disregards his morals and goes as far as killing Duncan, the former king, and Banquo, his closest friend, in order to get rid of anyone who may get in his way of becoming king. After killing Duncan, Macbeth exhibits signs of another fatal flaw that causes him to spiral out of control: guilt. The guilt of killing Duncan, an innocent man, Macbeth begins to go insane and can no longer control himself. Additionally, after coming this far, he is willing to continue along his path of killing his competition, which leads to him killing Banquo and attempting to kill Fleance and Macduff. As the tragedy of Macbeth goes on, Macbeth follows the heros journey. The beginning of Macbeths journey, his call to adventure, is shown when he meets his supernatural aid, the witches, discovers his prophecy, and tells his wife what his is destined to become. Lady Macbeth then tells Macbeth that he must kill Duncan if he ever wants to become king; however, Macbeth says that he shouldnt kill Duncan because that is not morally correct. Lady Macbeth, determined to make her husband king, convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan by telling him that he is less of a man for being afraid to kill Duncan. When Macbeth goes to kill Duncan, he crosses the threshold into the unknown world of evil. Since Macbeth was not originally an evil person, he is unfamiliar with the act of murder, and is unable to go through with the killing of Duncan. However, after coming far, he must kill Duncan to cover up the mess he already made. Now in the unknown world of evil, Macbeth faces many obstacles that test sanity. His first test is when everyone returns to his house as they find out about Duncans death. Macbeth must remain calm and not allow guilt to get the best of him The tragedy of Macbeth concludes, like all tragedies, with the main character, Macbeth, being killed. In his last battle, Macbeth is still overly confident in himself and refuses to back down, leading to his death.
