Macbeth is a Tragic HeroIn many ways Macbeth, of Shakespeare's work, Macbeth is the least admirable tragic hero in literature. Typical tragic heroes have at least some admirable character traits. You may or may not like the hero, but there is something about their characters or their situation to which some sympathy can be applied, even if there isn't enough to rationalize their actions. But Macbeth is a mass murderer, eliminating friends, colleagues, women and children, often for no apparent reason other than his own desires. Why should Macbeth be considered a tragic hero? The answer has to do with the quality of his mind, his horrible determination to see this whole evil thing through to the end. Having, with Duncan's murder, taken control of the events that shape his life, he will not now relinquish the responsibility to fulfill his desires. The most remarkable quality of man in this process is the clear awareness of what is happening to him personally. He is suffering horribly all the time, but he will not give up or seek any other remedy than what he alone can offer. If that means damning yourself further, so be it. This position certainly does not make Macbeth likeable or (from our point of view) in many respects admirable. But it lends a heroic quality to his tragic course of actions. He simply will not compromise with the world and will pay whatever price that decision exacts on him, although as his murderous career continues he becomes increasingly aware of what it is costing him. It seems clear that what his murder cost him is the very thing that made him great in the first place. Why not soon... in the middle of the paper ......use has no desire to win but because he wants to take charge of the final event, his own death. The life he has created leaves him nothing else to do. This last point, regarding the fact that Macbeth caused his own death, is an important element of his tragedy. Having placed himself above all conventional morality and prudence to face life on his own terms in response to his desires, Macbeth will remain in charge until the end. Like many other great tragic heroes (Oedipus, King Lear, Othello), he self-destructs. He has come to fully recognize what it truly means to take charge of one's life, without any concessions to his community. And this awareness fills him with a sense of bitterness, futility and meaninglessness. Work cited Shakespeare, William. Macbeth, ed. Carroll, W.C., Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.