Macbeth is a tragic hero"Shakespeare's tragic hero is a man of noble birth who falls from a position of honor and respect due to a flaw in his character. He freely chooses a course of action that ultimately causes him suffering and brings him to a fatal end." (Campbell 129) Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero who rises high and then falls to his death. Macbeth, once noble, follows the advice of the witches, finds himself king, abuses his power and is then killed. Macbeth goes through four stages until he reaches the end of his life; its original state, its tragic flaw, its ruin and finally its suffering. These four stages help justify the tragic state of Shakespeare's hero. Macbeth's original state is noble but fragile and cowardly. At the beginning of Macbeth, we find that Macbeth is an anti-hero, one who has neither courage nor strength in mind. One of whom cannot make his own decisions without the help of his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth, however, is nice and people respect him for who he is. Although, soldier on the outside, we find Macbeth to be a bit of a coward on the inside. When Macbeth meets the witches, we find him quite frightened and unable to speak, while Banquo begs for their answers. Macbeth interprets the witches' council as an invitation to kill Duncan to maintain his position as king. Macbeth is too afraid to do so until his wife, Lady Macbeth, who plays a more masculine role than Macbeth himself, convinces him to kill Duncan. "Shall we fail? But screw your courage all the way through and we won't fail..." (1.7.69-71). This is the turning point, the place where Macbeth takes a wrong turn into the darkness, a turn where he cannot turn back. After killing Duncan without being caught, he became... middle of paper... and honor), only to commit sinful acts that catapult him into darkness. This darkness leads to his definitive disappearance. Works Cited and Consulted: Campbell, Lily B. "Macbeth as Tragic Hero." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 126-35.Gates, David. “Shakespeare: Dead White Male of the Year.” Newsweek December 30, 1996: 82+.Kinney, Arthur F. ed. William Shakespeare: the tragedies. Boston: Hall and Company, 1985. Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Elements of literature. Sixth ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997.Wadsworth, Frank W. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Online American Edition. Online edition. Online. Netzero. March 26, 2002."William Shakespeare." BBC home page. Online. Available . March 26. 2002.