Free Essays - Macbeth as Tragic Hero In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, we find out that Macbeth is a tragic hero. Macbeth is very ambitious, courageous and a moral coward - all these things lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. At the beginning of the play Shakespeare very clearly defines Macbeth as a hero. Scotland's courage in defense is significant in the opening scene. However, he is very ambitious to become king. At the beginning of the play he was loyal to the king. As he imagined the murder, his mind rejects it and says, “Because, if fate wills me king, chance can crown me” (Act I, Sc 3, p.44-45). Yet more and more his ambition defeated his good nature. When Duncan made Malcolm prince of Cumberland, Macbeth decided to kill Duncan. When Duncan arrived in Inverness, Macbeth for the time controlled his ambition and did not kill Duncan. The failure of his decision was soon reflected by Lady Macbeth who called him a coward. From then on, after Duncan's murder, Macbeth entered into a life of evil. Since he overcame his good nature, he no longer needed to be with his friend Banquo. He wanted to protect his ambition by killing the king, and now he killed Banquo, because of the prediction of what the witches had said about Banquo's son becoming king. Macbeth wanted to ensure that he achieved his ambition without any problems. Macbeth, who by now no longer needed any encouragement from Lady Macbeth, began to leave her unaware of his plans. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth began to walk in her sleep and dreamed of killing Duncan and Banquo. She died because of all this pressure and her guilt over the murder. Macbeth's soul has been destroyed since Macbeth loves Lady Macbeth very much, as shown in Act I, Sc. 5, p.58, "My dearest love". The power of nemesis is clearly shown at the end of the play when Macduff returns to kill Macbeth. Macbeth never imagined that Macduff would return to avenge the murder that took place in the Macduff house. This nemesis displays additional strength beyond Macbeth's control. Due to Macbeth's strong belief in ambition and witches, when he discovered that Macduff was not born of a woman, and also discovered that Birnam Wood had been seen moving, he realized that the third apparition had deceived him and realized that don't be sure anymore. Through the development of this tragedy, Macbeth has transformed from a good-natured person into an evil person. His ambition and strong belief in witches led him to a tragic end in his life and caused many people to lose their lives..