Macbeth: Villain, tragic hero or simply ambitious? The play MacBeth conforms to the definition of a tragedy: “A play in verse or prose dealing with tragic events, usually ending with the downfall of the protagonist”1. However, many sections of MacBeth do not depict a tragic hero, but simply a villain or overlord who is overly ambitious and pays the consequences for his actions. MacBeth is a tragedy that questions the very foundations of this genre, laid by Aristotle and Plato in the 3rd century BC. These foundations were part of the text Poetics, in which Aristotle listed the six requirements of dramatic tragedy, one of which is the inclusion of a tragic hero, a fundamental principle which was followed by many tragedians including Sophocles, Aeschylus, O 'Neill and Shakespeare himself in his other tragedies. MacBeth however differs from these tragedies in that the protagonist is not clearly defined as a tragic hero, the reader can get a glimpse of a hero in MacBeth, but not in any substantial amount, which is therefore neither completely validated nor revoked by Shakespeare. In order to reach a conclusion, the reader must take into consideration not only MacBeth's intentions, but also those of the people around him, such as Lady MacBeth and the three Weird Sisters, both of whom can be seen to have influenced his actions in certain areas. MacBeth's downfall and ultimate fate begins with his decision to murder King Duncan. Yet, from what the reader has seen so far of MacBeth, this action seems entirely out of character. He is initially portrayed as a loyal warrior who has a wife and his own castle, and yet he still chooses to murder Duncan. The apparent reason for this is ambition, Ma tells us...... middle of paper ......d, not once was he forced to do something he didn't want to do . On many occasions the reader is tempted to see MacBeth as a simple villain and yet his determination to achieve what he had already begun influences him to rethink his opinion of his status as a villain. This remarkable blend of a tragic hero, a villain, and a man in the throes of sheer determination is one that allows MacBeth to stand out as arguably one of the finest morality plays ever written.1. Concise Oxford DictionaryBibliographyEnglish 366: Studies in Shakespeare Introduction to Macbeth http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/eng366/index.htmBarnet, Sylvan. Shakespeare's MacBeth, Signet Classic 1987Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play for our times http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/mac/intro.htmlAristotle, Poetics http://planetpapers.com/poetics/1209.html