Macbeth - Too Little, Too Less?

Macbeth is one of the most redound and beloved tragedies of all times. The play, which revolves around a tragic hero named Macbeth, is about the aftermath of a regicide in Scotland. The play starts off with two of King Duncan's best noblemen, Banquo and Macbeth. The two successfully defeated two uprising armies from Ireland and Norway. On their homeward journey, the dynamic duo comes across three witches. These witches prophecy Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, and then tell Banquo "thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none." (I, iii). After the predictions are told, the witch's disappear, which leaves Macbeth and Banquo in confusion. They both interpret what they heard differently, which leads to their divergent paths that they will follow to the end of the play. For Macbeth, he covets the crown, and unlike Banquo, the witch's prophecy kindled his already large ambition. If you have enough ambition, there's nothing you can't accomplish, good or bad. So Macbeth murders Duncan and framed the two princes. With nothing, not even the rightful heirs to the throne, in Macbeth's way, he hijacks the crown. The witches kept their promise but never gave an exact time limit on the new king's reign, which was short, bloody, and turbulent. Fearing Banquo's telling will also come to pass; Macbeth desperately lynches his former friend and attempts the murder of his son, Fleance. The pointless effort did not pay off, seeing that Banquo's line could still rule the throne eventually. Macbeth on the other hand loses everything he holds dear including his sanity, his family, friends, morals, and even his own life. The adverse fortunes are something one expects to see in a tragedy like Macbeth, but very different from traditional others. This is how the audience is not compelled to express grief for the tragic hero. Shakespeare aware of this makes a futile attempt to create some sort of sorrow for Macbeth. He points out Macbeth's tragic flaw, and illuminates that Macbeth is the victim. A victim of manipulation, which calls upon Macbeth's evilness. Unfortunately the method Shakespeare used did not compel the audience one bit, to sympathize with Macbeth.

The tragic flaw of ambition, portrayed in Macbeth's character does not bring forth, if any, sympathy from the audience. It didn't work back then and it still doesn't now. Ambition simply means a desire for success, which ultimately leads to the downfall of Macbeth. He himself brings to light the fact that he is possessed be "vaulting ambition" (I, vii). That is able to control him. His pursuit of royal happiness puts his entire life out of wack, including his thinking process. An insight to this problem is when Macbeth wants to fight outside the protection of the castle. It's this same act that he his killed by former friends. The tragic hero's reputation goes from being ""brave