Macbeth Tragic Hero

Amongst all of Shakespeare's tragedies, Macbeth is the most inconsistent and fragmented. Like the mental state of the protagonist, the tragic structure of the play is in disarray from the very onset. According to Aristotle, all tragedies must follow a certain set of characteristics, and the most important of these is the presence of a tragic hero. This tragic hero must possess a tragic flaw, or hamartia, which is a good quality taken to such an extreme that it now exhibits immoral behaviour from the hero. He must also draw sympathy of his plight from the audience. Macbeth, although the protagonist, is not a tragic hero because he does not possess this hamartia. This significant absence of a flaw leads to his actions being without

In William shakespeare’s Macbeth,Macbeth is a classic example of a tragic hero in shakesperean work.Macbeth display the major characteristics of a tragic hero throughout the play until his tragic end.The play potrays Macbeth as a lost cause by showing how he fell from being a honest and just man who fought for whats right, to a cruel,superstitious,ambicious dictator.In william shakespreares Macbeth,Macbeth is a tragic hero because he compromises his honor and negates his moral values in order to obtain power which results with lots of tragic events such as character deaths leading to his tragic end.

Most people would consider a hero as someone who has impacted the world in a positive fashion, but doing a single positive action does not abolish all of the bad deeds that a person has committed. The great philosopher, Aristotle classifies a tragic hero through the principals hamartia and hubris, meaning a character in a dramatic tragedy who expresses a tragic flaw and excessive pride, conclusively leading to their downfall. In the tragic play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth is a considered a tragic hero since he represents the principal hamartia through his tragic flaw of ambition and he exhibits the principal hubris through his excessive pride.

Secondly, Lady Macbeth’s blind ambition and false appearance take part in further altering Macbeth’s decisions. Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter and she immediately starts to plot King Duncan’s murder so the witches’ prophecies can her husbands desires can become true. She knows Macbeth is, “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/… That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false/ And yet wouldst wrongly win” (1.V.17-23). Lady is aware her husband Macbeth is too noble and innocent to hurt an individual for his own personal gain. She knows she will have to persuade Macbeth to murder Duncan in order for him to become king. Later, during the congratulatory dinner, Lady Macbeth convinces a hesitant Macbeth to execute Duncan. At first, Macbeth is hesitant because he thinks he is double crossing trust with the king, he is his kinsman, and tonight Duncan is his guest. Moreover, Duncan has done no wrong to deserve death. Macbeth confesses to Lady Macbeth he can not murder Duncan however, Lady Macbeth says, “Art thou afeard/…Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament

Many, who have read William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, remember the title character, Macbeth, as an evil, blood-thirsty tyrant who, in cold-blood, murders the previous king and goes on a murdering rampage to keep his throne. He is despised as a villain, who deserves his fate of death as delivered by the more virtuous Macduff. However, as evil as he seems, he was once a good person with a conscience. He was at first against the murder of Duncan and was once afraid of “horrible deeds” that he would commit. Rather than labeling him a villain, he is, in truth, a classic case of a tragic hero.

Macbeth’s desire for power drives him to many murderous actions, which eventually leads to corruption. Macbeth begins the play with pure intentions, and first, denies Lady Macbeth’s evil plan to murder King Duncan. Macbeth tells his wife, after her first try of persuading him, “We will proceed no further in this business, He hath honored me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all

Finally, the most crucial aspect of a tragic hero is his ability to evoke pity after his tragic downfall. This is afterall what makes the undoing of the hero so tragic, for at the very end he realizes his mistake and finally opens his eyes to the world around him. In regards to Macbeth, this revelation occurs a little too late. Only when Birnam wood moves up Dunsinane Hill does Macbeth realize that he has been manipulated by the three witches. At this point he starts to loose some faith, but he still holds tightly to the belief that “... none of woman born / Shall hurt [him]” (Act IV, Scene i, 80-81), and so rushes off into battle.

"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." This is the well-known quote by Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, about the path a man must take in becoming a tragic hero of literature. In his literary book, “Poetics,” Aristotle described the attributes of a true tragic hero. These were nobility, a relatable personality, a fatal character flaw, and the experience of a tragic fate with a gain in understanding from the downfall. He believed that only by possessing these attributes could an audience relate to a character. By sympathizing with the character, the audience can experience new understanding about some point of morality. Shakespeare followed Aristotle’s format in his play “Macbeth,” making the hero

Macbeth is a perfect example of Aristotle’s tragic hero. His flaws such as greed, violence, lust for power, and paranoia are ultimately what leads to our hero’s downfall. He starts out as a respected honorable warrior who lets himself become corrupted. The dramatic changes in Macbeth’s can be seen by the readers during his rise to power.

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character goes from being a virtuous war hero at the beginning of the story to a malevolent tyrant towards the end. This defines Macbeth as a tragic hero throughout the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Not only does he fit the definition of a tragic hero, but he also exhibits many important characteristics that shape this description. These characteristics include being an individual of high noble birth and incorporating many admirable “heroic” qualities.

Macbeth was a hero, that allowed his fatal flaws of greed and ambition to control him, but if the witches had not told Macbeth his “fate” then he would not have gone down such a dark path. In the Beginning, Macbeth was a good man, wanting to help his king and country. He,”...disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,...carved out his passage till he faced the slave” (Shakespeare 9). This says that, Macbeth puts a stop to a rebellion which allowed peace and justice to prevail. Then, Macbeth allowed his greed and ambition to control him. “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies” (Shakespeare 29). Macbeth expressed that he must accept his place or get rid of the obstacle

The term ‘tragic hero’ comes up in media reports and in daily conversations, but people forget the true meaning of the word and what truly characterizes someone as a tragic hero. In Macbeth, written by world famous playwright, William Shakespeare, Macbeth exemplifies the term tragic hero as he fits all the criteria set out by literary critics. Initially, he is a hero who fights in solidarity with his countrymen; he possesses tragic flaws that lead him from happiness to misery, and his ignorance of the truth ultimately leads others to pity and fear him.

Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy Macbeth is the story of a man who, because of his selfish ambition, murders his way to power only to suffer his downfall by the sword of fellow nobleman Macduff. This is only one reason why Macbeth is an example of the literary tragic hero. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he is of nobility, has a tragic flaw, and suffers his downfall because of his flaw.

The tragic hero has been a major storytelling tool in recent years that makes the audience relate to, respect, and feel sympathy for a character which is undone by the end of the story. But can this title be given to Macbeth, the titular hero of the Shakespeare play by the same name? Yes, absolutely- Shakespeare’s Macbeth follows this plot path in numerous ways. Throughout the play, we are introduced to Macbeth’s belovedness, the crushing of said established belovedness, and his own undoing.

Famous literary writer Shakespeare has written many works. The works of Shakespeare can be considered part of the literary canon. They are considered timeless because of their innovative use of characterisation and aesthetic elements. One such play is Macbeth still popular today because it provides insight into the human condition and the many readings of the eponymous protagonist that the play continues to generate through time.