In the play Macbeth, Macbeth can be viewed as either tragic hero or villain. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement that isn’t smart and leads to ruination for him or her. The character is usually doomed for downfall or suffering. A villain is a malicious person who is dedicated or true to committing a crime or sin. A villain is also someone who comes up with an evil plot. A villain does something because they are truly committed. A villain and a tragic hero are different but they both have to do with evilness or doing something that causes a problem. I will prove to you why he is a tragic hero. Macbeth is a noble leader who is Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cowdor. He is a brave military leader but undependable when …show more content…
When Macbeth wrote her the letter telling her, she lost her mind. She loses control after finding out the news. She calls against spirits to possess her so she can do whatever she wants. Macbeth is easily influenced by his wife. He tells her that he can not kill the king anymore. She starts to tell him that he was a man when he had the desire to kill the king. When Lady Macbeth tells him that and the plan to kill the king, he is ready to do it. He just told his wife he could not kill the king and now with her forceful encouragement, he is ready to murder. Lady Macbeth already thinks Macbeth is weak, a good man, and is not capable of murder. She also says he has to get other people to do the dirty work for him. She knows that she can control him and make him do what she says. Furthermore, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition. His drive and desire to be number one leads him to killing the king. This is why his tragic flaw causes a downfall. If Macbeth was not so ambitious nor had his wife in his ear telling him wrong, he would have never killed the king. He knew he was not sure if he wanted to kill the king. That is why once the killing was done, he felt guilty and had some regret. His ambition to become king made him do one of the worse things he could have ever imagined. This demonstrates how Macbeth is a tragic hero. His tragic flaw is his eagerness and aspiration to be
She is the strong influence that brainwashed Macbeth to murder his lord, his master, King Duncan, with his own bare hands. The audience is led to think that Lady Macbeth is the main culprit as she thinks up all her grand plans and devious schemes. She is, moreover, a sly person, the person behind the scenes and her husband is easily manipulated and is pushed around by her. Just prior to all of this happening, Lady Macbeth was a very loving wife, and she wanted all the best for her husband. However, after Macbeth send the letter containing the witches prophecies, she turns into a monster who is just as ambitious as her husband and wants to do whatever it takes to “help” him get Duncan out of his way. Although, she take it too far, she adds pressure on Macbeth to commit a crime he is unsure of doing. She even goes to the point of calling him a coward, mocking his bravery and masculinity. Lady Macbeth even says in one of her soliloquies that she wants to be released of all her femininity, morals and values so that she can agree and help Macbeth with the deed. It is certain the Lady Macbeth’s ambition is controlling her actions and
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.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
Which is not the case instead of a villain Macbeth is a tragic hero because he does still have a good side to him, however small it might be, but in the beginning of the play King Duncan gave him the title of Thane of Cawdor and even says himself “you have done so much for me so fast that it has been impossible to reward you properly. If you deserve less, then perhaps my payment would have matched your deeds! All I can say is that I own you more hat I can ever repay.” And shortly this Macbeth is talking to Banquo battle they just fought and suddenly 3 witches appear to Macbeth and Banquo and say “Hail to you (Macbeth), Thane of Cawdor.”(Second Witch) And at this point in time Macbeth hadn’t received the news of his promotion. Then they say “All hail, Macbeth, the future king!”(Third Witch) Now Macbeth is a little bit concerned, then Banquo ask what will happen to him “You are not as happy as Macbeth, yet much happier.” They say, at this point Macbeth has had enough and attacks the witches and they vanish. After this encounter with the witches Macbeth due to a lack of a certain character trait he begins to think about killing the king and possibly his two sons. He tells his wife about this prophecy and say that he’s not even going to think about it but because he destined to fall he gives into his impulses and kills King Duncan. Which is further evidence that he is a tragic hero not a
A tragic hero is someone whos fatal flaw, combined with other external factors, bring about ones demise, which is demonstrated by Macbeth in Shakespeares play Macbeth. Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous, brave and noble man who was haunted by superstition and an overpowering ambition. Factors that contributed to the degeneration of Macbeth include the prophecies told to him by the witches, the influence and manipulation of his wife, Lady Macbeth, and finally, Macbeths deep driven intent to become king. Although seen as a daring and valiant hero at the beginning of the play, Macbeths evil desires and long time ambition causes his downfall. Even though Macbeth seems like a malevolent and murderous tyrant towards the end of the play, he
Another reason I believe he is a tragic hero is because he is relatable in a way that the audience can empathize with him. This is apparent because Macbeth craved power and still today most, if not all people crave power of some sort. Also people who gain power in
Macbeth, while not believed to be inherently evil by most, falls to his tragic flaw, his ambition. Macbeth’s ambition develops over the course of the play as the witches make more predictions pertaining to his power. His ambition turns him into a cold blooded killer, and a paranoid dictator. He ultimately meets his demise as a result of his lust for power. Macbeth’s ambition and eminent downfall make him a classic Shakespearean tragic hero.
Macbeth is an extremely loyal and brave soldier who would die for King Duncan. Initially, he did not have the idea that he wanted to become king, which kept him virtuous. He would have
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.
She creates a plan and Macbeth is doubtful about the plan to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth overwhelms Macbeth with comments about his courage. Going as far as telling him that his love for her his nothing if he refuses to kill the King. This proves her to be controlling using his own weakness against him. She was confident that her ridicule could gain her control over her husband to get him to do whatever she wants him to do.
Otherwise, the reader will feel that his downfalls are unjust (Markham, “What's It All About, Shakespeare”). While I read Macbeth, I felt sympathy for Macbeth and felt bad for his situation. Obviously, some people will think that he is overly ambitious and that they will only see what he has commited. In truth, Macbeth was not really that virtuous of a person. First and foremost, he killed King Duncan. Although I thought he was just being controlled by the witches and was a victim to divine powers which caused him to be promoted to Thane of Cawdor at exactly the rigth time and also to his ambitious wife, I realized that Macbeth was unable to make good decisions because he succumbed to the pressure from the witches and his wife. A weak Macbeth gives in to his wife's demanding, manipulation and reluctantly agrees to participate in the murder. In Act 1 , he is a weak, cowardly man which evokes my pity for him. He was easily influenced and his greed is manipulated by his wife. He doesn’t have the will or strength to stand up for himself from his initial beliefs. The witches played on his insatiable greed and his desire of power. They tricked him into believing that he was infallible. As a result of their slippery ways, Macbeth lost his dignity, and his fame. Witches are usually depicted as evil, and it seems sad that such a excellent warrior was manipulated by their words. Granted, Macbeth was not the smartest man in
Throughout the story Macbeth could show a true example of a tragic hero in William Shakespeare's story but i do not believe he is. To understand why Macbeth could be shown as a tragic hero in shakespeare’s work it’s important to know what exactly a tragic hero is. A tragic hero is someone who shows greatness and royalty. All together someone who is good but fails in some way due to not being as perfect as they thought. From messing up and causing a big failure in their position of loyalty and leadership.
Macbeth is best known as a tragic hero because he fits into all the elements of a tragic hero which are, high social rank, tragic flaw, suffers complete ruin or death and faces downfall with courage and dignity. Macbeth has a high social rank in the beginning of the play he started out as the Thane of Glamis then was promoted to Thane of Cawdor by the king, and then he played fouly for the crown. In this case the king sent Ross to deliver a message that said “And for and earnest of greater honor, he bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor. ”(1.3.104-105)
Macbeth as a Tragic Hero Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century, the play shows the strong pull that desire for power can have over a person. Macbeth, the title character of the play, is shown as being the villain. Through learning the play it is clear to see that rather than being an evil character, Macbeth is a tragic hero, if it wasn’t for his meeting with the witches and the prophecies they told him and his wife then the play would have had a very different ending Firstly, something that shows Macbeth is a tragic hero is that he must ultimately be responsible for the deed, which begins his downfall. The first deed which symbolizes Macbeth's downfall is when he encounters the witches and listens to the prophecies that they tell him about him becoming king.
Macbeth is a tragic hero for the following reasons that will be listed in this paragraph, please take these reasons into consideration. At the start of Macbeth, you see him kill a traitor that threatened the king of Scotland (Duncan), from the beginning we all see Macbeth is a hero. However, in Act 1 Scene 3 on line 86 Macbeth runs into witches which tell him he shall be king and this leads to the following dialogue of “Malcom your children shall be kings” which signals Macbeths start as a tragic hero. Now if we go even further into the story of Macbeth you also hear Macbeth say “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself” (Act 1 scene 7 lines 26-29). This line from the story shows you Macbeth’s greatest character flaw which is essential to a tragic hero. However, even with strong evidence like this there are still people who refuse to believe Macbeth is a tragic hero for the following reasons.