Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

​Macbeth is a perfect example of a Shakespearean tragic hero, who possesses a tragic flaw that leads him to his downfall. A tragic hero is one who is born in a noble family with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw, a character trait that leads the hero to his or her downfall when overused. A tragic flaw can also be known as hamartia. This is a fatal flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero/heroine.

The tragedy Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, follows the rise and fall of a loyal Scottish warrior. Macbeth is portrayed as a man of multiple sides, presenting three main traits – bravery, ambition, and self-doubt – throughout the play. The character is an example of how ambition and guilt can have terrible effects on an individual lacking in strength of character. Although some people may perceive Macbeth as malicious, his weak character shows that he is incapable of conquering guilt and self-doubt. The prime themes of the play are: ambition, loyalty and betrayal, good and evil, appearance versus reality, supernatural and fate. Shakespeare presents these themes through the actions of Macbeth and their results: the corrupting effects

     A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

An important character in ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare was Macbeth. Macbeth is shown as the protagonist of the play and is the person who drives the plot of the drama. Macbeth changes dramatically throughout the play as in the start he is portrayed as the tragic hero who would do anything for his King and country. As the plays continue he becomes ambitious and, encouraged by a prophecy. After that, he ends up killing a lot of people/becoming a tyrant.

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.

Individuals continually deal with general events that affect their personalities. This can either strengthen an individual’s character or lead to one’s demise. William Shakespeare acknowledges these human experiences in The Tragedy of Macbeth with his focus on the protagonist, Macbeth. Fixating his focus on Macbeth, Shakespeare thoroughly portrays the protagonist as a frail human, easily influenced by his environment and personal relationships. Although Macbeth’s decisions determine his plight, he finds himself transgressing when he believes his prophesized throne is in danger. By eliminating what he perceives as threats, he sacrifices his honor, his friendship with Banquo, his wife, and his sanity, resulting in a personality change.

Macbeth is a tragic hero, in The Tragedy of Macbeth, as many people refer it as, has a main antagonist Macbeth who is by fault of character flawed and is destined to experience death, suffering, and downfall. And during the beginning of the play there was a supernatural force involved in giving Macbeth the temptation. And many can argue that the 3 witches in the beginning of the play made him do it but that’s not necessarily true they never forced his hand in the murder of King Duncan and the numerous murders he had involvement in. He did this on his own due to the lack of his loyalty, sanity, or whatever trait other people wish to give him. Regardless of what trait he lacks the story and Macbeth do follow in the criteria of a tragic hero.

The play ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare, is known as one of the Four Great Tragedies of Shakespeare. Tragedy defines the protagonist of a high rank who is essentially good, plummets because of a fatal flaw and causes consequences for everyone. The protagonist Macbeth, is controlled by others and this results in him being hopeless at the end. He is strongly induced by the prophecies the witches foretells, also, Lady Macbeth exerts her will on his choices. Thus, in the end, Macbeth feels hopeless and undervalues his life as a result of being controlled by others.

Imagine yourself on a tall building looking down with complete satisfaction; at the bottom are a lot of buildings and people that are under the command of you. All of a sudden, you feel a strong gush of wind and start to fall off the building and a face death that no one could have imagined happen. This is Macbeth in the tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play, Macbeth expresses all of Aristotle’s tragic hero qualities such as: meeting an honorable tragic death, having a great fall from a high height, and showing the tragic flaw of hubris.

A tragic hero is categorized as someone who has good intentions but ends up dying in an ungracious manner in which it’s least expected. In the story, Macbeth, William Shakespeare tells us a story of how ambition and determination can cause people to act outside of their character. The main character, Macbeth, is not the person we all assumed to believe he was. He showed that he was willing to do anything to achieve something, even if it meant he had to harm others. His ambition took over his morals, which is why his downfall was so devastating.

According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?

Back in the old days, in Stagira, a city in the north of Greece, a boy named Aristotle was born. Later on with all the knowledge he possessed Aristotle became one of the greatest philosophers and scientists. He is now referred to as the “ Father of western philosophy.” Part of the many things he did, Aristotle formalized a theory for Tragic Heroes, containing many different characteristics. Today, there are many tragic heroes in the world of literature but the one that is mostly forgotten is Macbeth. From what was concluded by Aristotle Macbeth is a Tragic hero at the beginning of the story but by the end he isn’t anymore.

A Tragic Hero is a common figure in many of Shakespeare’s works. A Tragic Hero is usually a figure of royalty, fame or greatness. This person is predominately good, but falls from prominence due to personality flaws that eventually lead to self-destruction.

The story of Macbeth has its share of twists and turns including some very strong ideas. However, through all these twists and turns the argument of if Macbeth is a tragic hero is still one of the most iconic arguments of all time. Which brings to the point of this essay, Macbeth is indeed the Tragic hero you don’t want to believe he is. So enough talking let’s dive into the argument of if Macbeth is tragic hero or not.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, malicious characters are portrayed as obviously evil and influential. Macbeth, however, is one character that is not represented in this way, in fact he is quite the opposite. The new king is seen as a victim of his foul wife’s influences and the witches prophecies but is really only supported by them and these ideas, leading him to make decisions based on evil ambition and a wicked desire for power. Readers are pushed to believe that Macbeth deserves sympathy, but as all humans do, Macbeth has free will allowing him to make his own decisions which means that if he were a victim, he would only be this due to his depraved actions.