Macbeth Tragic Hero

Macbeth, an ironic tragedy of the 17th century, is perhaps one of the most appraised works by renowned playwright William Shakespeare. Such fame, though, can be justified through the play’s effective utilization of themes and their evocative subtext; however, Shakespeare particularly focusses on the theme of power and has done so with intent. Macbeth visualises power in two forms, being that of divine and supernatural. The play forms a representation that, alike with the socio-cultural beliefs of the Elizabethan era, divine power should not be tampered with. Otherwise, the consequences can be detrimental, as demonstrated by the painful ends of characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Both individuals use the process of illegitimate power to

From the start, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a brave and capable warrior, loyally serving King Duncan in battle against rebels and invaders. However, the seeds of Macbeth’s demise are evident even as the witches’ prophecy awakens his aspiration for power. Once planted, this “vaulting ambition” comes to dominate Macbeth’s spirit. Marjorie Garber describes the “terrible anxiety that begins to form” in Macbeth's mind following the witches’ prediction, as he contemplates violating both moral law and his own kinship ties to seize the throne. (Shakespeare After All)

As works of literature mature, the line between good and bad begins to become unclear. With Shakespeare’s works especially, things are usually not what they initially seem; a character may reveal to be the protagonist, antagonist, or even an anti-hero. A character may take actions that border on the antagonistic side, but still be the protagonist in which the audience is emotionally, though not always ethically, invested in. An anti-hero can be viewed simply as a protagonist who lies somewhere on the spectrum of villain and hero; never quite touching each end. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare makes it clear that Macbeth is really an anti-hero through his changing public appearance, his encounters with the witches, and his feelings concerning his own actions.

“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.” The words that slipped through the lips of three witches plotting their next unnatural disaster. This disaster is unlike any other. It takes place on a 2D surface in a cottage late at night on the desk of William Shakespeare. The candle wax drips on the floor and he scribbles MacBeth’s next mistake and murder. The faults of MacBeth flow through the hard paper and bold ink revealing MacBeth has now turned his Hero’s Journey into a tragedy. A Hero’s Journey is a series of steps and events that happen to a main character through their time in the palms of our hands under a glowing light. The Hero’s Journey explains allies, enemies, tests and more. However, MacBeth, was no hero.

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.

In the book Macbeth it shows us that Macbeth will do anything for power, even kill people? This hero shows that you can have many ups and downs in life, Macbeth shows tragic fall in many cases in the book. It also shows how Macbeth makes a lot of free choices and he picks the bad choice and kills people and this makes him a bad person and later on gets punishment for his actions. Macbeth demonstrates all aspects of a Tragic hero.

Initially, Macbeth’s ambition for power is subdued by his longing to hold onto his honor and dignity. Unfortunately, Macbeth lets go of his integrity and kills the unguarded Duncan and so in an attempt to keep the guilt of his deeds to himself, distances himself from not only his wife but also has one of his closest friends murdered. Finally, Macbeth’s thirst for power and greatness emptied him of everything he had; dignity, respect, and honor. Ultimately, motivation that is founded on selfish reasons leads one down a path that strippes one of everthing they have and so takes away any meaning to

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

     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.

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

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.

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.

in all purity. This is mainly due to the fact that he was willing to

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 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.