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.
Initially, Macbeth is introduced to the play as a noble war hero with endless talent as a tactician, a truly admirable character. In an early scene of the play, the sergeant speaks very highly of Macbeth despite not knowing him very well personally. Dying from a fatal wound and explaining what happened, he says “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)/… fix’d [the enemy’s] head on our battlements!” (I.ii.15-23). This shows Macbeth has a strong following filled with admirers despite the fact many have probably not even met him. Demonstrating morality, innocence, and a lack of malicious intent, upon hearing the prophecy for the first time from the three witches, Macbeth questions it at first. Speaking aside to Banquo, Macbeth says “This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill; cannot be good: if ill/Why hath it given me earnest of success.../If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair” (I.iii.130-135). By questioning the witches’ prophecy
Just as the character spectrum flows from hero to villain, Macbeth also gradually makes his way down the line. In the very beginning of the play (before making his appearance), Macbeth’s fellow Scots and lords praise him for his loyalty and noble deeds. Here, it is made clear that the public initially views him as a heroic figure who is loyal to Scotland; “for brave Macbeth, (well he deserves that name)”(9) Admittedly, Macbeth does unseam a man “from the nave to th’ chops”(9), however this is considered an act of valor in the service of his country and his king. However, Macbeth’s loyalties soon become questionable, as he plots to and then commits the murder of his honored king, Duncan. At this point, the audience
“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.
The titular character in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a typical hero who undergoes a series of nasty situations, and gradually loses his humanity in the process. Although he begins the play as a traditional hero, he most certainly does not retain that title towards the end.
A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat (). In the play Macbeth, the main character is Macbeth who is a Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. Macbeth is known to King Duncan and everyone else as courageous and a delightful man, but his dark side is brought about by ambition. In the end, Macbeth dies a noble death, but is he a tragic hero or an evil villain who died. “There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the near in blood, the nearer bloody” (2.3.134-135). This shows how every man can either be good or bad. Macbeth is a tragic hero in the play Macbeth because he has high social status, a tragic flaw, and faces his or her downfall with courage and dignity. In a moment, Macbeth’s character of noble birth will support his position as a tragic hero.
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is a famous tragedy of a power craving man, who would do anything to achieve greatness - even kill. Most readers would think that Macbeth is outlined in one specific way that cannot be changed. To many readers, Macbeth can be considered a tragic hero. In some minds, Lady Macbeth can be considered a tragic hero because, she is a strong character with a high social rank that causes her to essentially create her own downfall, and feels guilty for her actions, once her inevitable downfall leads to death, she pity arouses in the readers’ hearts.
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
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, written in the 1600's is a perfect example of Shakespeare's ability to manipulate his audience through creating a tragic hero. A tragic hero who, because of a flaw, tumbles from a well-respected hero to a cowardless murderer. It is through Shakespeare's manipulation of figurative language, dramatic conventions and social expectations of the seventeenth century, do the audience witness the demise of this mixed up man. Macbeth's persona of the tragic hero is enhanced even more when the characters around him influence his decisions, creating mayhem inside his mind and disorder throughout Scotland. Shakespeare positions his audience to respond to the central theme: the struggle between good and evil, by
Throughout a variety of Shakespeare’s tragedies, the audience is presented with a protagonist who appears to be a “tragic hero” in the overall play. In other words, this character is one who has made an error in his judgement, providing that this error eventually leads to their own ruin or destruction. Within Macbeth, Macbeth the character is regarded as a tragic hero, but with the distinct and evident explanation of his evil and the succession of his acts of violence, it may not be as clear cut as to whether he is a tragic hero or not. Though Macbeth does commit an error that leads to his eventual destruction, he knows that his judgement is evil and he is aware of the nature of the deed that he wishes to commit in order to reach his ambitions. His knowledge of the nature of his thoughts and actions first appears after an incident he experiences with his imagination and in fact, imagination plays a big role in the motivating identity for his will to commit regicide. Imagination begins by acting as a self-contradicting identity by providing a form of motivation, but also contributing to some hesitation towards the murderous act. As the play progresses though, it becomes solely a motivating identity towards the evil that contributed to the deterioration of Macbeth, and it is this resulting torment that becomes evidence of what evil does onto Macbeth’s mind and heart.
Macbeth’s major flaws are his ambition and impressionability. Due to their flaws, a Tragic Hero’s actions are often atrocious and cause them to battle with their conscience after their desires have been accomplished. These battles with their conscience evoke empathy from the audience. A Shakespearean Tragic Hero will always lose their life in the end of the play as a result of re-establishment of what is good in the play. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title
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.
A Tragic Hero is a main character(protagonist) in any literature who comes in a miserable or unhappy ending, usually death(catastrophe). They are generally a person of importance in society, usually means being a king, duke, prince, company owner, etc. In the play, Macbeth, Macbeth is the epitome of being a tragic hero because he is the protagonist who comes to an unhappy ending, gets the part of being king, and suffers from his tragic flaw: weakness of character.