Sad, Bad, or Mad? Do You Consider Macbeth to Be a Tragic Hero, Evil, or Bewitched?

     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.

After hearing the prophecy that he will become king, Macbeth resolves to leave his future up to fate proving his pride and prestige are very important to him. Once he is told of Malcolm being named successor to the throne, Macbeth decides that if he is going to reach his goal he cannot leave it up to luck. Again Macbeth’s resolve to murder Duncan wavers when he leaves the grand banquet to assess his situation and decide whether he wants to proceed. His arguments include wishing to keep his honor and not kill Duncan for Duncan is there ‘in double trust’. Thus, Macbeth is shown to be clinging to his honor. Finally, Macbeth must stand his ground one last time against his wife who uses tact to emasculate Macbeth. In his final attempt to stop the whole ordeal before it can start Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he does not want to ‘cast aside’ the honor he has just recently received. Unfortunately, Lady Macbeth will have none of what her husband is saying and so convinces Macbeth to follow through with his plan of murdering King Duncan. Hence, the audience is given the first example of how powerful selfish motives are and how quickly they can spread to others along with cause them to perform unthinkable

This shows that he is not entirely convinced about committing murder, but then Lady Macbeth sweeps away his rebellious thought, by telling him that Macbeth will strike whilst Duncan is asleep and ask’s why herself and Macbeth cannot kill Duncan whilst he is unprotected in his sleep, “What cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan?”

Macbeth states that he still has the choice whether or not to commit the murder, this disproving the notion that Lady Macbeth is causing him to do to the deed. Shakespeare uses another metaphor to compare the murder with bloody instructions being taught. Overall, Macbeth is foreshadowing his own demise. Macbeth begins to give reasons for and against Duncan’s murder. “He's here in double trust: / First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the deed;” (I.7.12-14). Macbeth states that Duncan trusts him as a friend and a loyal soldier and Duncan expects Macbeth to be loyal to him. Than Macbeth says, “then, as his host, / Who should against his murderer shut the door, / Not bear the knife myself.” (I.7.14-16). Macbeth conveys that he is Duncan’s host and should protecting Duncan against a murderer, rather than killing Duncan himself. This is a type of irony that Shakespeare is using in last two lines. Macbeth continues with reasons against the murder. “Besides, this Duncan / Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been / So clear in his great office” (I.7.16-18). Macbeth explains how Duncan has always been good to him and never abused his power. Macbeth now switches over to the topic of what will happen if Duncan is murdered. “that his virtues / Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off” (I.7.18-20). Shakespeare describes Duncan’s virtues as angels, which is a testimony to his good leadership.

Tragic Heroes are destined for a serious downfall and are the protagonists of a tragedy. Tragic heroes are heroes that get the most respect and power from people but can also lose everything and come crashing down because of their own mistakes. In the same way, we can see that in Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald both as tragic heroes. Macbeth is a superior general who is very well respected by people including the king of Scotland. He seeks even greater power, so he murders King Duncan along with many other individuals which causes suffering for himself and the kingdom. Eventually, Macbeth is murdered himself by his own nobles and soldiers because of his cruel deeds. Jay Gatsby, a tragic hero, runs illegal businesses to gain wealth, respect, and power to fulfill his dream of winning his Daisy’s heart. Gatsby achieves everything and does everything for Daisy but is unaware that Daisy will never be with him. Daisy indirectly causes Gatsby’s death, exemplifying Gatsby as a tragic hero. The two protagonists Macbeth and Gatsby are both portrayed as tragic heroes as both characters are ambitious, blind to reality and the witches and Lady Macbeth have an influence on Macbeth while Daisy has an influence on Gatsby.

A tragic hero by definition is ordinary person neither good nor bad, is in a better social standing, falls to misfortune, and contains a tragic flaw. This person goes through a series of reversals all the way up till they make an error in judgment. After their

Tragic heroes are the literary characters who suffer the most in a story, novel or a play. “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may, of course, be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” said the famous critic Northrop Frye. These literary characters are the essential piece of a tragedy.

"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall” (Aristotle). Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, is commonly known for its use of a not-so-heroic tragic hero. His personality leads many to believe he is not a tragic hero at all. Although many believe that Macbeth lacks true heroism, he is a tragic hero because his tragic flaw, reversal of fortune, and self-inflicted downfall.

Macbeth is also a tragic hero because his ambition causes the audience to feel pity for him, since his ambitious behaviour to become King had ended up driving him insane. Although Macbeth is originally depicted as a strong-willed and brave character, he becomes a tragic hero because of his blind ambition that leads him to madness. Ambition can both create and destroy. Macbeth is an overly ambitious character because he has no idea when

His morals lead him to do the things he feels is right. His ambition leads him to do whatever it takes to get to where he wants to be the quickest way possible. This is shown right after he meets the witches and starts contemplating killing Duncan. He says, “My thoughts whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function Is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is, but that is not” (I, iii, 138-141). Macbeth is thinking if he should or should not kill Duncan to become king.

Does Macbeth have the characteristics of this type of hero? A quick definition of a tragic hero is a person of high stature, is predominantly good but has a downfall, realizes the true situation he is in and fights the downfall. The character is held in high stature by his peers and others around him. Others think highly of him. The character is overall a good person but has flaws, just like everyone else.

In act 2 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have come to their decisions for killing King Duncan. His coming to their castle sets up the perfect opportunity for them to follow out with their plans. Through this act Macbeth both considers and doubts what he will do or has done. From the lyrics “Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back Though you know, I wish I could, Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked Until we close our eyes for good” relating it to where he is already committed by his wife to kill Duncan and there will be no rest to the evil unless death stands in his way. It is convinced to him that there is a need of this crown, “If Duncan hadn’t reminded me of my father when I saw him sleeping, I would have killed him myself.” showing that

the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth was a very relaxed and submissive person. He was not nearly as ego-centrical. He obviously had plans to murder Duncan, but he was not showing any visible hints of the planned attack. In Act One, Scene Four, Duncan calls Macbeth his “worthiest cousin”. This shows that Duncan completely trusted him. Macbeth replies with, “The service and the

A tragic hero is a hero in a story whose natural flaws or wrong judgments, associates with bad fate, causes his downfall or death. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are tragic heroes. In the late 1600s, there are a series of witch trials happens at Salem, MA. John Proctor, a farmer who lives in a farm with his wife Elizabeth Proctor, is the protagonist during the Salem witch trial. John is a candid, frank, but somewhat arrogant man. He has an affair with Abigail Williams, a 17-year-old girl who desires to have John and wants him so desperately. As the story develops, John also gets influenced by the hysteria within the town. He becomes a hero by save Elizabeth and other innocent people who are being accused by the court. However, John’s pride causes him to focus on his honor too much, which later on, causes a lot of troubles, and leads him to a tragic consequence. Miller wants to convey that a person will eventually pay for his flaws no matter what he does to make up. John Proctor’s affair with Abigail, his desire of saving other people, and his motivation of protecting his reputation, associates with his pride, eventually cause his death and make him a tragic hero.

Tragic Heroes The plays Hamlet and Macbeth by William Shakespeare have many comparisons. One such comparison is that the main characters in both plays are tragic heroes. A tragic hero is a character that has a tragic flaw that leads to their demise. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his indecisiveness which leads him questioning himself while Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition which leads to his guilt.