Shakespeare's Macbeth As A Tragic Hero

Shakespeare bases his eponymous protagonist on the Aristotelian concept of the tragic hero and through his realistic characterisation of Macbeth portrays the issue of heroism. Macbeth's status in society as Thane of Glamis and according to King Duncan 'valiant cousin, worthy gentleman', all expressions of praise, positions Macbeth on the brink of possible downfall. Macbeth is a person of higher social

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

     Macbeth’s downfall begins when his ambition takes over his conscience and leads him to kill King Duncan. He gets tangled up in a web of death and lies. Once Duncan is murdered, it only leads to more ruthless crimes committed by Macbeth against his loved ones. He feels the need to kill off Banquo and his son because they know too much and are a possible threat to his regime.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Macbeth’s selfishness and greed also cause him his greatest downfall ending up in his death. Macbeth’s greed of having power caused Macbeth ambition to do whatever he could in his power to get what he wanted allowing him to have the guts to kill Banquo and Duncan’s wife and daughter. Macbeth’s greed of power and riches that come from his wife degrading him, making him feel like nothing causes his ambition for success. Also Macbeth’s foolishness and selfishness cause everything to come crashing down on Macbeth. Macbeths selfishness and foolishness causes him into killing Banquo because he wants all the power and money for himself and Macbeths’ selfishness in killing Duncan’s son knowing he will be the next to air the throne makes Macbeth feel extremely greedy making him kill Duncan family hoping that he will forever be king. Macbeth’s foolishness of believing the witches that nothing could kill him and that he was basically immortal unless the forest moved. Also ruined Macbeth because it made him cocky and not afraid of anything at all and when fear disappears from your life you’re looking for trouble and will eventually get hurt.

Macbeth’s tragic flaw was his ambition when he used it for good and he came back from the war as a hero. Macbeth was named thane of Cawdor by the king. Duncan thanked both of them and said they were heroes in

Macbeth shows that he is noble. His is the King’s cousin meaning he was born noble. “For brave Macbeth – well he deserve that name – …“, said the Captain in act one scene two. The Captain was explaining to King Duncan Macbeth bravery in battle. Macbeth was looked up to and admired by many people for being

Macbeth places his life on the line, going to extreme lengths, to protect King Duncan and the safety of Scotland. He puts everything he has into the war, out of personal desire; he is not conscripted like the men in the First World War, forced to act against his will. Instead, he performs this act of bravery for the greater good and not because there are strings attached. Furthermore, as a result of Macbeth’s accomplishment, King Duncan pronounces him Thane of Cawdor. According to author Donald Ricomi’s article, “Governance and the Warrior Ethic in Macbeth and Henry V”, “the tribal warrior’s ethic is defined by reassuring absolutes of blood and kinship, with loyalty to the clan trumping other moral claims“ (Ricomini). Macbeth proves to have the “true warrior ethic” due to the fact he is tough, courageous, and ambitious enough to kill Macdonwald, and when the going gets tough, he fights until he successfully completes his desire, which is in fact what it takes to be classified as a warrior and not just a regular soldier. What really sets him apart though is his powerful loyalty to his clan, not giving up, and fighting to save his beloved Scotland. Even when all odds are against him, and he is facing the chance of being destroyed by the Norwegian king, his powerful army and traitors such as Macdonwald, Macbeth stays strong and fights. Evidently, in stepping up voluntarily to defend

After killing Duncan, he finds himself unable to sleep, saying, “Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.’” (II,II,34-35) Essentially, Macbeth is saying in killing Duncan Macbeth also murdered sleep, because both were innocent and good. What draws this to ambition is what comes later. Macbeth begins to feel less and less guilt for the people he kills, becoming a monster and losing all sight of the honor he had before. This leads to his downfall as he starts to kill people who pose no threat to him only out of fear or

Macbeth was loyal and noble warrior with great fighting skills who was apart of King Duncan’s army. In

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

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.