Essay on Shakespeare's Macbeth as a Tragic Hero

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

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.

     The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Macbeth’s achieves his long time desire to be king, but his tragic flaw brings him to ruin. His character changes drastically during the play. At

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.

"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." This is the well-known quote by Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, about the path a man must take in becoming a tragic hero of literature. In his literary book, “Poetics,” Aristotle described the attributes of a true tragic hero. These were nobility, a relatable personality, a fatal character flaw, and the experience of a tragic fate with a gain in understanding from the downfall. He believed that only by possessing these attributes could an audience relate to a character. By sympathizing with the character, the audience can experience new understanding about some point of morality. Shakespeare followed Aristotle’s format in his play “Macbeth,” making the hero

As the play starts off, the reader learns about Macbeth from another soldier. The captain tells the King how fierce and brave Macbeth fought in battle. We learn that our protagonist can be quite violent, once we hear that he put his enemy’s head on a pike. King Duncan shows how impressed with the actions of Macbeth and says, “O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!” This lets the reader know that either the king is very close to Macbeth, or they are blood relatives. Up to this point in the play Macbeth is considered a hero, but that will all start to change once Macbeth stumbles upon a few conniving witches.

Worthy gentleman!” is King Duncan’s compliment to Macbeth that showed in very beginning of the play.(I.ii.24) Duncan, as the king of the Scotland, is fully appreciates Macbeth because his brave behavior in the battle. His words directly shows Macbeth’s importance to Duncan even to the Kingdom. He is such a responsible man that willing to sacrifice himself to protect

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character goes from being a virtuous war hero at the beginning of the story to a malevolent tyrant towards the end. This defines Macbeth as a tragic hero throughout the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Not only does he fit the definition of a tragic hero, but he also exhibits many important characteristics that shape this description. These characteristics include being an individual of high noble birth and incorporating many admirable “heroic” qualities.

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.

The Macbeth character in Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tragic hero. Aristotle's theory of a tragedy ]has tiers that make someone a tragic hero macbeth falls under those tiers so macbeth is a tragic hero

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main characters capture a wide variety of emotions during events that result in Macbeth gaining power of the throne followed by mad chaos and destruction. Macbeth falls under the description of a tragic hero because his life is interfered by the witches and is destined to fail from the beginning of the play, he still is a hero who has hubris and who once had honor, and he has a tragic flaw; his wife.

A tragic hero can be described as a character who starts as an individual of noble stature, who then endures a downfall in fault of their flaws leading to self-destruction. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth can be given the title of a tragic hero. Macbeth is a man of greatness is seen as a royal in Scotland. He is considered very courageous, honored, dignified holds a recognized name. He fights well for the country and brings pride to those around him. Though being a man of greatness, the personal flaws of Macbeth such as impatience, ambition and the manipulation of others, makes him a tragic hero.

Literature is filled with tragic heroes who many can relate to throughout their lives. Shakespeare is no stranger to tragic heroes. Shakespeare’s story of Macbeth is a tale of a man, Macbeth, who learned about his fate of becoming King of Scotland from the Three Weird Sisters prophecy. Throughout the story, Macbeth fulfills the prophecy of becoming king but also brings harm to many individuals that trust him during the process. His destiny is reached when he murders King Duncan and claims the throne.

An aristotelian tragic hero attempts to make good choices, but ends up suffering because of an inescapable fate or internal flaws. In Macbeth, Macbeth knows regicide is amoral, but after Lady Macbeth taunts him, his hubris causes him to give in. The Weird Sisters predict his inescapable fate and make Macbeth feel over confident when they tell him he will be king and that he can not be harmed by anyone born of a woman. Macbeth exemplifies some of the characteristics of an aristotelian tragic hero through his decision making process, his excessive pride, as well as, when his inevitable fate causes him to fall.