Macbeth does not Follow Aristotle's Standards for a Tragedy
There have been many great tragic authors throughout history: Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles from ancient Greece; Corneille and Hugo from France; Grillparzer and Schiller from Germany; and Marlowe, Webster, and Shakespeare from England. From this long list of men, Shakespeare is the most commonly known. Many Shakespearean critics agree that Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are great tragedies. Many critics also claim that Macbeth is a tragedy, but if one follows Aristotle's standards for a tragedy, Macbeth would not be a tragedy
To really determine if Macbeth is a tragedy according to Aristotle, one must first look at his guidelines. The majority of Aristotle's standards
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Although Macbeth as a whole is not a tragedy according to Aristotle's standards, parts of the Shakespearean play are. The first, and most obvious, aspect of the play that fits Aristotle's characteristics, is that Macbeth is of the elite class. Already in Act I scene ii, Shakespeare makes this known to the reader by Duncan's words,"And with this former title (Thane of Cawdor) greet Macbeth". Along with his new title, Macbeth already had the title of Thane of Glamis. During Duncan's and Ross' conversation in Act I scene ii, they described Macbeth with words such a "noble" and "brave". This emphasizes Macbeth's reputation as a great soldier, which in turn strengthens his social position. The second characteristic that follows Aristotle's guidelines is Macbeth's downfall. During the play, two downfalls occur: that of Macbeth's sanity and physical being. Macbeth's sanity first started to become shaky while killing Duncan. This is seen during his hallucination when he said, "Is this a dagger which I see before me/ The handle toward my hand? Come let me clutch thee.../... Art thou not, fatal vision sensible..." (s.1.33-4,36). "...'Sleep no more!/ Macbeth does murder sleep'"(2.2.34-5), or his insomnia is also a sign of his diminishing sanity. The downfall of Macbeth's physical being is his death, which is brought on by Macduff's sword. Thirdly, Aristotle believed that the tragic hero's downfall had to be brought on by a fatal
Every noise appalls Macbeth, and he feels mad, as his wife predicted. Furthermore, the contrast between their views makes Macbeth's guilt even more tragic, because while his wife was the one spurring the murder on, she enjoys blamelessness as he is eaten alive by his crime. The most tragic part is the guilt combined with every other element: death, insanity, being pushed into evil- which at the end, adds up to a man who reaches too far and will end up losing everything. It is the fall of a mighty hero crumbling, Aristotle’s
The tragedy of Macbeth comes about because of a single event in his life. If that one moment, the meeting with the witches on the heath, had not happened then Macbeth would no doubt have gone on to be a loyal and respected subject of King Duncan and, later, King Malcolm. However, the meeting did happen and the powerful force of ambition was unleashed within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It is the combination of these two factors, the meeting with the witches and Macbeth's own inner demons, that lead to tragedy, and make the play 'terrifying' in the Aristotelian sense.
Aristotle and Shakespeare lived ages apart, but Aristotle had a great affect on Shakespeare's plays. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth, the character of Macbeth is consistent with Aristotle's definition of the 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
A “tragedy, for Shakespeare, is the genre of uncompensated suffering” (Dutton and Howard, 2003, p. 9). To really understand the play Othello is to truly understand a tragedy; thus, this researcher will analyze Aristotle’s view point and compare it to phrases (or quotes) from Shakespeare’s Othello.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is definitely a tragedy, but not just specifically for Macbeth, but also for many of the other characters. The play is a tragedy for characters such as; Banquo, Macduff, Duncan, Malcolm, and Donalbain. A tragedy is when a character and or several characters are suffering from a considerable amount of catastrophe, affliction, adversity and pain. This is normally not the characters fault, but while the audience is being entertained from the suffering of these characters, or at least feeling bad for them. Each of the characters mentioned before had experienced some type of suffering, whether it was their own death, or the death of another character could be someone very close to them. For example, the audience feels calamity
The Shakespearean play "Macbeth" follows what is expected in a Shakespearean tragedy by containing characteristics similar to all Shakespearean tragedies. These are the fatal flaws in Macbeth, the fall of noble, respectable man with great qualities, Macbeth, and Macbeth's terrible murder of the King in order to obtain the crown, which causes absolute chaos.
Mental deterioration can wreak havoc on the human mind, causing unwieldy actions and harm on others. Macbeth is a fifteenth century play written by William Shakespeare. The play is a tragedy about a Scottish general named Macbeth. The play follows Macbeth as he begins to rise to power after he kills a rebel named McDonwald the Thane of Cawdor. Shortly after Macbeth’s major victory, he comes across the wyrd sisters who speak of his future success as the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King of Scotland. As a reward for his success King Duncan crowned Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. As a result Macbeth is set on a path of death and destruction with one goal in mind, to become king. In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth’s mental deterioration displays the
Both Macbeth and Othello are prominent Jacobean tragedies that William Shakespeare created with notable tragic protagonists. The play Macbeth is an excellent work that closely follows Aristotle’s norms. Macbeth is a brave warrior in King Duncan’s Army who compromises his honour and neglects his moral responsibilities in the attainment of power and position which
Although William Shakespeare created the play, Macbeth, to be a tragedy, the tragic hero can hardly be considered to be one. For the entirety of one of Shakespeare’s most magnificent works, Macbeth is controlled and manipulated into committing atrocious acts that the witches and his wife desire. He is powerless to their tricks and through their sorcery/cunning words and his own morals (or lack thereof) “sustain[s] the central paradox–the heroic murderer” (Cusick). Despite the fact that he laments the loss of his king, Duncan, he still continues down his path of evil that only has one ending: his death. Although Macbeth gains a few insights on his inner self, his lack of ability to resist manipulation, willingness to kill, combined with his
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
Aristotle is known widely for developing his ideas on tragedy. He recorded these ideas in his Poetics in which he comments on the plot, purpose, and effect that a true tragedy must have. The structure of these tragedies has been an example for many writers including Shakespeare himself. Many of Shakespeare’s plays follow Aristotelian ideas of tragedy, for instance Macbeth does a decent job in shadowing Aristotle’s model.
Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy involves three main subjects: values, characters, and a conclusion; William Shakespeare’s Macbeth incorporates these critical topics. The values are supernatural powers, which determine what is right and what is wrong. The character in a tragedy must be noble by birth and by action. In the conclusion, the character must understand why he or she fell, accept the punishment, and order must be restored. By including these, Macbeth fits Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy.