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Shakespeare's Macbeth does not Follow Aristotle's Standards for a Tragedy

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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 …show more content…

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

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