To What Extent Is Macbeth 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.

Macbeth’s character has developed significantly up to the second act. We are first introduced to Macbeth character in a way that we view him as powerful and Nobel. We get this idea from the quote “oh valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” which is what he is described as by Duncan, who at the time is the king. From this quote Macbeth is portrayed as a loyal and heroic figure who has done much for many, however as we know this was not a smart move for Duncan to make as it makes him come across and weak and seems like Duncan should be giving Macbeth a higher title, which is what the witches had told him before. In addition, this idea of the king complementing Macbeth about all the good that he has done seems to trigger the belief that Macbeth has the ability to be king, even in the eyes of Duncan who is so ecstatic what he has done for the county.

Banquo, and his family to make a point that he was a masculine man. He felt that if he didn’t kill King Duncan and the others, he wouldn’t be a man. He trying to prove to be a man lead to his downfall as Jarold Ramsey said “A man’s suffering may lie in the reality of his human worth, as it has been revealed, tested, and affirmed in the course of his suffering” (Ramsey). He didn’t know that all the power of being a man would lead him to a downfall. All that power he had, lead up to his death. He let him man ego get the best of him. If he would have made better decides, he would have the power of become a King. He should have came up with something that `would have worked not kill King Duncan and the

Macbeth is truly loved by the king, as the speaker reveals in act 1. Now one may ask, what is Macbeth's tragic mistake? He is an ambitious man who is willing to do what is best for the country. But almost right after hearing the witches' prophecy, he contemplates the king's end. There are instances where he is having a tug of war with his conscience. He wants be the emperor. But in order to do that, he has to kill the king; but his wife ends up killing the king. Later in the story Macbeth can be identified as a liar also to get his wife out of the blame of murder. But the tragic part plays into the story after Macbeth is crowned king. Many more actions from Macbeth show the negativity that has built up in the hero. He has the wisdom and restraint to stagger in his ambitious drives. But no, Evil waits patiently in the wings as good distorts. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted to show that man is in conflict with himself against the force of evil in his own heart and that evil has many faces. The monster identified here would be Macbeth’s guilt. This guilt ate up the person he was before and made him grow restless until his death.

Macbeth was an honorable warrior, content to be fighting to protect King Duncan and Scotland, Duncan though of Macbeth as one of the finest soldiers in the land fearing no man nor enemy that came his way. Macbeth being unsure of himself made him morally ambiguous he knew what he was doing was wrong but at the same time he wanted more power,respect,to please his wife that at the same time the murder of duncan didn't seem wrong. The murders that were planned by macbeth shows an evil persona taking upon him he wanted power,to be a great king macbeth didn't let anyone get in his way of achieving that goal even if it meant killing friends,families nothing mattered but the crown. We can’t blame Sir Macbeth for his behavior besides if you were promised,fame fortune, and everything that came with it what how far would you go to get

Finally, the most crucial aspect of a tragic hero is his ability to evoke pity after his tragic downfall. This is afterall what makes the undoing of the hero so tragic, for at the very end he realizes his mistake and finally opens his eyes to the world around him. In regards to Macbeth, this revelation occurs a little too late. Only when Birnam wood moves up Dunsinane Hill does Macbeth realize that he has been manipulated by the three witches. At this point he starts to loose some faith, but he still holds tightly to the belief that “... none of woman born / Shall hurt [him]” (Act IV, Scene i, 80-81), and so rushes off into battle.

Here I stand today, before a nation, before beloved brothers and sisters, friends and family, Thanes and Generals, in mourning and anguish for the passing of its King. Not only will Macbeth be known as a dauntless soldier far worthy of any heroics, he had endured till the very end with strong inimitable and individual pride towards his cause and his country. Macbeth was able to firmly grasp his morals and ethics that shaped him in everyday life. A truly gentle heart, that Scotland has annihilated and perished, but shall always be remembered and cherished, not forgotten and shamed upon.

At the beginning of the play you can see that Macbeth is a kind hearted spirit who does well to serve those who he cares for. There is no question that he is a man who has a good heart and this is especially shown when his wife, in the thought of her husband killing Duncan for the throne, says that he may not do it because of this kind hearted affection. This is supported in act one scene five of the play (lines 16-18) when lady Macbeth says, "Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." Here, you can see that Lady Macbeth doubt's her husband's ambitious side to do what he needs to get the throne. However, after he agrees to killing Duncan, he seems to turn his whole entire personality around.

Macbeth is very distinct character the thing that makes him different from all the other characters is the amount of ambition he has. The biggest ambition that he has is to give Scotland a new king and he wants to become the one that has all the power over them. The first thing that he does is kill King Duncan  so he can get the throne and then he kills his best friend so he won't tell anyone. Most people wouldn't be willing to do the things he did because it was very dark and evil so they just wouldn't have the heart or dedication to do something so terrible it just shows how much becoming the king and taking over the throne meant to him. The witches brought on the thirst so they basically killed the king. If they would have never told macbeth that it was fate for him  to be king he never would of killed the king, or anyone else that he killed. Once he thought he could become king he couldn't get it out of his head and once his wife pushed him to do it he went through with it. Macbeth gets more evil as the play goes on. He became the villain in the play because he killed the king and he also killed his best friend Banquo, and he reached his highest point of evil when he killed Macduff’s wife and child. He made very bad decisions since he made those decisions he had to fight very hard to keep his position as the king, so he didn't let anything get in his

“They have tied me to a stake.I cannot fly. But, bear-like, I must fight the course. What is he, that was not born of women? Such a one, am I to fear, or none.” In the story, the Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth the noble character itself would be considered a tragic hero. He gets karma in many ways and the situation that happens, he must handle. He ends up broken and alone that is expected with whereabouts of everything.

But there was one small problem: Scotland already had a King, and a good one at that. His name was Duncan. Macbeth started to think about killing him, but then decides he can’t, because he is being so kind to him and his family. Lady Macbeth does not help the situation by saying “When you durst do it, then you are a man” (Shakespeare 1.7.49) She is basically calling Macbeth a coward until he kills him. Macbeth’s wife, his ambition and crave for power caused him succumb to the horrific thought of killing Duncan for the sole reason that he wanted to be king. Macbeth even admitted, “I have no spur. To prick the sides of my intent, but only. Vaulting ambition, which o 'erleaps itself, And falls on th 'other… “(Shakespeare 1.7.25-28). He is saying had he had no reason to kill Duncan, only his ambition was influencing and convincing his mind that it was okay. It is a toss up on whether Macbeth is really a tragic hero, or if he is just a monster. Technically a tragic hero is defined as a protagonist who makes a error in judgement, that leads to their destruction. Macbeth made an error by listening to his wife, (lol) who convinced him to kill Duncan, which ultimately led to both of their deaths. As the wise Derek Zoolander once said “You mean, if you pull the thread the whole thing will unravel?” Yes, and that is exactly what happened to Macbeth. He expected that killing Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family would be a one time thing, and he would

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.

Macbeth is a tragic hero for the following reasons that will be listed in this paragraph, please take these reasons into consideration. At the start of Macbeth, you see him kill a traitor that threatened the king of Scotland (Duncan), from the beginning we all see Macbeth is a hero. However, in Act 1 Scene 3 on line 86 Macbeth runs into witches which tell him he shall be king and this leads to the following dialogue of “Malcom your children shall be kings” which signals Macbeths start as a tragic hero. Now if we go even further into the story of Macbeth you also hear Macbeth say “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself” (Act 1 scene 7 lines 26-29). This line from the story shows you Macbeth’s greatest character flaw which is essential to a tragic hero. However, even with strong evidence like this there are still people who refuse to believe Macbeth is a tragic hero for the following reasons.