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William Shakespeare's Macbeth As A Tragic Hero

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In order for a character to be a Tragic Hero, he has to have four major components occur throughout the story. In the play Macbeth, Macbeth goes through all four of these parts which allows readers to define Macbeth as a Tragic Hero. These four elements include the following: high status, tragic flaw, downfall, face it with courage. These four pieces are portrayed throughout the play which grants readers the ability to classify Macbeth as a Tragic Hero. The first component “high” status is basically a character that has a noble stature and has greatness in value. This should really be evident in the story or play. Also he must embody nobility and virtue as part of his character. This is true of Macbeth, who distinguishes himself in battle before he even makes his first appearance on stage. Macbeth's valor causes King Duncan to exclaim of him:"O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!"(1.2.24). This shows that he comes from a noble background and therefore has nobility. The second piece is known as the tragic flaw which allows mere mortals see him similar to how readers see themselves as not perfect. Macbeth's tragic flaw is …show more content…

This is partially the result of free choice, not by accident. That is normally caused when a character flaw contributes to the hero's lack of perfection stated above. Therefore a chracter flaw is known as hamartia which is usually translated as “tragic flaw.” Macbeth's downfall was his own fault as he ultimately made the final decisions regaurding his actions. After he has murdered King Duncan and become king himself, Macbeth has a soliloquy in which he reveals that being king isn't enough; he needs to feel safe in the position, and he has reasons to fear Banquo: “To be thus nothing;/ But to be safely thus—Our fears in Banquo/ Stick deep”(3.1.48-49). He is doing all this killing because of his constant ambition for

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