Is Macbeth a Tyrant or a Tragic Hero?

The term ‘tragic hero’ comes up in media reports and in daily conversations, but people forget the true meaning of the word and what truly characterizes someone as a tragic hero. In Macbeth, written by world famous playwright, William Shakespeare, Macbeth exemplifies the term tragic hero as he fits all the criteria set out by literary critics. Initially, he is a hero who fights in solidarity with his countrymen; he possesses tragic flaws that lead him from happiness to misery, and his ignorance of the truth ultimately leads others to pity and fear him.

A tragic hero is a protagonist that the audience sympathizes and identifies with throughout, who possesses a fatal flaw that leads to their destruction. However, how much does Macbeth’s character conform with that definition, especially when analyzing his emotional effect on the audience? At a glance, Macbeth’s character seems to conform perfectly to the definition of the tragic hero, but as Macbeth’s character develops he loses the support and sympathy of the audience, losing his title of a tragic hero as well.

What makes someone a tragic hero? In the play of the tragedy of macbeth the main character is seen as a honorable hero, this perception of him changes later in the play when a event leads to his demise. First we must know what a tragedy is. According to webster's dictionary A tragedy is a disastrous event. We know as people that tragedies can happen every day, such as the recents Las Vegas shooting where many people were shot dead. Or the recent Hurricanes that recently left the southern part of the united states torn apart many dead and houses destroyed. Now That you know what a tragedy is you must recognize the difference between a tragedy of a tragic in literature. It is a flaw or misfortune that leads to a hero's fall in their good image. In the play Macbeth is the tragic hero and his greed is fueled by the people around to him, such as loved ones like his wife, even others who he knows little about like the three witches. Macbeth does make many mistakes in his life, but others are responsible for his bad ambition and irrepressible greed and collapse as a tragic hero.

In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare makes the protagonist a tragic hero. Macbeth is a perfect example of a tragic hero because he has a character flaw that influences his actions. Macbeth’s character flaw is that he is easily persuaded and he lets his ambition get the best of him. “Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life And live a coward in thine own esteem Letting ‘I dare not’ and ‘I would’, Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage” (Shakespeare, 19). Once he is persuaded to kill by his wife, he lets nothing stand in his way. Once he killed the kill to achieve his goals, he ended up losing everything he was working to achieve when he was killed by Macduff.

Peace is ‘a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended’ as the dictionairy defines it. This is commonly refered to as negative peace. It also means the lack of violence between people, may it be groups, societies or individuals. A political realm always strives to obtain at least this kind of peace, craving a world without violence. The question arises what kind of king a monarchy would need to reach this kind of peace? With other words, could a vicious king bring and also preserve peace to his kingdom, or would such a king always result in a violent state?

A tragic hero is a character who makes poor choices which inevitably leads to their downfall. Throughout his play, Macbeth makes numerous unwise decisions. Aristotle used several traits which are used to define a tragic hero, three of which will be discussed in greater detail in reference to Macbeth. The first of these is anagnorisis, the second hubris, and the last nemesis. While the entirety of the play is a showcase of Macbeth’s foolishness, certain scenes seem to highlight his asininity.

     A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

In one of Shakespeare’s famous novel, Macbeth, there’s a frequently asked question and that is whether Macbeth is a tragic hero or a villain. Towards the middle of the book you can distinguish characters by their personalities and the actions they take. This makes it easy to distinguish if they are a hero or a villain. For example, it didn’t take long to realize that Macbeth was a tragic hero and not a villain. The reasoning for this is because a tragic hero is someone who is fully aware of their evil and takes pride in it.

This angers Macbeth and enables him to follow Lady Macbeth's scheme to kill the King easier. Macbeth's first murder is definitely a trying experience for him. However, as the play progresses, killing seems easy and the only solution to maintain his reign of the people of Scotland. Macbeth becomes increasingly ambitious as the play goes on. The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth's influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. "Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, ...no son of mine succeeding. If't be so, for Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murder'd; ...To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc.I) At this point Macbeth's passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his character. The witches prophecy, Lady Macbeth's influence, and Macbeth's own ambition all contribute greatly to his deterioration of character which results in his downfall, which was death. All the causes link to one another. If it wasn't for Macbeth's strong will and passion, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. Because of this, Macbeth's curiosity of possibly becoming king was brought out which led to Lady Macbeth's controlling influence. Macbeth's ambition then builds and causes him to commit a

Aristotle’s book of literary theory describes a tragic hero as a predominantly good, but flawed noble hero who encounters great suffering due to a judgement error. This hero should be destined for defeat. The character Macbeth, created by William Shakespeare in the self-titled play, is an example of a tragic hero because he fits this description. Macbeth’s driving ambition to become king and incredibly irrational decisions to get him there is what makes Macbeth a classic Tragic Hero.

The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.

A Tragic Hero is a common figure in many of Shakespeare’s works. A Tragic Hero is usually a figure of royalty, fame or greatness. This person is predominately good, but falls from prominence due to personality flaws that eventually lead to self-destruction.

Many of William Shakespeare’s works portray the role of a tragic hero. The characteristics of a tragic hero are normally a person of noble status who is generally good but changes in character cause a tragic flaw. The tragic hero’s lack of judgment leads to his own destruction which usually results in death and causes the reader to feel fear and pity for them. There are three major factors that contribute to the changes in Macbeth’s character that defines a Shakespearean tragic hero. These factors include the prophecies of the witches’, Lady Macbeth’s influence and manipulation towards Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition for greatness which all lead to his ultimate downfall resulting in his death.

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.

Macbeth is a very tragic story. Three witches tell Macbeth that he will become the thane of Cawdor, the thane of glams and will also become the king. Macbeth overcomes and fails throughout this story to try and make these prophesies reality. Macbeth goes through many situations and faces many deaths as he thrives to become leader. A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. Macbeth had courage throughout the play; he was frightened as to what the fight for leader could of done to him. He achieved many things to a certain extent; he passed and failed at times but never gave up. Although Macbeth