The Tragic Hero of Macbeth 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. The prophecies that are told by the witches’ to Macbeth are one of the factors that cause a negative change in his character. In beginning of the play, Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches telling him that he will …show more content…
One characteristic of a tragic hero is possessing a tragic flaw which eventually leads to self destruction and the downfall of the tragic hero. Macbeth’s flaw is his weakness to be persuaded by others “Macbeth, advised by witches that he is to be a king, is persuaded by his will to kill his sovereign (King Duncan) and seize the crown” (Bradley 46). Lady Macbeth provides Macbeth with a plot to murder King Duncan but when he begins to second guess himself about following through with the plan she persuades him by telling him he isn’t a man unless he goes through with the murder. This shows the reader that Macbeth is a good person and he has a hard time making the decision to actually murder King Duncan. Even though Macbeth regrets his decision to murder King Duncan, “To know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself” (Shakespeare 35), he decides that killing Duncan is the only solution to his rise in
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
One of the reasons I believe that Macbeth is a tragic hero is because he is of noble stature. This is true because he is a military general and the Thane of Glamis. If you are a military general you are a high rank and usually highly respected and have a large amount of responsibility. He is also a thane, which is someone who owns a large amount of land that is usually granted by the king. Thanes are also usually leaders of clans who are in control over a large amount of people.
And realizes her title of being Queen of Scotland is too good to pass up. This leads her to later on to encourage Macbeth to get rid of Duncan. Lady Macbeth is putting an enormous amount of influence on Macbeth. She says “Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? And it wakes it now to look so green and pale at what it did so freely?” (Act 1, Scene 7). Although he thinks that Duncan is a great king and he considers him to be a good friend. Finally Macbeth gives in to Lady Macbeth and decides to go forward with his plans to kill Duncan while he is visiting his castle that night. This is the part of the play where Macbeth struggles with an important decision that heavily effects the story going on. According to Aristotle this is also a trait that classifies you as a tragic hero. He also mentions these heroes also show good virtue, when looking at “Feeling criminal in Macbeth” by: Kevin Curran, he mentions “Macbeths murder of Duncan is a sensible crime, not because it’s practical but because it’s born of the sense and experienced as sensation.” (Curran, 1). This is evidently true because in the beginning of the book Macbeth is firmly on the side of virtue. His actions during the battle and what we hear of his bravery, loyalty, and courage all describe a man with good virtue. Also a sign of a tragic
Shakespeare tragic hero; Macbeth is undoubtedly conveyed as one of literatures greatest fallen heroes. Initially presented as an admirable hero, he self destructs from external and internal forces. The witches ignited Macbeth’s ambition and temptations prove too strong for the one admired war hero, whilst Lady Macbeth prays up on his exceptional being of vaulting ambition. Throughout the essay, the factors influence Macbeth’s downfall will be explored.
The titular character in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a typical hero who undergoes a series of nasty situations, and gradually loses his humanity in the process. Although he begins the play as a traditional hero, he most certainly does not retain that title towards the end.
In life, people will always make wrong decisions and these wrong decisions lead to destructive consequences. Macbeth does this in the play “Macbeth”. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that leads to his/her own destruction. Fate and external forces bring on the tragedy in a tragic hero’s life. And in William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”, Macbeth goes through situations in his life that portray him as a tragic hero: his ambition, the witches prophecy, and Lady Macbeth show the development of Macbeth as a tragic hero.
Shakespeare Tragic Hero Literary Analysis William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is about how the character Macbeth tries to deceive his fate by sacrificing his good character and following the dark paths of evil. Macbeth regains his character by coming terms and accepting his fate in the end. Shakespeare expresses this by using character, dialogues and the plot to help the audience understand how Macbeth’s mindset.
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is a famous tragedy of a power craving man, who would do anything to achieve greatness - even kill. Most readers would think that Macbeth is outlined in one specific way that cannot be changed. To many readers, Macbeth can be considered a tragic hero. In some minds, Lady Macbeth can be considered a tragic hero because, she is a strong character with a high social rank that causes her to essentially create her own downfall, and feels guilty for her actions, once her inevitable downfall leads to death, she pity arouses in the readers’ hearts.
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.
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.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the character of Macbeth is discovered to be a classic example of a tragic hero. Macbeth is a very ambitious and courageous person who lets three main things turn him into a violent individual. Two of the points, which most greatly contribute to Macbeth’s fall, are the prophecy, which were told to him by the witches, and how Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment. These two factors along with his tremendous ambition to be king is what caused him to fall from a noble man who was loyal to his king to a violent man who would kill his king to become king!
Macbeth, while not believed to be inherently evil by most, falls to his tragic flaw, his ambition. Macbeth’s ambition develops over the course of the play as the witches make more predictions pertaining to his power. His ambition turns him into a cold blooded killer, and a paranoid dictator. He ultimately meets his demise as a result of his lust for power. Macbeth’s ambition and eminent downfall make him a classic Shakespearean tragic hero.
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
The story of Macbeth has its share of twists and turns including some very strong ideas. However, through all these twists and turns the argument of if Macbeth is a tragic hero is still one of the most iconic arguments of all time. Which brings to the point of this essay, Macbeth is indeed the Tragic hero you don’t want to believe he is. So enough talking let’s dive into the argument of if Macbeth is tragic hero or not.
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.