The story of Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a widely read story that is centered around the theme of the characteristics of a tragic hero. The story of Macbeth is one of heartache that tells the story of a man whose ambition drives him beyond the brink of sanity and to an eventual downfall. People have debated and discussed whether or not Macbeth is a tragic hero, however, it is clear throughout the story that Macbeth qualifies to take upon him the title. One of the characteristics that a tragic hero must have is a standing of high social rank, and the reputation of being a good person. This is a very important quality because the audience needs to be able to see the downfall of the character. In this case, the character is …show more content…
He is a worthwhile person because up to this point, even his wife knows that he may not possess the attributes of a killer, due to his kindness. In Act 1, scene 3, line 107 Ross says, “He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor: In which addition, hail, most worthy thane, For it is thine.” This is another good quote that depicts Macbeth’s character. Ross is yet another person who respects Macbeth and even calls him “Most worthy”. This quote shows that Macbeth has more than one person who sees him as noble and important. But Being worthwhile and of high social rank is not the only requirement to be classified as a tragic hero. A tragic hero must also have a tragic flaw; which Macbeth certainly does. His flaw is his ambition. In Act 1, scene 7, line 25 Macbeth says very clearly that his reason for killing Duncan is his ambition. It states, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition.” His motivation is ambition. And it is easy to see that his ambition is very strong, but when he achieves his goal through ambition, it is never enough for him. It becomes less about accomplishing a task, and more about finding tasks to satisfy his ambition. Following that quote, he says, “which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’ other.” This is saying that by using ambition as motivation, people get ahead of themselves before they know what they have done, they are falling toward demise. Macbeth predicted exactly
Macbeth; the protagonist, fits the label of a tragic hero through the qualities and characteristics of what makes a tragic hero in Shakespeare’s typical tragedies. “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name-“as he is now a man of high estate, the first impression that the audience has of Macbeth is of his greatness. Early in the play, the audience becomes aware of the driving force, and the ‘vaulting ambition’ in which Macbeth soon becomes obsessive with. In typical tragedies, the hero has a tragic flaw which soon becomes a highly destructive force with Macbeth’s flaw being his obsessive ambition, he becomes aggressive and he commits regicide. Macbeth speaks of his ‘tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’ speech, where the audience feels some sympathy for him, and the tragic hero is marked as a sense of waste. In every typical Shakespearean tragedy, it not only has a tragic hero, but the structure of the play is unique.
Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition and it consequentially leads to his downfall and ultimate demise. Macbeth is a tragic hero who is introduced in the the play as being well-liked and respected by the general and the people. He brings his death upon himself from this tragic flaw. His strengths turn into his weaknesses and his ambition drives him to the edge and sets himself up for his tragic death.
Just as the character spectrum flows from hero to villain, Macbeth also gradually makes his way down the line. In the very beginning of the play (before making his appearance), Macbeth’s fellow Scots and lords praise him for his loyalty and noble deeds. Here, it is made clear that the public initially views him as a heroic figure who is loyal to Scotland; “for brave Macbeth, (well he deserves that name)”(9) Admittedly, Macbeth does unseam a man “from the nave to th’ chops”(9), however this is considered an act of valor in the service of his country and his king. However, Macbeth’s loyalties soon become questionable, as he plots to and then commits the murder of his honored king, Duncan. At this point, the audience
Humans typically tend to be greedy and take everything for thierself, but Macbeth goes above and beyond to make sure his heart’s desires are fulfilled. Power changes him into a pretentious person and forms a need for more jurisdiction that is unquenchable. The neverending loop of murder that Macbeth gets trapped in causes his excessive pride and ambition to grow leading him to his downfall. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he widley models a tragic flaw of ambition and he displays a large amount of excessive pride, causing him to ultimately become
Also you can bring up the point that he was power hungry and not thinking straight, and all he could focus on was his lust for power. The final element of a tragic hero is that the hero is in too much turmoil and that they end up gaining some ground. Macbeth is clearly in too much turmoil because he ends up getting killed because he has killed so many people and he can not stop an assassination attempt on him. He does, however, gain some ground because he ends up gaining more power in the time from when he started killing the other members of noble stature to the time that he
First, Macbeth is a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is a weakness that a tragic hero possesses that causes his or her doom. Macbeth’s greed for power and rights to the throne is what leads him to ruin his own life and meet his fate. Once he was told by the witches he would be king, he began to do anything in his power to make the prophecy true-- including killing the current king, King Duncan. Although he is first eerie about this, his wife convinces him to carry on with it. Lady
Macbeth is a self-made man, and he is noble and honorable. He is a warrior, a Thane, and is respected. However this is not what makes a man a hero. A hero is a person who puts others needs before him or herself. On the other hand, a tragic hero is a person who desires what he or she wants, not what is best for others. For Macbeth, it was easy fighting for the king, commanding his friends and beloved
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
A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat (). In the play Macbeth, the main character is Macbeth who is a Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. Macbeth is known to King Duncan and everyone else as courageous and a delightful man, but his dark side is brought about by ambition. In the end, Macbeth dies a noble death, but is he a tragic hero or an evil villain who died. “There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the near in blood, the nearer bloody” (2.3.134-135). This shows how every man can either be good or bad. Macbeth is a tragic hero in the play Macbeth because he has high social status, a tragic flaw, and faces his or her downfall with courage and dignity. In a moment, Macbeth’s character of noble birth will support his position as a tragic hero.
Macbeth was a hero, that allowed his fatal flaws of greed and ambition to control him, but if the witches had not told Macbeth his “fate” then he would not have gone down such a dark path. In the Beginning, Macbeth was a good man, wanting to help his king and country. He,”...disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,...carved out his passage till he faced the slave” (Shakespeare 9). This says that, Macbeth puts a stop to a rebellion which allowed peace and justice to prevail. Then, Macbeth allowed his greed and ambition to control him. “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies” (Shakespeare 29). Macbeth expressed that he must accept his place or get rid of the obstacle
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main characters capture a wide variety of emotions during events that result in Macbeth gaining power of the throne followed by mad chaos and destruction. Macbeth falls under the description of a tragic hero because his life is interfered by the witches and is destined to fail from the beginning of the play, he still is a hero who has hubris and who once had honor, and he has a tragic flaw; his wife.
A Greek philosopher named Aristotle once said, "Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of a life, and action…". Aristotle is famous for his theory of tragedy. His definition of tragedy applies to William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth. The play is about a hero who reaches a high position in the play and then falls because of his choices. Macbeth is a tragic hero according to Aristotle 's aspects that make a tragedy. Macbeth is neither a villain nor a perfect character, he appears in the play in a high stature, he starts to make multiple mistakes and due to his actions, he causes his downfall.
Macbeth is the leading character of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, in which he struggles to deal with the consequences of his actions. Is he a Tragic Hero? His brutal actions make it very questionable, but yes, Macbeth is a Hero in his own Tragedy.
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.