Macbeth

In the flourishing time period of Ancient Greece, many new theories, works of literature, and cultures were formed. The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, established a set of characteristics for a tragic hero. During Shakespeare’s time, a number of brilliant pieces of literature were composed as well. In the Shakespearian play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth is portrayed as a character that has many of the same characteristics of a Greek tragic hero. Due to the similarities between Aristotle’s principles of tragic hero and Macbeth himself, it can easily be said that Macbeth’s character is truly a tragic hero.
Before Macbeth had committed any evil deeds, he was a captain of the army for the Scottish king, Duncan. He was also the thane of Glamis, which proves that he was of noble eminence. After three witches visit Macbeth and tell him that he will become thane of Cawdor and potentially king of Scotland, he becomes curious, but power-hungry. Soon after this, Macbeth becomes the thane of Cawdor because the original thane was killed for treason. This advancement brings Macbeth to higher power and nobility, and it proves that the witches’ prophecy wasn’t false. Putting pressure on Macbeth to become king, his wife, Lady Macbeth talks him into murdering Duncan so he can become the next king. This murder led to a number of extraneous murders of potential kings of Scotland. Finally, Macbeth becomes king himself. The title “King of Scotland” is given to Macbeth, even though he committed and arranged terrible deeds to get it. The noble titles that Macbeth possessed are part of what makes him a tragic hero; one of Aristotle’s principles state that the character must have a high position in noble ranking. This clearly displays one example of how Macbeth is a tragic hero.
Throughout the story, it is easy to see the poor characteristics that Macbeth’s character has. After Macbeth is persuaded by Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan, it’s obvious that Macbeth is diffident when it