Macbeth: A Tragic Hero
Lucia Chimienti-Castro
Mr. Bottos
ENG-3UP January 2, 2015 Seeing Tragic Heroes Through a Sequence
A sequence is a set of related things, but obviously some things are more relative than others. Let us say you had two circles and one oval, sure an oval could join the sequence since it is spherical with no sharp edges but the other circle is more related to the circle because they are identical. That is to say, when we talk about archetypes we can understand that some characters would be more relative to the archetype than other characters. Notably, this also occurs with tragic heroes, some are bound to fit the archetype more than others even if they still are both tragic heroes. Consequently, Macbeth and Braveheart’s William Wallace both demonstrate that they are flawed and noble; however, it is clear that Macbeth is a better example of a tragic hero due to the absence of defining characteristic events that were not taken place in Braveheart.
A tragic hero is supposed to become isolated with all forces against him, I see this in Macbeth but I do not see it in Braveheart with William Wallace. In Macbeth, Macbeth expresses his feelings of being isolated with all forces against him when he says “They have tied me to a stake : I cannot fight but bear-like I must fight the coarse,”(Macbeth). This shows the audience that he will continue the fight to survive although he was doomed from the start, which is another significant quality of a tragic hero. Then in Macbeth we also see Malcolm compare Macbeth to the devil when he says “Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell” (Macbeth) and Malcolm also calls him a “tyrant, whose name blisters our tongues” (Macbeth). In these quotes we see a strong dislike for Macbeth and burning passion to be rid of him projecting from his subjects, but when Caithness says “those that
Mr. Bottos
ENG-3UP January 2, 2015 Seeing Tragic Heroes Through a Sequence
A sequence is a set of related things, but obviously some things are more relative than others. Let us say you had two circles and one oval, sure an oval could join the sequence since it is spherical with no sharp edges but the other circle is more related to the circle because they are identical. That is to say, when we talk about archetypes we can understand that some characters would be more relative to the archetype than other characters. Notably, this also occurs with tragic heroes, some are bound to fit the archetype more than others even if they still are both tragic heroes. Consequently, Macbeth and Braveheart’s William Wallace both demonstrate that they are flawed and noble; however, it is clear that Macbeth is a better example of a tragic hero due to the absence of defining characteristic events that were not taken place in Braveheart.
A tragic hero is supposed to become isolated with all forces against him, I see this in Macbeth but I do not see it in Braveheart with William Wallace. In Macbeth, Macbeth expresses his feelings of being isolated with all forces against him when he says “They have tied me to a stake : I cannot fight but bear-like I must fight the coarse,”(Macbeth). This shows the audience that he will continue the fight to survive although he was doomed from the start, which is another significant quality of a tragic hero. Then in Macbeth we also see Malcolm compare Macbeth to the devil when he says “Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell” (Macbeth) and Malcolm also calls him a “tyrant, whose name blisters our tongues” (Macbeth). In these quotes we see a strong dislike for Macbeth and burning passion to be rid of him projecting from his subjects, but when Caithness says “those that
Citations: Braveheart. Dir. Gibson, M. Paramount Pictures Corporation, May 1995. Shakespeare, W. (2010). Macbeth. MA: English Play Press. (Original work published 1699).