Preview

Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
673 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero
A great play has to include many important features in order for it to be classified as a tragedy. For any great tragedy, there must be a tragic hero in the story. Fear and pity are created by and through the conflict. Every tragedy must also end in hope. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a great tragedy deserving of much more praise. The play Macbeth is classified as a tragedy because it contains a tragic hero. To be a tragic hero, one must be brave. A captain from the rebellion says; “all’s too weak;/ For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)”. (Act I sc (ii), lns 17-18) Macbeth fought hard for his king during the rebellion and this makes him brave. A tragic hero must also make choices. Macbeth had to make difficult decisions involving …show more content…
A significant event in this story was when Macbeth murdered Duncan. This struck uneasiness throughout Scotland and some people feared for their lives. Malcolm and Donalbain especially were afraid because they believed; “There’s daggers in men’s smiles.” (Act II sc (iv), ln 165) Banquo’s murder is a fearful moment as well. Macbeth orders murderers to kill Banquo by saying; “Who wear our health but sickly in his life,/ Which in his death were perfect.” (Act III sc (i) lns 119-120) Macbeth is the cause of his innocent friend’s death and he does it purely for his own benefit and personal gain. Macbeth also causes the death of Macduff’s family. He says to Macduff; “My soul is too much charged with blood of thine already.” (Act V sc (viii), lns 6-7) when Macduff challenges him. The family has neither harmed nor threatened Macbeth in any way. There is pity felt for the deaths of these innocent people and fear of the murderous Macbeth throughout Scotland. This fear and pity adds to the point that Macbeth is a …show more content…
Hope is restored in Scotland because Macduff has defeated the power-hungry ruler, Macbeth. After this death, Macduff says; “Behold where stands/ Th’usurper’s cursèd head.” (Act V sc (viii), lns 66-67) Along with this event, Malcolm is crowned king. Macduff also says; “Hail, King! For so thou art.” (Act V sc (viii), ln 65) Malcolm is a greater leader than Macbeth because he is much more trustworthy and honest. This fills the people of Scotland with hope. Scotland is with hopeful also because their country is once again peaceful and free of rebellions for now. Malcolm says; “. What’s more to do,/ Which would be planted newly with the time” (Act V sc (viii), lns 77-78) Malcolm is talking about change and as the new leader, he can do so. Change from all the fighting and death is what is most needed by Scotland. This tragedy does, indeed, end in hope for the whole country.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an excellent tragedy that deserves great recognition. This play contains a tragic hero who is brave, has to make choices and restores order. There is fear and pity throughout the play caused by the murders of Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family. As well, the play ends in hope because Macbeth is killed, Malcolm is crowned king and peace is restored in Scotland. These are all key aspects to a great

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In order to be respected by people, one must do the “right thing” regardless the amount of mistakes that have been made. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, protagonist Macbeth faces decisions that change the course of his life. If no one can be all good or all bad, the question may be raised: why or why not is Macbeth a true tragic hero? Although Macbeth fails to meet some characteristics of a tragic hero, his most important realization of his own tragic flaw is what makes him a hero even though it led to his downfall.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Research Paper

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Tragedy is present in many of Shakespeare’s plays and can be interpreted in different perspectives. In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, one can debate whether the protagonist Macbeth experiences tragedy. Macbeth slowly turns too evil and ambitious throughout the play to the point that when he is killed, the audience feels no pity for him. This is why Macbeth would not count as a tragedy. However Macbeth is a noble figure, he suffers a reversal of fortune and his moral flaws lead him to his downfall. Therefore, following the Aristotelian principles of tragedy, Macbeth must be considered as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragic plays.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Shakespearean tragic hero may be defined as “an exceptional being of high degree” who contributes to his own degeneration and illustrates a personality flaw. The character of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is in all ways the perfect example of a tragic hero. His greatness and bravery in battle for his country ultimately leads him to be a great thane and eventually a powerful king, making his actions have a significant impact on a country. Macbeth’s ambition on becoming a king leads to an obsession to remain in his current position. His ambition comes to a point where he falls to the temptation of evil which leads to Macbeth’s inevitable downfall. There are many factors which contribute to the fall of Macbeth. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth's fall are the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's growing character degenerates from a noble man to a violent individual. He is very ambitious, courageous, and a moral coward: all of these things lead to his tragic death at the end of the play.…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In conclusion Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero. He was a hero at the start of the play because he was able to defeat the rebels in a battle, which lead him to be named the “Thane of Cawdor.” However, it was his ambitious desires and further manipulation by his wife and the 3 witches that lead to his…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities. This person is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom and destruction or at least to great suffering. If Macbeth is a tragic hero then Mrs. Campbell is a horrible teacher, it's just doesnt add up! Macbeth has no heroic qualities at all, he has psychopathic qualities, he murders his own uncle just to be king. Although he does undergo suffering he doesn’t learn from it and he makes his wife suffer so much that she kills herself. Macbeth is obviously not a tragic hero he is a tragic maniac.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Amongst all of Shakespeare's tragedies, Macbeth is the most inconsistent and fragmented. Like the mental state of the protagonist, the tragic structure of the play is in disarray from the very onset. According to Aristotle, all tragedies must follow a certain set of characteristics, and the most important of these is the presence of a tragic hero. This tragic hero must possess a tragic flaw, or hamartia, which is a good quality taken to such an extreme that it now exhibits immoral behaviour from the hero. He must also draw sympathy of his plight from the audience. Macbeth, although the protagonist, is not a tragic hero because he does not possess this hamartia. This significant absence of a flaw leads to his actions being without justification, drawing no sympathy from the audience. Because Lady Macbeth's love for Macbeth acts as a tragic flaw by ultimately bringing about her downfall and extracting a great amount of sympathy from the audience, she exhibits attributes more tragically heroic than Macbeth.…

    • 2057 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Is Not a Tragedy

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Macbeth has been defined as a tragedy, however, the definition of “tragedy” is questionable and doesn’t have a definite definition. The dictionary definition of a tragedy is a “serious drama with unhappy events or a sad ending” however, according to the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, a tragedy should have six parts which consists of: a plot, character, thought, diction, spectacle and song. This "tragedy", as it is often considered by others, examines the evil aspect of conflict, showing the dark and depressing atmosphere of a world dominated by the powers of darkness and evil. It is revealed through the play that Macbeth does not fear evil, but is driven by the prophecies of the three witches. Furthermore, later in the play, Macbeth yet seeks out the witches again. This then begs the question, is Macbeth really a tragedy if Macbeth acts out of his own ambition for this event to become his own benefit rather than this event causing great sadness as it should in a tragedy. On the contrary, Macbeth is shown as a tragedy with Macbeth being cleansed by a catharsis towards the end of the play which balances his emotions and restores some of his noble character as seen from the beginning of the play.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth practice essay

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth may be a tragic-hero because he matches Aristotle's definition for a tragic-hero. Macbeth is a courageous man with high rank, as he is the Than of Glamis and Duncan's cousin. He also has many good qualities such as being brave and loyal to the King. In the play he is loved by many people, especially Banquo and the King. Unfortunately for Macbeth and the kingdom he has a downfall. His downfall is his over-ambition and impatience. This flaw triggers his downfall morally and physically. When Macbeth murdered King Duncan he lost sight of what his morals where and what he stood for. Macbeth has his physical downfall when he is murdered by Macduff. This tragic end may be able to make the audience feel pity and fear. You can find yourself sympathizing with Macbeth because he was forced to commit the crimes due to the spell the witches had created and the pressure from Lady Macbeth. The audience may also be afraid to face the same destiny, as they believe in superstitions.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Is Macbeth A Hero

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth perfectly correlates to a tragedy in the Aristotelean sense. In this play, Shakespeare perfectly incorporates Aristotle’s ideas of a hero, by having his hero be of Scottish nobility and using Macbeth, a character who can be portrayed as both a hero and a villain, this is because of the flaws he is given. Macbeth also allows the audience to experience a great amount of catharsis, or an experience of pity and horror that leads the audience to live a better life; the audience is able to do this by following Macbeth and the sometimes faulty choices he makes in order to obtain the Scottish throne.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is considered a tragedy due to the downfall of the main character. His downfall causes many deaths throughout the play and causes dramatic events to take place which in the end leads to his death. Many major events take place in this characters life to lead up to his downfall and death. The downfall of Macbeth is due to his greed for power, witches’ self-fulfilling prophesies, and the pressure from Lady Macbeth.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is extremely well known and has been read and told for many years. Macbeth’s characteristics are very distinct, although they change throughout the course of the play. It is Macbeth who makes the story compelling and interesting. He is the protagonist in the play, but along with this, he also has a huge flaw, which results in the turn of events in the story. Macbeth is a tragic hero; a character that suffers from a terrible imperfection and ends up defeated.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, captivates the audience and readers with a unique plot and note worthy characters. Of these characters, Macbeth, not unaffected by evil, an internal or external force that compels an individual to do harm to others, ultimately reaches self-devastation by his own hand. His choices lead him to do so. Macbeth, the tragic hero of the play, allows his flaw of misunderstanding of evil guide him to destruction.…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tragedy is “a dramatic composition…dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction” (Dictionary.com). In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s tragic flaw and the challenges he faces ultimately lead him to his downfall. Including his own, Macbeth is the root of all of the tragic deaths that occur in the play. Additionally, Macbeth does not make the best decisions for him or for his country, which eventually lead to his own demise.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a very dark and powerful tragic play. There are many characters in this play that are two faced, loyal one minute, and deceiving the next. One of the individuals who immensely represents these attributes is Macbeth himself. Macbeth is a warrior who is manipulated by his own wife and the three witches which leads him to become a greedy, ambitious and brave king. Ultimately because of his overconfidence, he dies devastatingly.…

    • 1524 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth Tragic Hero

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Macbeth is the main character from the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. This type of story is called a Tragedy. We already know that Macbeth is a Scottish general, that has been very successful in battle. He is willing to do whatever for his King including dying for him. He is an powerful, credible and well respected member of his city, a city in which he has authority in.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays