macbeth: a tragic hero by cherylyn delia william shakespeare has written many sonnets and plays that are still famous over four hundred years later. In the play, macbeth, known as the scottish play, features shakespeares most phenomenal protagonist, macbeth. Macbeth presents the endeavor of human existence through his life of respected and honorable nature to his destruction from his greed for power, murderous designs, and overall, his struggle through the conflict of good and evil, which leads to his tragic end. By aristotles definition of a tragic hero, macbeths own flaws or hamartia and influences of the characters surrounding him, determine macbeths fate to be a tragic hero.

A tragedy is a course of events that result in human suffering but most anguished characters are not tragic heroes. Aristotles tragedy consisted of a plot that was serious and had incidents that created fear in the audience. In macbeth, the fear arousing incident would be treason or the murder of the king, because the king was believed to have divine right.

The power of divine right meant that the king had ascended the throne through god and that questioning his right was questioning god. When macbeth murders king duncan he fulfills aristotles requirements for a tragic plot of seriousness. He also accomplishes one aspect of a tragic hero by gambling his good fortunes and falling from contentment into sorrow. Aristotles definition of a tragic hero is a man of no extremes of perfection but otherwise an outstanding character.

A tragic hero may have any combination of noble qualities but all a tragic heros combined strengths are compromised by at least one weakness or earthly flaw. The flaw is usually ambition, jealousy, or pride and ultimately leads to the characters ruin. He is an aristocrat, the thane of glamis, and fought for king duncan, defeating the normans, during the invasion. The audience would not leave with the mentality that the fallen hero deserved his fate but rather with remorse that a noble character had fallen so far. Contrary to the exact concepts of aristotles definition of tragedy, the audience that shakespeare wrote macbeth for would view macbeths punishment as deserved, although they might feel compassion for the downfall of the once virtuous character.

Macbeth had first entered the play as a brave and benevolent nobleman, who fought for his cousin and king. A captain of the army comments upon macbeths courage, saying: for brave macbethwell he deserved that name disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valor's minion carved out his passage till he faced the slave 1.2.16 20 the captains words show the amount of respect he has for macbeth. For all the valorous characteristics, macbeth still crumbles beneath his insecurities, greed and ambition to murder king duncan and later banquo. The respect shown for macbeth changes after many are convinced for his guilt in the murder of duncan and banquo. 5.3.12 16 macbeth begins as an ideal hero of a story but, true to the definition of a tragic hero, his character changes during the course of the play. By the end of the play he is viewed as so evil that if the audience had not know that he was once a respected and honorable general, there would be no sympathy for his tragic end. Ultimately, macbeths flaws, in his otherwise heroic character, lead to his downfall.

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She predicted that macbeth shalt be king hereafter! after the first prophecy of macbeth being thane of cawdor proves to be true macbeth becomes ambitious rise to the throne of scotland. In act one, scene four, king duncan announces his decision to pronounce his eldest son, malcolm, his heir to the throne. Duncans decision to upsets the witches prophecies, which prove to be true once macbeth becomes the thane of cawdor. Macbeths ambition for the throne is initially overshadowed by his valiant and honest character. His virtuous qualities appeal to his greater nature to set aside his ambitions but his greed, for what he believes he deserves, prevails. His greed is further instigated by lady macbeth, who questions his masculinity in his failure to take what she now sees is rightly his.

Macbeths pride is hurt by lady macbeths accusations that he would do the foul deed if he were a man. 1.7.49 if macbeths character did not include the tragic fault of pride he might have resisted the lady macbeths taunts about his masculinity. Separately, his flaws might not have amounted to the disaster they caused but the misfortune of them combined contributed to macbeths fatal failure. Although macbeths flaws undoubtedly lead to his downfall, the influences encouraging his flaws also helped to steer macbeth toward doom. The initial influence is undoubtedly presented by the prophecies of the three witches. The first prophecy seems unlikely to be true, since the current thane of cawdor still lives and the second, that macbeth will become king, is plainly ridiculous. Still, the predictions capture macbeths attention and he implores them: stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.

1.3.70 when macbeth later realizes that the first prediction manifested into reality, he begins to harbor ambitions of throne of scotland. Therefore it could be argued that the witches prophecies are the sole influences that caused macbeths ambitions to rise as high as the throne, and that he would not have murdered king duncan without their predictions. Furthermore, witches are commonly known to be evil and macbeth, banquo and lady macbeth refer to the witches as the weird sisters several times.

Macbeth understands that the witches are evil and he listens to them anyway for the hope of the throne. Initially the three witches are the sole influences that lead macbeth to his downfall. The three witches instigate the macbeths interest in the throne but lady macbeth creates the desire to actually take the throne.

Lady macbeth influences her husband by questioning his masculinity basically insisting that any true man would kill for a throne that was rightfully theirs. Lady macbeth is able to manipulate macbeth through his insecurities about his masculinity. Lady macbeths manipulation and insistence persuade macbeth to murder the king the murder that compels macbeths fate to be tragic. In act five, scene three, macduff, who is not born of woman, overthrows macbeth and kills him during their battle. After macduff defeats macbeth, he hails malcolm as his king with macbeths bloody head in his hand. Macbeths death is the payment for the sins he committed since his faults and influences let his ambitions rise to the throne.

The evidences of his apparent faults and ruinous influences impel macbeth towards his fate of destruction and downfall, making him, by aristotles definition, a true tragic hero. I am going in tomorrow for my final essay on macbeth and a major grade for the last semester of high school. I am just a little bit lost on how to write out an outline and thesis to the following topic: shakespeare uses much comparison and contrast in building a character. Explain and discuss how this is done with macbeth in his relationship with banquo. shakespeare's technique of contrasting banquo to macbeth begins at their first introduction in the play.