Sometimes a tragic hero is created, not through his own villainy),
but rather through some flaw in him, he being one of those who are in high
station and good fortune, like Oedipus and Thyestes and the famous men of
such families as those.' (Poetics, Aristotle). Every great tragedy is
dominated by a protagonist who has within himself a tragic flaw, too much or
too little of one of Aristotle's twelve virtues. In Macbeth, by William
Shakespeare, Macbeth, a great Scottish general and thane of Glamis, has just
won an important battle, when he is told by three witches that he will become
thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. After Macbeth is given Cawdor by
King Duncan, he takes the witches words for truth and conspires against
Duncan with his wife. When Duncan comes to Macbeth's castle that night,
Macbeth kills him and takes the crown for himself after Duncan's sons flee
from Scotland.
Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.
Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head. B...
English: Poster of Thos. W. Keene in William Shake...Then Macbeth reigns for a while, has several people killed,
and is eventually slain by Macduff when he and Malcolm return leading the
armies of England. Often people read the play and automatically conclude
that Macbeth's tragic flaw is his ambition; that he is compelled to commit
so many acts of violence by his lust for power. However, by carefully
examining the first act, one can determine the defect in Macbeth's character
that creates his ambition; his true tragic flaw. Macbeth's tragic flaw is
not his ambition as most people believe, but rather his trust in the words of
the witches and in his wife's decisions.
At the beginning of the play Macbeth has no designs on the throne,
and he does not start plotting until his wife comes up with a plan. When
first faced with the witches' words, Macbeth expresses astonishment...