Macbeth - A Tragic Hero

Essay by vMoNeY3High School, 11th grade April 2004

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1. Shakespeare's Macbeth as Tragic Hero One Work Cited Shakespeare's Macbeth follows the journey of nobleman Macbeth that starts with him as Thane of Glamis and ends with him as King of Scotland. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he possesses all the traits that Aristotle outlined in his poetics. He said that the tragic hero must be a man that is higher than mortal worth, but has tragic flaws. Aristotle also stated that the flaws will lead to great suffering and usually death; the cause being fate. The flaws that lead to Macbeth's degeneration are his sense of ambition, his reliance on the prophecies and his influence and manipulation by Lady Macbeth. These flaws cause the downfall of Macbeth, which evokes both pity and fear in the audience. Macbeth's ambition is a very big factor that contributes to his demise. At first his good nature was stronger than his ambition because he is against the murder of King Duncan, saying "Why, if fate will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my...

2. The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are many factors which contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth of which three will be discussed. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth's degeneration 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 violent individual.

The prophecies which were told by the witches were one of the factors which contributed to the degeneration of his character. If it had not been for the witches telling him that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane...