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Lost Nobility In Macbeth

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Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who defined an aristotelian tragic hero as a person of noble status who has a tragic flaw (normally hubris) and in result his or her personality suffers a fall from grace, however, they redeem a small measure of their lost nobility through self-awareness. In the drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a noble war hero who is overwhelmed by pride and vaulting ambition for power. After receiving a prophecy from three witches, he murders King Duncan and soon after takes the Scottish throne. Throughout the story Macbeth is proven to become mentally unstable and is fulfilled with excessive amounts of guilt and paranoia. However, he manages to redeem a small amount of his lost nobility in a moment of self-awareness. …show more content…

Hail to thee thane of Glamis! … thane of Cawdor… thou shalt be king hereafter (Witches, Act I, sc III, 50-52)¨. These witches are telling him that he will be thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland. In the beginning of the play Macbeth is already thane of Glamis because it is the name of the area he rules over. Soon after he was told these prophecies King Duncan named him thane of Cawdor. Macbeth, shocked by the truth behind the witches prophecies, manages to make sure that he fulfills the third prophecy of becoming King of Scotland by killing King Duncan. Therefore, Macbeth’s noble background as thane of Glamis and multiple noble statuses ensure his nobility and this is a key aspect of an aristotelian tragic …show more content…

At the end of the play Macbeth begins to realize that he is a tyrant that is going to be remembered in a negative way due to all the things he had done. When Macbeth’s servant comes to alert him that ten thousand english soldiers are marching to Dunsinane, Macbeth reprimands him saying that he has nothing to be afraid of and the servant leaves. Immediately after this Macbeth calls for Seyton and says, “I have lived long enough. My way of life is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have…” (V, III, 26-29). This is Macbeth stating that he has realized that he is a bad person and a tyrant that can no longer look forward to the good things in life. Shortly following Macbeth’s realization Macduff kills him. Macbeth fought like a bear and did not back down; his tragic flaw led to his downfall and his moment of self awareness allowed him to redeem some of his lost nobility during his reign as King of

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