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Macbeth: hero or villain
Analysis of Macbeth play
Development of characters in macbeth
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Macbeth: hero or villain
Analysis of Macbeth play
Development of characters in macbeth
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Macbeth stars the story as a honorable warrior, and general in the Scottish army. He fights for King Duncan and along side his best friend Banquo (another general). Shakespear shows MacBeth's character beautifully when he writes "Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops, And fixed his head upon our battlements" (I.ii.22-23). This quote shows the type of character MacBeth starts out as, it shows MacBeth as a brave warrior fighting for King Duncan. MacBeth's character changes later in the story very drastically.
Macbeth’s mental condition begins to dwindle as time goes on, starting with the murder of Duncan. At first, Macbeth is seen as a soldier that everyone aspires to be, strong, brave, and compassionate about his duties to the king. In act one scene two, Captain says, “...For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-...” This shows that he is a likeable person who has only the objective of serving his king. After meeting with the witches and hearing his prophecy, Macbeth starts to think about what it would be like to be king of Scotland.
According to Aristotle, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. An Aristotelian tragic hero must possess specific characteristics such as flaw or error of judgment (hamartia), a reversal of fortune brought about because of the hero's error in judgment, the discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own actions, excessive pride (hubris) and the character's fate must be greater than deserved (The Poetics). In the end these factors lead to a fatal demise to which they are destined. Corresponding to Aristotle’s genre of tragedy Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero. Although his actions do not bestow nobleness, other characters imply that he is honorable for example when Duncan states “True, worthy Banquo.
Throughout literature, we see human characteristics in our characters. Characteristics such as punishment, downfall, middling character, free choice, and nobility. In this play called Macbeth we see all these characteristics fall into place throughout the good and bad choices acted on by our main character Macbeth. The play demonstrates how power will make or break character and lead to his/her own destruction by possessing a few of these characteristics. Macbeth demonstrates both literal and figurative nobility as the plot beings to grow throughout the play.
If there are no small roles in theatre, does that mean that there are no minor characters in literature? William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, includes many minor characters, such as the porter, the Old Man, and the captain of Duncan’s army, in an attempt to enhance the story. In the beginning of the play a very valiant and loyal soldier of Scotland, called Macbeth, is given three prophecies by a group of witches. The prophecies show Macbeth that he will raise in title and someday become king. In an attempt to fulfill these prophecies, Macbeth turns to murder and deceit.
How does Lady Macbeth change over the course of the play? Over the course of the play the characters of both Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth develop intensively. They share similar ambitions, but it is Lady Macbeth who dares to do unspeakable things to accomplish them. This creates great conflict within Lady Macbeth who does not conform to the traditional female stereotypes of her epoch.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth, in many cases, is portrayed as being evil. However, his character is not truly the evil force driving the actions of the play. His wife, Lady Macbeth, as well as the witches and their misleading prophecies, are the real driving forces of Macbeth’s unspeakable actions. Macbeth is driven mad by the evil around him, causing him to turn to the violent behavior displayed throughout the many murders of the play.
He goes from being a loyal soldier to a cruel tyrant killing all of his enemies. In the beginning of the play he is presented as a loyal soldier to King Duncan and he is widely respected and admired by people. It can seem questionable as to why Macbeth is an antagonist when he has the trope of a hero. Despite that image, his inner thoughts begin to reveal themselves, showing another side to Macbeth that people don’t know about. Macbeth soon admits to his dark lust for power and status beyond his capability.
Villain, a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot. Just like the definition of villain states, they show traits just like macbeth. In Shakespeare 's “ The Tragedy of Macbeth”, the character Macbeth is displayed as the villain throughout the play. Macbeth shows the readers that his amiton gets in the way and makes him do things that are considered “evil” until the end of the play. Macbeth is thinking to himself that it is not fair that Duncan 's kids will become king so he kills Duncan and has his sons flee.
The reason some readers may give him that name is for all the killing Macbeth does in order to become king. The audience believes that Macbeth was under realization of what he was doing for his own good. They also consider him an antagonist because Macbeth told Lady Macbeth “To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself” (2.2.71). There the audience knows that Macbeth understands what he did but he is trying to forget. But many see him still as a tragic hero because his flaw is what allowed him to proceed with the killing.
Celia Beyers Tinti Period 1/5 12 April 2015 Literary Analysis: Macbeth In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, he presents the character of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is shown, as a character that schemes into making rebellious plots. She reveals the desire for wanting to lose her feminine qualities in order to be able to gain more masculine ones.
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character; Macbeth, is seen as an evil character. The play is based off of Macbeth’s decisions and his actions to become King. In the beginning Macbeth starts out as a hero in Scotland’s war with Ireland and towards the end he is transformed into a murderer. Macbeth is not wholly evil because of is heroism in the war, his love for Scotland, and because he didn’t want to kill King Duncan initially. Macbeth was brain washed by his wife and tricked into killing the King.
In the story of Macbeth, the protagonist is seen to have all the characteristics of a tragic hero. Unlike Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is a prime example of a tragic hero, not only because he is the main character of a tragedy, but because he was at first a noble and great character, who soon turned out to be average, his downfall was caused by his own flaws (mainly due to his excessive pride), and he gathered some sympathy from the audience. Firstly, a characteristic of a tragic hero is someone of high status, who is not perfect so that
He let his ambitions take control of his actions. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he redeemed a small measure of his nobility. He redeemed himself by fighting until the end of his life. He understood his fate and still fought.
A tragic play must have a tragic hero. Shakespeare's play portrays tragic events that occured in Scotland at the time of the ruling of King Duncan. Throughout the play, one of the leaders of Duncan’s army, Macbeth became the character that was most responsible for the tragic course of the play. Shakespeare's play, Macbeth is a huge tragedy because of its many death of good and bad characters. This paper will demonstrate that Macbeth is responsible for the downfall of the story because of his violent tendencies.