Macbeth Tragic Hero Flaws

The term tragic hero results from the Greek term hero which means a character who not only faces hardship and misfortune but one who also demonstrates and exhibits bravery in the face of danger. Unfortunately, in the end, the tragic hero also faces a bitter downfall. Sometimes, if not always, the tragic hero is a character that can conjure sad emotions like pity, anxiety, or distress. William Shakespeare chooses his lead character, Macbeth, to represent the tragic hero in his play Macbeth. Macbeth suffers from being the tragic hero of the play where he has numerous flaws but most noticeably his uncontrolled ambition and desire for power which leads to his tragic defeat. “Aristotle stated that a tragic hero must be of certain qualities: a

Thus he lashes out at everyone, alienates his wife, loses her to her madness and despair and ultimately finds himself utterly alone having lost everything yet he is unable or unwilling to surrender or admit defeat and so instead he fights to the bitter end.” (Evelyn O’Connor, Macbeth’s Soliloquies). The tragic hero’s hardship is not always wholly deserved. The punishment does often exceed the crime. Some argue that Macbeth does not entirely deserve to die as a result of his actions. Macbeth is a play of tragedy. If one did not feel any type of sympathy for Macbeth, then the play would fail as a tragedy. For instance, an example of where the reader may have budding and impending feeling to sense some misfortune and pity for Macbeth appears in his dialogue directly before Macbeth decides whether or not he should go through with killing King Duncan. In his monologue, Macbeth struggles and worries where he pronounces, "First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed." (I.vii.13-14). Macbeth is the lost and fallen hero who is brave and audacious at the beginning yet loses his way throughout the