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Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

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Victoria Bajdel Ms. Levine English 10 Honors May 15, 2024 Is Macbeth a Tragic Hero or Villain? Many perceive Macbeth as an evil villain, while in fact, Macbeth could be testified to claim the title of a tragic hero. To display his loyalty to society, he fought for his city and king at first as a loyal warrior to keep society protected and stable. Shortly after he did this, Macbeth secretly switched up against Duncan, bringing betrayal. Although Macbeth selfishly committed numerous inhumane acts against his people and strived to put himself on top, he saved his land by bravely battling and risking his life before falling through a heavy influence. But by only focusing on gaining more influence from his position as a loyal warrior to Duncan, he easily makes himself unsavable …show more content…

In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy Of Macbeth, many portray Macbeth as a tragic hero throughout the play due to his heroic label of a fearless warrior, but quickly experiences his downfall by committing selfish actions that highlight his flaws. Macbeth had a great deal of potential in becoming a highly respected nobleman in society, with many successes if not manipulated by the evil around him. Several wicked characters impacted Macbeth and furnished the warrior with evil concepts, including the act of murder. It didn’t take much convincing to get Macbeth to commit horrible crimes; once he heard that he could potentially earn the title of king as a strong warrior already from the witches, he got the thought into his head that he would replace Duncan if he intervened. An American literary critic, Wayne C. Booth clearly references the idea that Macbeth started out carrying the potential in succeeding when he states, “A highly individualized, noble man is sent to complete moral, intellectual, and physical destruction” (Booth,

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Tragedy struck Macbeth with such force that he suffered a great deal of flaws within himself. His noble status, along with is flaws that led to his suffering, has made him a deserving tragic hero. He changed from a noble hero to someone with such ambition and over confidence which eventually led to his demise.   Macbeth was a honorable and loyal man and he helped King Duncan defend Scotland from the Norwegian army. His honor and loyalty was not his main flaws, but instead it was ambition.

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Throughout history, many of the great have fallen. They then become tragic heroes. In Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, is an character with a high status and admirable qualities with a flaw that will lead them to their downfall. (***, 309) A literary example of a tragic hero is Macbeth from Shakespeare's classic playwright of 1606, Macbeth.

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Shakespeare once said, "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. " What makes a tragic hero? A tragic hero is typically a figure who is high in power, usually with a noble background. They are predominantly good in nature, but end up suffering a self inflicted falling-out due to flaws in their own personality.

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Brianna Crawford Mrs. Potenzini English II 22 May 2017 Macbeth Macbeth is a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are usually of a noble or royal descent, which Macbeth is, and they lead themselves to their own downfall. The first reason he is a tragic hero is because Macbeth is known as a noble war hero to all and is looked up to by the common people, especially to the king after being told by the captain “For brave Macbeth, Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution.. Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops and fixed his head upon our battlements.” (Macbeth 3) Being told this, Macbeth had earned a higher trust with the king.

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I think that Macbeth is a tragic hero. The three witches that told him his prophecy of being the king tempted Macbeth. Although he is a loyal hero in war, he didn’t try to stay of of this, but he tried to speed up the process in order to fulfill his ambition. In the end, he fell into the game, which the witches had planned.

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Macbeth, by William Shakespeare tells the story of a villain, “Macbeth”. Macbeth was one of king Duncan’s most trusted and praised men. After Macbeth found out he was next in line to be king, he decided to speed up the process by murdering king Duncan. After murdering king Duncan, Macbeth is crowned the king of Scotland. After Macbeth is crowned, the nature of the country takes a drastic turn for the worse.

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What does being a man inhibit? In William Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, we can see how a man acts through the lens of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth believes she knows how men should act through her statement of “unsex me here” (Shakespeare 1.5.48) which shows her longing to no longer be a woman. Therefore, with this statement of no longer wishing to be a woman Lady Macbeth begins to exhibit knowledge of how a man should act, because men is the only other alternative to being a woman. Lady Macbeth desires to not be a woman anymore because she would be able to do the dirty work herself, since women usually do not commit such crimes.

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This leads to Macbeth’s downfall because he is willing to do anything for power, even if that means killing all his noble friends, leaving him under

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In the beginning, there was Macbeth who was a soldier that fought in a war for his country. Macbeth got a visit from three witches who gave a prophesy that he is going to be thane of Cawdor then later on be King over Scotland. Lady Macbeth receive a letter from her husband Macbeth about how he might be King in the future but something stand in the way. Lady Macbeth said that they need to “that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” meaning that if she was a man that she will fight to be King of the kingdom. Macbeth had a dream where he had a handle of a dagger in his hand then the bell ring.

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English essay In Shakespeare's well-renowned and notorious piece ‘Macbeth’ Lady Macbeth is often portrayed as an evil, manipulative woman, who is the ultimate villain. It is stated that she herself is the driving force behind both herself and her husband's utmost demise. Her greed, ambition, and desire for power show her sinister characteristics, not only these but her corrupt and controlling figure, using her manipulative tactics to persuade Macbeth to kill King Duncan and Banquo. Lady Macbeth's agency is demonstrated in her ability to influence Macbeth's actions, ultimately leading to their downfall.

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When it comes to a tragic hero, they are described as the leading role that was once a hero; although, had a fall from grace from their tragic flaw and their life ended due to that flaw. Within Shakespeares’ Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, follows that criteria. The play follows the rise and fall of Macbeth in which his fall is caused by his tragic flaw of over-confidence or pride. The work of Frederic Morgan Padelford, “Macbeth the Thane and Macbeth the Regicide” enforces the idea of what a tragic hero is, in which Macbeth was greatly liked by the audience for how they saw the way his character deteriorated gradually as the play went on. Thus,Macbeth displays how he was once an honored noble, spiraled into darkness, and realized his

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In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays the end of a famed hero who chooses to go down a dark path, rather than choosing a path which would have led to glory, making him a tragic hero. When Macbeth is told his prophecy of becoming king, he intends on doing it on his own terms and decides to make impulsive decisions, such as killing Duncan, Banquo and slaughtering Macduff’s family. These impulsive decisions were an effect of Macbeth being blinded by becoming king, as he felt he had other options. Although it may seem that Macbeth was influenced by society to commit these atrocious acts, he was fully aware of the consequences and went ahead with his plan. Macbeth truly fits the role of a tragic hero as he brought his fate upon himself, through

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In Shakespeare’s well known tragic story,“Macbeth”,there are multiple various scene’s involving war, celebration and murder. In the play, many character’s are described to have different types of literary characteristics and Macbeth, the main character, is considered a tragic hero. Macbeth’s tragic flaws qualify him as a tragic hero, these flaws are ambition and having lack moderation. The tragic flaws contributed to Macbeth’s downfall since it set his life to be in danger from the events taken place after the tragic decisions he made from his actions/flaws. Macbeth in Shakespeare’s well known play is considered as a tragic hero, with tragic flaws and those flaws contributing to his death.

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Macbeth: Why He is a Tragic Hero Exactly what is a tragic hero? A tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is a literary character who makes a judgement error that leads them to his/her own destruction. They have been further described as an imperfect someone who has noble status who caused their own downfall. They are also known to gather sympathy from the audiences and readers.

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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.

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