Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

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. A modern day example would be the infamous Amanda Bynes. Macbeth is a honored battle hero and Thane of Glamis that is told by witches that he will become king. His wife pushed him to kill the king, along with others, so that he can then become and stay king. Later on Macbeth is killed because of all of the deaths he caused. Amanda Bynes was a young actress that developed mental illnesses that

In Macbeth, the witches fill Macbeth’s head with prophecies of him becoming king and Lady Macbeth, his wife, pushes him to kill the king to fulfill the prophecy. Before the king was going to spend the night at Macbeth’s castle Lady Macbeth schemed “He that’s coming/ Must be provided for; and you shall put/ This night’s great business into my dispatch,/ Which shall to all our nights and days to come/ Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.”(Shakespeare, 1. 5. 66-70.) The witches give Macbeth the ambition to take the crown, and Lady Macbeth pushes him to do all in his power to take the crown, consequently killing the king. Amanda Bynes had her mental health turn against her. It is later in life when mental illnesses come up. It is at “age 18 to 25, when major mental illness strikes. [...] Schizophrenia, bipolar mania, this is when it comes on.” Amanda is “a lovely young girl who gets struck by a real medical condition.”(Pinsky, par 51- 52) Both Macbeth and Amanda Bynes have forces pushing them to divagate. The difference being Macbeth is being pressured by Lady Macbeth, which is an external force, and Amanda Bynes is dealing with an internal conflict that is driving her. A tragic hero needs to have a force pushing them to divagate, which leads them to their stray away from who they are, and make an awful mistake

Macbeth has commendable ambition, but it cause him to become disloyal to the king. Macbeth kills King Duncan because he is so ambitious to become king himself. Macbeth professes his willingness to kill when stating that his “ thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,/ Shakes so my single state of man/ That function is smother'd in surmise,/ and nothing is but what is not.” (Shakespeare, 1.3.52-55) When reuniting with Lady Macbeth the night King Duncan is staying at Macbeth’s castle, Macbeth proclaims to her “I have done the deed.”, telling her that he had killed King Duncan.(Shakespeare, 2. 2. 14.) This is the point that Macbeth strayed away from the man he once was. At this point there is no turning back for Macbeth. His ambition leads him to kill King Duncan and many others so that he can become king and stay king. Amanda Bynes grew up in the stressful world of show business. Growing up in the spotlight causes many to turn to drug so that they can cope with the stress. As most actors do, Amanda Bynes turned to drugs and quickly became a drug abuser. Amanda Bynes’ drug abuse has caused many to be “‘deeply concerned’ that she is a danger to herself and others, ‘appears to have a substance abuse problem’ and has spent more than $1.2 million of her savings in a short time.”(Hernandez, par 1) Macbeth and Amanda