Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

“Butterflies are nature’s tragic heroes. They live most of their lives being completely ordinary. And then, one day, the unexpected happens. They burst from their cocoons in a blaze of colors and become utterly extraordinary.” (Kelseyleigh Reber, If I Resist). Tragic heroes are characters in plays or books who make judgment errors which inevitably lead to their own destruction. Many of the most famous instances of tragic heroes emerge in Greek literature, but a fair amount is seen in Shakespeare’s time of the Elizabethan era. Arguably, there are many factors that contribute to a tragic hero. For instance, the hero must have a reversal of fortune, a moment where the hero identifies their own nature of the situation, and the audience must end

This is an example of the first trait a tragic hero needs to exhibit, called peripeteia. Macbeth has two major roles of reversal of fortune throughout the play. The first reversal of fortunes takes place when Macbeth and Banquo have announced victory over Sweno. Duncan is brought the news that the previous thane of Cawdor has betrayed his kingdom. Instantly, Duncan decides to “pronounce his present death, / and with his former title greet Macbeth.” (1.2.74-75) This reversal of fortune is significant due to the fact that it brought Macbeth from the status of General to Cowdor, leading him a step towards his next reversal of fortune. Furthermore, Macbath’s next reversal takes place when Macduff and Macbeth are fighting on a field in the name of Scotland in order to see who will have the rights and rule over the country; Macbeth or Malcolm. At this moment, Macbeth knows he has failed, but “will not yield / to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet.” (5.8.32-33) due to his tragic flaw of raging ambition. Macbeth ends up being slaughtered by Macduff, and the reversal of fortune is the end of Macbeth’s life. Therefore, this role of reversal is significant due to the fact that it was his own flawed actions that brought him to where he had

This is an example of the second trait a tragic hero must exhibit, called anagnorisis. After Macbeth and Lady Macbeth kill Duncan in order to become King and Queen, they both begin to have “terrible dreams / that shake [them] nightly.” (3.2.20-21). Macbeth soon realizes that the “torture of the mind to lie / in restless ecstasy.” (3.2.23-24), meaning that Macbeth’s mind will never be at peace again. As a result, Macbeth is in a constant fear throughout the play. In addition to when Macbeth is in constant fear and sorry, Macbeth experiences the realization of the true reality of the situation at his banquet party. At the banquet, Macbeth notices the ghost of Banquo at his seat and freaks out, causing the banquet to end earlier than expected so no one gets suspicious. Macbeth is “young in deed” (3.4.175), which is his excuse for not mentally dealing with the murders as well and someone else would. Furthermore, this is significant due to the fact that Macbeth’s guilt haunts him throughout, leading to the resolution of the