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Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

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A tragic hero is a person of noble status who has a tragic flaw in his or her personality and suffers a fall from grace due to that tragic flaw, only to redeem a small measure of that lost nobility through self-awareness. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare, the character known as Macbeth has a variety of qualities similar to those belonging to a tragic hero. Despite the significant role that Macbeth already plays within society, he seeks out greater power that he attempts to acquire through unforgivable acts which leads to the death of many. His position in society, his ambition, and the actions he takes to gain more power as well as their consequences, qualify him as a tragic hero. In the beginning of the play, …show more content…

Despite whatever hesitations he may have had, he followed through with his plan to end his life. The guilt of committing this murder sets in for Macbeth almost immediately. When asked to return to the scene of the crime with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth says “I’ll go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on’t again I dare not” (II, ii, 65-67). From the time Macbeth commits this first murder, despite the guilt that he had felt, the amount of his vicious acts quickly escalate. Macbeth’s first crime consisted of killing both the king and his guards. Next, he sends murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Although the murderers were directly responsible for killing Banquo, Macbeth is the true culprit for his loss of life. Macbeth’s guilt continues to haunt him and even takes the shape of Banquo’s ghost. At a dinner party that Macbeth is hosting, his guilty conscience catches up with him when he begins arguing with Banquo’s ghost. This one-sided confrontation makes Macbeth look unstable to his guests. As Macbeth committed more and more crimes, several other characters in the play raised suspicions about his intentions, one of these people being Macduff. While Macduff was out gathering an army to overthrow Macbeth, Macbeth ordered for Lady Macduff and her children to be killed as

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