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Macbeth's Tragic Flaw Analysis

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The Tragic Flaw Achilles’ heel proved that no person, not matter how great can fall if their weak point is exposed. Achilles had only one weak spot or flaw. He knew it was his problem, however, he still allowed it to be vulnerable in a battle. This was what caused his death. From the story of Achilles’ heel, people have heard the common phrase, “That’s his Achilles’ heel.” This means that person has a tragic flaw that could lead them to the same disaster as Achilles himself. Everyone has a flaw that can cause them to fail. This common theme has occurred throughout our lives, in our history, and even in our literature. This is exactly what happened to Macbeth when he rose to power. He allowed his tragic flaw to cause his ultimate fall from …show more content…

Macbeth’s culture praises warriors for their violence and murder on the battlefield. It also has a lot of violent crimes committed to achieve power or a goal. His loyalty to kill for the king changed once he realized that he was suppose to become king himself. His culture also held power differences or mitigation. Macbeth’s culture valuing bloodlines and passing power. When Macbeth realizes that Banquo would produce a bloodline of kings, but he would not, he became outrageously jealous and became paranoid. He was paranoid that Banquo would somehow take the power away from him. This played heavily into his existing tragic flaw. He was so ambitious and power hunger that he was willing to murder his best friend and war partner due to an off chance Macbeth made up in his head. Macbeth’s knowledge of the importance of a bloodline drove him to do even more unspeakable things and go even more insane. “They hailed him father to a line of kings./ Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown/ And put a barren scepter in my grip,/ Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand,/ No son of mine succeeding./” (Macbeth Act 3 Scene 1) Macbeth allowed his mind to make up crazy scenarios and become paranoid, power hunger, and dangerously ambitious. His situations and scenarios combined with importances emphasized by his culture caused his tragic flaw to show and cause his …show more content…

Throughout the poem, as Macbeth interacts with more on more characters, hi flaw grows bigger and more exposed. His culture only added paranoia and stress which made him go crazy. It was truly language and the lack of reading between the lines that caused macbeth to misinterpret what was being said to him. Macbeth’s communication and culture cultivated and nurtured his fatal flaw of unchecked ambition and caused his

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In the story "Macbeth" by Shakespeare, Macbeth is a character that would overlook his actions consequences as long as he ended up with more power. Macbeth greatest flaws are his desire for power and overconfidence, that also drove to his death. As the story progressed Macbeth loses his humanity and is overpowered by his greatest desire. Macbeth family Is also affected by this flaw.

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The first element of tragedy is the tragic hero's flaw, or hamartia. In John Proctor's case, his flaw is his pride. He is a man of integrity who refuses to compromise his principles, but he is also aware of his own reputation in the community. When his

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Aristotle once said, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." In the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, King Creon is the main tragic hero, because of the decisions he made leading to his destruction. After the death of Polyneices and Eteocles, Creon was crowned King of Thebes. All of the citizens of thebes feared Creon because of the prideful tone he showed in his first speech, and in Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero, the character almost always displays excessive pride. Another decision that Aristotle said most tragic heroes go through is an error in judgement, which Creon made when sentencing Antigone to death.

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His action in taking the life of the king is an abuse of his power as host and subject, and he pays with his life and his sanity. The courageous soldier a dead butcher. Macbeth also had fear of Banquo he thought he would take his power. Killing others is Macbeth form of bullying using physical force. Macbeth’s desire for control stimulates his violent behavior.

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Macbeth was an honorable and loyal soldier to King Duncan. As he stumbled upon the three witches and hearing their predictions. He began to question his future when King Duncan had given a higher rank to his son Malcolm. As if Malcolm was to become king Macbeth’s second prophecy of him becoming king wouldn’t come true or at least it would take a longer time for him to be king. His ambitions toward the crown grew and it slowly but surely began to corrupt his mind.

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The theme of Macbeth is destruction filled mind with power-hungry like wolves fighting to become leader of the pack. In this world, rather Macbeth fighting for his power to become king. “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion. Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair, and make my seated heart knock at my ribs against the use of nature?

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919 Words | 4 Pages

In Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about a man named Macbeth, who has a very strong ambition to be the the king of Scotland. His credulousness led him into believing the prophecy from the three witches without thinking rigorously. Because of this prophecy, Macbeth is willing to do everything he can to gain the throne, even to the extreme of murdering someone. Shakespeare uses syntax, similes, and personification to convey the evolution of Macbeth’s insanity.

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1113 Words | 5 Pages

The fact that Macbeth believes the witches’ prophecies are not evil nor good foreshadows how he will go on to kill any other person standing in his way to more power. His ambition blinds his mind to make him even think about ruthlessly committing a murder. This forceful way of gaining power will only lead Macbeth to become a “tyrant” in Scotland and his “fantastical” desires of killing Duncan and receiving the crown will lead Scotland to failure. Under Macbeth’s rule, Scotland seems to be in a terrible condition. With distrust among the people, there is tension all within the country, as Macbeth’s totalitarian regime had rendered the prosperity of Scotland.

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At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.

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Murder. The word itself evokes a feeling of uneasiness, a feeling that is undeniably abnormal. And what causes a person to murder? What attributes must a person possess to drive them to such an unnatural act? Through her soliloquy, Lady Macbeth uses extensive imagery and diction to convey exactly what characteristics make her capable of murder.

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“ I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other” (I, vii, 26-28) Macbeth's fatal flaw is too much ambition and he even says it himself. This quote is very ironic because he says that ambition will make people rush into disaster, which is exactly what happens to him later on.

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In one part of the scenes we can furthermore see through Macbeth 's words and ego. In this case Lady Macbeth was manipulating Macbeth into thinking he was less of a man for not Killing The former king to have the throne all to himself. In this scene you can see how insecure Macbeth truly is, he wouldn 't of needed to prove anything to anyone if he already knew he was manly. Readers could further understand Macbeth 's change in thoughts, by taking a further look into his goals, consequently

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1288 Words | 6 Pages

Macbeth had become everything that he had ever wanted to be which was the king of Scotland and when the witches told him that someone else was going to take his crown he went to extremes to try to keep them from doing that which was eventually what lead to him dying. The witches had told Macbeth that the sons of Banquo would take his crown so he decided to have Banquo and his son killed Macbeth said, “Our fears in Banquo stick deep/ And in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared”(3.1.49-51). Macbeth did everything he could to protect his crown, but that is eventually what lead to his downfall and his death. He killed his best friend Banquo which was when his ambition had gone to far and was the beginning of his decline.

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1241 Words | 5 Pages

Macbeth’s ambition is one of the most prominent things that drive Macbeth in the play and truly becomes evident when he hears of the Witches prophecies. When the witches stop talking, he demands to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (I, III, 73-74). This portrays his excessive curiosity on the subject as well as his craving for more desirable prophecies. This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true.

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1013 Words | 5 Pages

Celia Beyers Tinti Period 1/5 12 April 2015 Literary Analysis: Macbeth In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, he presents the character of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is shown, as a character that schemes into making rebellious plots. She reveals the desire for wanting to lose her feminine qualities in order to be able to gain more masculine ones.

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