Examples Of Ordinary Flaws In Macbeth

Words: 1296
Pages: 6
Open Document
Ordinary Flaws in Macbeth

In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, experiences a tragic downfall when he becomes king. Before he is king, Macbeth believes he will be a beloved leader, but he quickly becomes paranoid and a hated tyrant. His downfall occurs when he is consumed with ambition and spurred by his wife to kill King Duncan and his best friend, Banquo, out of fear of not becoming king and being overthrown. Macbeth’s flaws that lead to his downfall are common among humans and are not personal to himself. His downfall is caused by flaws in human nature such as selfishness, peer pressure, and mental illnesses.

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth starts the play as a moral man and loyal to his kinsman, King Duncan. In Act One, he is visited by three witches who tell him of his future and say he will become king. At first he is content with his title as …show more content…
Macbeth says to the ghost "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake / Thy gory locks at me" (Shakespeare 313). Macbeth seeing Banquo's ghost indicates he feels guilty for the death of Banquo and is experiencing hallucinations because of his paranoia. According to Mental Health America, having delusions and being unable to understand they are not true is a sign of paranoia. Suffering from a mental illness, such as paranoia, causes Macbeth to experience delusions and suffer from paranoia which causes his tragic downfall.

From the beginning of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth was doomed by the three witches telling him his future. Flaws common to human nature, including selfishness, peer pressure, and mental illness, cause Macbeth to experience a tragic downfall in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth. His selfish attitude, pressure from his wife, and suffering from paranoia cause him to fall as king and leads to his and his wife's
Show More

Related Documents: Examples Of Ordinary Flaws In Macbeth

Shakespeare's Influence On Macbeth

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The main…

Words 1270 - Pages 6

The power to change feelings Essay

and casually related series of events in the life of a person of significance, such events culminating in an unhappy catastrophe, the whole treated with great dignity and seriousness” (Handbook 505). Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex serves as the best example of this genre with its defining components aimed to arouse both pity and fear in the audience. According to Aristotle, “. . . [P]lot is the soul of a tragedy. Such a plot must involve a protagonist who is…

Words 3616 - Pages 15

Literary Terms Essay

the author or student). Antithesis—A balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses. Apostrophe—An address to the dead as if living; to the inanimate as if animate; to the absent as if present; to the unborn as if alive. Examples: "O Julius Caesar thou are mighty yet; thy spirit walks abroad," or "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll." Archetype—A term borrowed by psychologist Carl Jung who described archetypes as "primordial images" formed by repeated experiences…

Words 3652 - Pages 15