Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

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A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat (Dictionary). In the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays the lead character Macbeth as a classic example of a tragic hero. Macbeth exhibits many tragic flaws like his pride and awareness that allow him to fall from his lofty position as king to a tragic hero.
The degeneration of Macbeth’s character is a result of his own pride. Initially, Macbeth is a good-hearted noble thane to the king that is highly praised for his military skills. However, when Macbeth is confronted by the witches prophecy of becoming king his honorable nobility quickly turns into evil ambition. He cannot help but want to do anything in his power to climb the Scottish social ladder, especially with Lady Macbeth’s provoking words, “Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’…” (1, 7, 41-44). So, without letting fate handle itself he is convinced to take action and murders Duncan in his sleep in order for him to take on the title as Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth’s excessive pride to speed up his ultimate fate is just the start to his doom as a …show more content…
Typically a tragic hero is one of noble stature. Macbeth gained his noble stature at the beginning of the play when he murdered Duncan to become the Thane of Cawdor. This one murder created a domino effect for the rest of the play affecting the lives of others. The tragedy of his death did not only involved the individuals of his family, but it involved the whole society. Macbeth had great ambition and wished to stand well with the world. He even acknowledged his own “vaulting ambition” (1, 7, 27) and was not afraid of the consequences of his crimes “We’d jump the life to come” (1, 7, 7). Ultimately, all of Macbeth’s actions up until this point lead to his

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Essay Outline

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