...For a story to be considered a tragedy, the protagonist has to experience a big loss, or in other words a downfall. William Shakespeare, who masters in writing tragedies, portrays the tragedy of a hero in the play Macbeth written in 1606. It is set in Scotland during its medieval times, where the main protagonist Macbeth is a person of nobility being known to be: Scotland’s greatest warrior, the Thane of Glamis, as well as the first cousin to King Duncan. His impending tragedy starts from the moment he is given prophecies by the three witches. Lady Macbeth who is Macbeth’s wife gives the push that drives him into killing King Duncan for the throne. Unknowingly lady Macbeth guides Macbeth towards his downfall, as the action of murdering Duncan...
Words: 288 - Pages: 2
...The downfall of a central character is common in a Shakespearean tragedy. Examine how Macbeth’s actions led to his own downfall. Macbeth is a play that adheres to a typical Elizabethan tragedy, which follows the journey of a noble protagonist, who is flawed in some way, placed in a demanding situation, ending with a fatal conclusion. On the same note, hamartia and hubris qualities deem Macbeth himself to be the ultimate tragic hero, flawed with erupting ambition. Macbeth is an ever evolving character who loses his nobility to acts of murder. ‘The higher you are the harder you fall’ governs Macbeth his fall is a result of his own actions. Paradoxical themes of Ambition Vs. Power, Appearance Vs. Reality and Fate vs. Free Will, dictate the future and irrational decisions made by the tragic hero. It is evident that through Macbeth’s murderous actions, in Act 2 Scene 1, Act 3 Scene 4 and Act 5 Scene 8 that he finds it hard to restrain himself, causing him to escape his moral compass. Macbeth’s insanity manifests his downfall which is plagued by his love for Lady Macbeth, his belief in the prophecy, fate and ultimately his tragic flaw of ambition. Undoubtedly, Macbeth’s own actions lead to psychological torment and the degradation of his moral sensibilities. In Act 2 Scene 1, Macbeth’s soliloquy reveals his true thoughts and feelings to the audience. Antithesis is used at the commencement and conclusion of this monologue to emphasise the idea of contrast...
Words: 938 - Pages: 4
...Rough copy In life even a hero can lead his life into a downfall. A tragic hero must experience both a tragic and heroic life. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the titular of the play is a great example of a tragic hero. Firstly, Macbeth is already of high status from the beginning of the play, and is brave in battle to win the war for Scotland; surely this makes him a hero. Next Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his, that is a desire for power and to be king. These flaws play an important role in the outcome of his life. Finally Macbeth’s obsession with the prophecies, and the murders he commits mainly leads to his downfall or periopetria. Although, a hero usually lives a triumphant life their personality can lead to their downfall and death. Too start off with Macbeth’s bravery and courage won the day for Scotland in defeating Norway and Macdonowald. First, brave and loyal Macbeth storms through the battle with Banquo defeating Sweno, in an insane fight for which his, “brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution.” Macbeth fought so courageously that the battle “ memorized another Golgotha.” In this case Macbeth is definitely a hero. Second, in the beginning of Act 1 scene 2 Duncan is in Awe of how valiant and noble of a soldier Macbeth is. “ O valiant cousin! Worthy gentlemen.” Even though Macbeth is Duncan’s cousin he is till filed with absolute joy about Macbeths accomplishment. Third, the king promotes Macbeth to thane of Cawdor. “ And with this former title greet Macbeth.” As...
Words: 816 - Pages: 4
...In reality, people have been falsely accused of crimes and for other people’s mistakes. Occasionally, some people are accused because others may not want to take full responsibility for their actions. However, some mistakes may be taken full responsibility by a number of people. The play called Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a perfect example on how numerous people are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall including himself. Lady Macbeth is ultimately responsible for Macbeth’s downfall because she is manipulative and overly ambitious. First of all, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in Macbeth’s rise and downfall as a king from being manipulative and conceiving. For example, “Looks like th’ innocent flower/but be the serpent under’t” (1.6.76-77)....
Words: 700 - Pages: 3
...by Aristotle’s standards, in that all five of the established tragic traits are applicable to Macbeth’s character (a noble birth, Hamartia, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and Catharsis). The narrative of Macbeth follows the timeless trajectory of a tragedy; Macbeth comes from a place of serendipity, and over the course of events, finds himself plummeting into defeat as a character. Through critical analysis of Macbeth’s core traits compared to the core traits of a tragedy, it becomes apparent Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his tragedy and his downfall as an individual, because it was his own hubris which drove him to bring about the prophecy he heard. To acknowledge this fully, one must first simply observe both the actions of Macbeth and the core elements crucial to a tragic hero, as according to Aristotle for the sake of consistency in a historical theme of narrative. Aristotle’s traits of a tragic hero are as follows: a noble birth, Hamartia, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and Catharsis. To begin with, the first element of a tragedy we are faced with in Macbeth is of being of a noble...
Words: 1432 - Pages: 6
...Macbeth’s portrayal of the tragic downfall of a king through his ambition, greed and weakness has allowed it to resonate with contemporary audiences. Macbeth’s human flaws paint him as a tragic hero – he is not intrinsically ‘evil’, but his consuming ambition, the desire and greed he possesses and his weakness and inability to resist his wife’s and the witches’ temptations ultimately lead to his downfall. These three flaws are inseparable from our human nature, and they are indeed still relevant and relatable in our society today. Macbeth’s ambition is his one great flaw that leads to his ruin. Ambition is a quality that we all exhibit. However, Macbeth’s ambition consumes him, and overwhelms his moral sense, his noble character. Initially, he is presented to the audience as a brave soldier, “like Valour’s minion,” having defeated an entire army. He is respected and admired by all, including King Duncan, who promotes him to Thane of Cawdor. By the end of the play, however, he has become a moral-less tyrant. His ultimate fall from grace lies in his ambition, his desire to become King at any cost. His image at the end of the play, a senseless, paranoid, murderer is sharply juxtaposed with his portrayal as a valiant solider initially. It is this juxtaposition of a noble hero and a ruined tyrant that invokes ‘a catharsis of pity and fear’, as described by Aristotle, in the audience, and that still allows contemporary audiences today to relate and respond. The three weird sisters...
Words: 1103 - Pages: 5
...dangerous quality. Ambition is the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which triggers the murders that take place in Macbeth. Although, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is ambition, it is the driving force of the play which is influenced by Lady Macbeth and the three witches. Lady Macbeth plays a major role in the downfall of Macbeth. She influenced and convinced Macbeth to commit the murder about Duncan, believing that the power would bring both of them happiness. Lady Macbeth says “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise thee with the valour of my tongue. (Shakespeare 353)” It is as though Lady Macbeth is Macbeths bad conscious. She remarks, that she will solve his dilemma by poisoning his mind with her evil plan of murdering Duncan. Unlike her husband she is made of sterner stuff and has no moral scruples because she is evil to the core and decides to convince Macbeth to murder the king. This is the first murder victim of Macbeth. After the death of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth commits suicide which it is another breaking point of his down fall. Macbeth’s quest and desire for the power caused him to become a man of no emotions. Macbeth is an easy person to persuade and convince. Since the three witches gave him his prophecies, Macbeth’s character changed gradually over the course of the play. He became obsessed with making sure the prophecies come true as well as having a strong desire for power as king. Macbeth’s emotionless journey has led him...
Words: 655 - Pages: 3
...To what extent is Macbeth responsible for his own downfall? Macbeth is a universal text and is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, when we talk about Macbeth’s downfall it is both the downfall of the single state of man and the downfall of his wider social relations, these being Lady Macbeth, Duncan, Banquo, Macduff’s family and ultimately Scotland. Aristotle says that ‘tragedy is the imitation of an action’ he is talking about an action or a motive that governs the protagonist’s life. A tragedy is commonly known as a story or play that ends with a negative or unfortunate outcome that was essentially unavoidable, usually caused by a flaw in the central character’s personality. Although it is established that Macbeth is a tragedy, there are differences in audience response to tragedy. The audience of Elizabethan times saw tragedy as the destruction of the Great Chain of Being and the danger to the order and stability of the state. The Great Chain of being is conception of the hierachical order of the universe; Elizabethan audiences believed that a bond linked all things in the universe. They saw Macbeth as a tragedy because the rightful ruler of Scotland was killed which lead to Scotland being lead by an evil King. Contemporary audiences see Macbeth as a tragedy because of the psychological destruction of a man, and the crises caused by this man. Macbeth shows the journey of a tragic hero, Macbeth has the traits of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle: nobility, hamartia...
Words: 2142 - Pages: 9
...The Fall of Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is seen as a calculating factor in Macbeth’s life. She is able to manipulate his action, which in turn affects the events in the drama. However, midway through the play, she loses control of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth played as the leader throughout the play. Lady Macbeth was the catalyst that lead Macbeth to do things he couldn’t of done on his own. Macbeth was highly ambitious, but Lady Macbeth was even more so. Without Lady Macbeth, the tragic downfall of Macbeth wouldn’t of happened. To begin, Lady Macbeth uses Macbeth as the stepping stool to the throne. Lady Macbeth wants the power, and she knows Macbeth would do anything for her because he loves her. Lady Macbeth makes it clear that she is the...
Words: 850 - Pages: 4
...The downfall of Macbeth is most often attributed to either his own ambitions run amok or the influence of his wife's Machiavellian manipulations. The husband and wife work in tandem to bring about the prophecies of the Weird Sisters, and it is Macbeth's hand that does the greater evil deed against Duncan and the only evil against Banqo and MacDuff's family members; in essence the rise of the Macbeths to power is one of shared responsibility. Their downfall is played out on the same road as they travel in opposite directions to and from being responsible for their own fate. The belief in the occult is an element of the play that drives its tragedy; an element that may be lost on modern audiences looking to find motivation for Macbeth's murderous deeds. The belief in prophecy is particularly important in gaining a foothold on understanding the downfall of Macbeth and his Lady. When Macbeth first comes upon the Weird Sister and they roll out the prophecies for both Macbeth and Banquo, and by extension Duncan and his family, more is going on than just a foretelling of the future. The prophecies instill in Macbeth the realization of his dreams, of course, but they also portend that the darkest fears of Macbeth will be realized alongside his dreams. Without Macbeth's unquestioned belief in the occult and acceptance that the Weird Sisters have the power of prophecy, there would be neither a rise nor a fall. If the rise of Macbeth to king can be said to be a combination of belief in...
Words: 990 - Pages: 4
...their downfall? It could be a number of different instances, including internal and external influences. Internal influences would include their own thoughts and thought processes and external influences would include other people’s influence. Internal influences are the major ones here for they cannot be dealt with easily as the person is the only one who can fix it. While with external influences can just be ignored, internal cannot be ignored. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the downfall of Macbeth includes external influences by his wife, the witches, and internal influences from himself....
Words: 656 - Pages: 3
...books, Frankenstein and Macbeth feed too much into their ambition, leading them to pursue things with deadly consequences. While both books feature characters whose ultimate downfall is a result of their ambition,...
Words: 1127 - Pages: 5
...The influence that women have in the two texts display how love defines the rash actions that one may display for what they desire. Gatsby’s love for Daisy Buchannan along with the influence that she brings to his life, leads him into a downward spiral which then ends in his demise, the influence of Lady Macbeth on Macbeth tests his desires and lust for power. Obsessions and persisting those obsessions are what creates both stories of Macbeth and Gatsby and entail the main motivations for power or for the love of a woman who was like a long lost friend. Through self-destruction and illusion, the two texts display those obsessions and their impossible and illusionistic outcomes. Gatsby and Macbeth, with all the similarities that they show, their...
Words: 1260 - Pages: 6
...Shakespeare’s psychological drama “The Tragedy of Macbeth” follows a highly respected soldier caught between his morality and his passion for power. As a result of Macbeth’s overconfidence and fatuitous expectations, he goes down a tragic path ultimately isolating himself from others and leading to his downfall. It is obvious that Macbeth’s mind starts degenerating after murdering King Duncan for his selfish interests. When Macbeth overtakes the throne he uses the crown as an impenetrable shield which eradicates all justice that blocks his path. As Macbeth gets comfortable on his blood covered throne, he does not realize...
Words: 1536 - Pages: 7
...Power and Passion – Macbeth In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, two concepts, power and passion are conveyed through the downfall of the tragic play. The characters, mainly Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, show the relationship between these two concepts. Throughout the playwright, Macbeth has an ambition to gain more power, and especially when hearing the prophecy from the three witches after the victory of his battle, he becomes passionate about possessing the throne of Scotland. This essay will also discuss a particular soliloquy acted out by Macbeth where he imagines a dagger in front of him. Macbeth’s passion to be king originates from where the three witches address Macbeth as the ‘Thane of Cawdor’, ‘Thane of Glamis’, and ‘King hereafter’ when the witches chant “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1 Scene 3, line 48). Macbeth believes in these prophecies as they are supernatural entities, and this drives Macbeth’s ambition to achieve higher status and reputation. When Lady Macbeth hears this from the messenger, she gains high ambitions for him and becomes seduced by the idea of becoming the queen. She speaks to herself “I may pour my spirits in thine ear” (Act 1 Scene 5, line 25), which means she will inspire Macbeth with her passion about an evil deed she thought of. However, she also knew Macbeth could not perform such evil deeds as she says that he is “too full o’th’ milk of human kindness” (Act 1 Scene 5, line 16), therefore she uses his weakness throughout...
Words: 866 - Pages: 4
