I've got to hand in a folio with 5 essays on Friday. I've done two.
I need help fixing this essay on Macbeth and the question is "How can Macbeth be classed as a tragic hero?"
Here's what I've got so far..
Finlay Robbins Macbeth – A Tragic Hero? CED
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is a thought-provoking play about the rise and fall of a noble swordsman. I personally think that Macbeth could be classed as a ‘Tragic Hero’. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, has to have certain characteristics. He must be a man of noble birth, and noble nature. Furthermore he must have one fatal flaw which leads to his downfall, and that of those around him. The audience must also feel pity for his death or at least feel pity of the waste of so much potentional.
The question I will be answering in the essay is: in what ways can Macbeth be called a tragic hero?
Macbeth fits the description of a tragic hero perfectly. He is born of noble birth, he is the cousin of Duncan, the King. “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” (Act i, Scene 2) Macbeth is also the Thane of Glamis, and soon to be announced Thane of Cawdor. “All hail Macbeth…Thane of Galmis!…Thane of Cawdor!” This was quoted from two of the three witches, the third then goes on to foretell that Macbeth will be King of Scotland, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King herafter!” This increases Macbeths already noble birth. In addition Banquo also refers to Macbeth as his “Noble partner”
There is no doubt that Macbeth is a noble man. He risked everything he had to protect Scotland from Norway, and single-handedly took down the treacherous Thane of Cawdor: “Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof, Confronted him with self-comparisons, Point against point, rebellious arm ‘gainst arm, Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude, The victory fell on us.” (Act i, Scene 2) Macbeth was seen as a brave and noble man by all of his peers, and even King Duncan himself. This is why Duncan proclaimed “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won,” (Act i, Scene 2) referring to the fact that he named Macbeth to be Thane of Cawdor.
Macbeths noble nature can also be regarded from the accolades of others. The quote from Duncan “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” shows proof of this, as does Banquos description of “Worthy Macbeth.” Macbeths actions can also show that Macbeth has an honorable nature. After he receives the prophecy of his rise to the throne, he declares that “If chance will have me King, then chance may crown me, without my stir.” This signifies that Macbeth does not want wish to take action to become King. He simply will let fate take its course.
At the start of the play, Macbeth was a loyal and honest man, but as the play progresses, his descent into murder and betrayal is the tale of how ambition can ruin even the most faithful of men. His ambition is his fatal flaw, and he even recognises it himself; "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, and falls on the other." (Act i, Scene 7).
Once Macbeth yields to this fatal flaw, he deteriorates quickly. To murder Duncan, Macbeth needs to utmost Once Macbeth yields to this fatal flaw, he deteriorates quickly. To murder Duncan, Macbeth needs to utmost persuasion from his wife, Lady Macbeth, but once he recovers from the killing of his cousin, he does not see a problem in killing again. “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus”(Act i Scene 3) This quote shows that he does not care about killing anymore, as if it would be no problem for him. Macbeth continues to deteriorate through the play, until he proclaims that worth is simply not worth living, where he says “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
The only part of the Tragic Hero left to fulfill is the part of the audience feeling sorrow for his death, or at the very least sorrow for the waste of potential. This could be put down to a matter of opinion, but I feel sorrow myself when Macbeth was killed for his actions. His wife, Lady Macbeth, bullied and persuaded Macbeth to commit the crimes he did. When Duncan was staying at their castle, Lady Macbeth said that if Macbeth does not murder Duncan, he cannot be called a man. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man.” Macbeth tries to defend himself in saying that he would do enough to be a man, but any more and he would not be; “I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none” but Lady Macbeth wins him over, and Macbeth confides to Lady Macbeth that he shall do it, saying “I am settled, and bend up, each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what false heart doth know.”
In conclusion, I feel Macbeth is a tragic hero due to the fact that he accomplishes all the points portrayed by Aristotle; he is a man of noble birth and nature, he has one fatal flaw – his ambition – that leads to the downfall of himself and others around him. The audience also feels pity for his death due to the fact that some may feel that he shouldn’t have been killed for his actions.
If you guys could be as nice as to fix that and help me out that'd be awesome.
I need help fixing this essay on Macbeth and the question is "How can Macbeth be classed as a tragic hero?"
Here's what I've got so far..
Finlay Robbins Macbeth – A Tragic Hero? CED
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is a thought-provoking play about the rise and fall of a noble swordsman. I personally think that Macbeth could be classed as a ‘Tragic Hero’. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, has to have certain characteristics. He must be a man of noble birth, and noble nature. Furthermore he must have one fatal flaw which leads to his downfall, and that of those around him. The audience must also feel pity for his death or at least feel pity of the waste of so much potentional.
The question I will be answering in the essay is: in what ways can Macbeth be called a tragic hero?
Macbeth fits the description of a tragic hero perfectly. He is born of noble birth, he is the cousin of Duncan, the King. “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” (Act i, Scene 2) Macbeth is also the Thane of Glamis, and soon to be announced Thane of Cawdor. “All hail Macbeth…Thane of Galmis!…Thane of Cawdor!” This was quoted from two of the three witches, the third then goes on to foretell that Macbeth will be King of Scotland, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King herafter!” This increases Macbeths already noble birth. In addition Banquo also refers to Macbeth as his “Noble partner”
There is no doubt that Macbeth is a noble man. He risked everything he had to protect Scotland from Norway, and single-handedly took down the treacherous Thane of Cawdor: “Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof, Confronted him with self-comparisons, Point against point, rebellious arm ‘gainst arm, Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude, The victory fell on us.” (Act i, Scene 2) Macbeth was seen as a brave and noble man by all of his peers, and even King Duncan himself. This is why Duncan proclaimed “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won,” (Act i, Scene 2) referring to the fact that he named Macbeth to be Thane of Cawdor.
Macbeths noble nature can also be regarded from the accolades of others. The quote from Duncan “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” shows proof of this, as does Banquos description of “Worthy Macbeth.” Macbeths actions can also show that Macbeth has an honorable nature. After he receives the prophecy of his rise to the throne, he declares that “If chance will have me King, then chance may crown me, without my stir.” This signifies that Macbeth does not want wish to take action to become King. He simply will let fate take its course.
At the start of the play, Macbeth was a loyal and honest man, but as the play progresses, his descent into murder and betrayal is the tale of how ambition can ruin even the most faithful of men. His ambition is his fatal flaw, and he even recognises it himself; "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, and falls on the other." (Act i, Scene 7).
Once Macbeth yields to this fatal flaw, he deteriorates quickly. To murder Duncan, Macbeth needs to utmost Once Macbeth yields to this fatal flaw, he deteriorates quickly. To murder Duncan, Macbeth needs to utmost persuasion from his wife, Lady Macbeth, but once he recovers from the killing of his cousin, he does not see a problem in killing again. “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus”(Act i Scene 3) This quote shows that he does not care about killing anymore, as if it would be no problem for him. Macbeth continues to deteriorate through the play, until he proclaims that worth is simply not worth living, where he says “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
The only part of the Tragic Hero left to fulfill is the part of the audience feeling sorrow for his death, or at the very least sorrow for the waste of potential. This could be put down to a matter of opinion, but I feel sorrow myself when Macbeth was killed for his actions. His wife, Lady Macbeth, bullied and persuaded Macbeth to commit the crimes he did. When Duncan was staying at their castle, Lady Macbeth said that if Macbeth does not murder Duncan, he cannot be called a man. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man.” Macbeth tries to defend himself in saying that he would do enough to be a man, but any more and he would not be; “I dare do all that may become a man, who dares do more is none” but Lady Macbeth wins him over, and Macbeth confides to Lady Macbeth that he shall do it, saying “I am settled, and bend up, each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what false heart doth know.”
In conclusion, I feel Macbeth is a tragic hero due to the fact that he accomplishes all the points portrayed by Aristotle; he is a man of noble birth and nature, he has one fatal flaw – his ambition – that leads to the downfall of himself and others around him. The audience also feels pity for his death due to the fact that some may feel that he shouldn’t have been killed for his actions.
If you guys could be as nice as to fix that and help me out that'd be awesome.