Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

Macbeth is remarkably hard to characterize due to the fact that he possesses many of the elements of a villain, however; he does have generally good intentions, heroic qualities, and a tragic flaw. Thus, I believe the best classification for Macbeth would be a tragic hero, with many villainous characteristics. Firstly, Macbeth has many elements of a hero, such as: his honour, longstanding loyalty to his country, and good intentions. However, there are certainly flaws in his character that lead to his downfall, mainly his unchecked ambition and his fastly held masculinity. Furthermore, he possesses villainous traits such as his ruthlessness, selfishness and immorality. Finally, there is certainly an element of sympathy and pity felt for him …show more content…
Firstly, the character must be of greatness and in a position of nobility and status to fall from. The second characteristic of a tragic hero is a ‘hamartia’ (a tragic flaw); essentially, a flaw of character that leads to ones downfall. Next is, ‘peripeteia’ , in essence, a reversal in fortune brought about by the hero’s hamartia. The fourth trait is ‘anagnorisis’ , essentially recognition or insight into ones self, circumstances, and/or tragic flaw—usually once it is too late to make a change. Finally, a tragic hero must produce ‘catharsis ' in the audience. According to Collins English Dictionary, catharsis—in the context of Aristotelian literary criticism— is characterized as “the purging or purification of the emotions through the evocation of pity and fear, as in tragedy.” It is worth noting that another characteristic of a tragic hero is a punishment or fate that exceeds that which he or she deserves, essentially, the audience should feel a degree of pity or sympathy as the hero’s comeuppance is not proportional to their misdeeds. However, this trait is not exactly pertinent to Macbeth due to the honourable, and relatively just nature of his departure, thus it will not be elaborated up