Macbeth by William Shakespeare is credited to be one of the greatest plays ever written. The play deserves such high praise because of its near perfect fit to the standards of Shakespearian tragedy. The play exhibits multiple characters of a tragedy, however the most obvious, and arguably most significant include the use of a tragic hero, hamartia, and catharsis.
Undoubtedly, the most vital part of a Shakespearean tragedy is that the play contains a tragic hero. Previously, in Aristotelian Tragedy, the tragic hero must be a noble man of higher social standing. However in Shakespearean tragedy, there is more emphasis that the tragic hero is a man of high social standing that has an impact on society. The man must also be noble, although high …show more content…
Hamartia is a key aspect of the tragic hero that starts out as a positive one, which later changes and ends up being detrimental to the tragic hero, and is the root of his collapse. The tragic flaw is also known as Hamartia. In Aristotelian tragedy, the Hamartia was more obvious, such as in Oedipus the King. Oedipus’s Hubris was obvious from the beginning, however in Shakespearean tragedy, the flaw is less evident and sometimes unrecognisable if not studied cautiously. In Macbeth, the Hamartia of the tragic hero is ambition. Macbeth receives prophecies from the three witches, stating that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then king there after. After King Duncan awards Macbeth with the title Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition rises as he craves more, King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth convinces her husband the only for way that prophecy can come true is if Macbeth assassinates Duncan. Macbeth’s destructive obsession with ambition is evident when he is contemplating assonating King Duncan, “Stars, hide your fires!/Let not light see my black and deep desires." (Shakespeare 1.4.58-59) Macbeth’s ambition starts out as a positive trait for him because he wants to achieve great things and eventually be the King for the great Country of Scotland, however, once this once positive trait gets the best of him, it leads to his …show more content…
Catharsis is the process of releasing, and thus providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. This can help explain why people enjoy going to watch horror movies, or read tragedies; they redirect their fear from something rational, to something external, thus giving the audience the sense of a new start of emotions. This gives the audience a chance to leave all old fears and worries in the past because now they have this irrational horror to concern themselves with. In Macbeth, the audience feels pity for Macbeth because he showed incredible bravery to achieve his aspirations. However, the audience also fears Macbeths fate may be closer to there’s than ever imaginable because Macbeth is a relatable very gentleman. Having a spouse go delusional is not too farfetched and may already be half true for some individuals in the audience. Macbeth is admired for his courage and cleverness, yet he is seduced by ambition and it costs Macbeth his life. The audience feels bad for Macbeth when he realizes in his soliloquy that he
Undoubtedly, the most vital part of a Shakespearean tragedy is that the play contains a tragic hero. Previously, in Aristotelian Tragedy, the tragic hero must be a noble man of higher social standing. However in Shakespearean tragedy, there is more emphasis that the tragic hero is a man of high social standing that has an impact on society. The man must also be noble, although high …show more content…
Hamartia is a key aspect of the tragic hero that starts out as a positive one, which later changes and ends up being detrimental to the tragic hero, and is the root of his collapse. The tragic flaw is also known as Hamartia. In Aristotelian tragedy, the Hamartia was more obvious, such as in Oedipus the King. Oedipus’s Hubris was obvious from the beginning, however in Shakespearean tragedy, the flaw is less evident and sometimes unrecognisable if not studied cautiously. In Macbeth, the Hamartia of the tragic hero is ambition. Macbeth receives prophecies from the three witches, stating that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then king there after. After King Duncan awards Macbeth with the title Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition rises as he craves more, King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth convinces her husband the only for way that prophecy can come true is if Macbeth assassinates Duncan. Macbeth’s destructive obsession with ambition is evident when he is contemplating assonating King Duncan, “Stars, hide your fires!/Let not light see my black and deep desires." (Shakespeare 1.4.58-59) Macbeth’s ambition starts out as a positive trait for him because he wants to achieve great things and eventually be the King for the great Country of Scotland, however, once this once positive trait gets the best of him, it leads to his …show more content…
Catharsis is the process of releasing, and thus providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. This can help explain why people enjoy going to watch horror movies, or read tragedies; they redirect their fear from something rational, to something external, thus giving the audience the sense of a new start of emotions. This gives the audience a chance to leave all old fears and worries in the past because now they have this irrational horror to concern themselves with. In Macbeth, the audience feels pity for Macbeth because he showed incredible bravery to achieve his aspirations. However, the audience also fears Macbeths fate may be closer to there’s than ever imaginable because Macbeth is a relatable very gentleman. Having a spouse go delusional is not too farfetched and may already be half true for some individuals in the audience. Macbeth is admired for his courage and cleverness, yet he is seduced by ambition and it costs Macbeth his life. The audience feels bad for Macbeth when he realizes in his soliloquy that he