Macbeth Tragic Hero Research Paper

The word prosperity means success which is defined by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as simply being something that turns out well. According to Aristotle, to be a tragic hero, “the change of fortune should be not from bad to good but, reversely from good to bad” (Aristotle), in other words, from success to misery and not vice versa. There are many examples of tragic heroes in literature and modern day who fit this description, as their misfortunes also come to them “not through vice or depravity but some error of judgement” (Aristotle). Though all stories have protagonists , whether they be fiction or not, not all have the protagonist and antagonist as the same character. A tragic hero is a hero who is of high birth and possesses many good

A tragic hero “generally passes from prosperity to woe” (Barnet), “the pain which he undergoes is often partly self-inflicted, for he willfully violates an existing code” (Barnet), and finally “chooses to express his mind at the expense of his body, and even of his peace of mind” (Barnet). In the Shakespearean play Macbeth, the main character Macbeth is proven to be a tragic hero.

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Success can be found in many different ways, whether it be with work or with love, and a tragic hero is defined as a hero who starts the story successfully but ends in misery. Having peers are an important part of life and Macbeth’s main peer is hish wife who speaks to how successful Macbeth is when it comes to love, but by the end of the play, this view is changed. During the first act of the play, Lady Macbeth states that she fears “[Macbeth’s] nature;/ [Is] too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (I.v.15-16), but when the play reaches its end, Macbeth’s feelings towards his wife are changed. In the last act of the play, news of Lady Macbeth’s suicide is announced to Macbeth, to which he replies that “she should have died hereafter;/ There would

Macbeth makes the decision to go on with his plans despite the effects it will may have on his sanity and peace of mind. During Macbeth’s banquet, the ghost of Banquo appears, forcing Macbeth to ask “which one of you have done this?... Thou cans’t not say I did it!” (III.iv.61-64). Macbeth’s ability to see Banquo’s ghost proves that he has lost his sanity, the price of becoming kind. Sanity has more to it than just seeing things that are not there, but also what leads to this state, for example; a lack of sleep. It is made clear to Macbeth that he will have sleepless nights early on in the play, but the idea of the consequences of sleeplessness is a recurring idea. Macbeth’s hallucinations appear all throughout the play, and after murdering King Duncan, he thinks he hears a voice cry “sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” (II.ii.47-48). In the following act, Lady Macbeth points out to Macbeth, that “[he lacks] the season of all natures, sleep” (III.iv.172). Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffer the repercussions promised to Macbeth; a lack of sleep, due to all the crimes he has committed and plans to commit. There is an infinite list of things that keep a person happy and having peers is one of them. Macbeth’s peace of mind is sacrificed along with many other things which lead to the eventual state of depression he sets