Macbeth is a Tragic Hero
"Shakespeare's tragic hero is a man of noble birth who falls from a position of honor and respect due to a flaw in his character. He freely chooses a course of action which ultimately causes him suffering and brings him to a fatal end."(Campbell 129) Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero who rises high then falls rock bottom to his death. Macbeth, once a noble man, follows the advice of witches, finds himself King, abuses his power and then gets killed. Macbeth goes through four stages until he reaches the end of his life; his original state, his tragic flaw, his downfall and finally his suffering. These four stages help to justify Shakespeare's tragic hero.
Macbeth's original state is noble yet frail and cowardly. In the beginning of Macbeth, we find Macbeth to be an anti-hero, one of no courage or strength in mind. One of whom can not make his own decisions without the aid of his wife, Lady Macbeth. However, Macbeth is likeable and people respect him for what he is. Although, a soldier on the outside, inside, we find Macbeth to be somewhat of a coward. When Macbeth encounters the witches, we find him to be quite afraid and unable to speak, while Banquo pleads for their answers. Macbeth takes the witches' advice as an invitation to kill Duncan in order to uphold the position of king. Macbeth is too afraid to do it until his wife, Lady Macbeth, who plays a more masculine role then Macbeth himself, coaxes him to kill Duncan. "We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail..." (1.7.69-71). This is the turning point, the place where Macbeth makes a wrong turn into darkness, one he can not turn back. After killing Duncan without being caught, he beco...
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...y and honor), to then committing sinful acts that catapult him into darkness. This darkness leads to his ultimate demise.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Campbell, Lily B. "Macbeth as Tragic Hero." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 126-35.
Gates, David. "Shakespeare: Dead White Male of the Year." Newsweek 30 Dec. 1996: 82+.
Kinney, Arthur F. ed. William Shakpespeare: the Tragedies. Boston: Hall and Company, 1985.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Elements of Literature. Sixth ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997.
Wadsworth, Frank W. "Shakespeare, William." World Book Online American Edition. Online Edition. Online. Netzero. 26 Mar 2002.
"William Shakespeare." BBC Homepage. Online. Available <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/culture/shakespeare.shtml>. 26 Mar. 2002.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” came to print in 1897, at the height of Nineteenth century Victorian life in Europe, a progressively modern era that saw much medical and technological advancement. This era brought with it the contentious idea of an empowered woman, the “New Woman,” a woman who aspires to be educated as well as sexually and economically independent. Stoker gives a contrasting view of this notion in “Dracula.” While the main characters, Lucy and Mina, are clearly opposite in personality, they are both portrayed as unequal, defenseless objects that are to be protected and desired. However, one woman’s fate is determined by her weakness, while the other is determined by her strength.
Even though these were some good reasons on why he would not go hunting, there are also reasons why he would go hunting. First, he beat General Zaroff a person who has been training for many years. Also there was a little gift that he got at the end where he got to sleep in a luxury bed. If he keeps getting gifts like that he might continue hunting. Lastly, I think Rainsford had a little thrill in this hunting job. Hunting is usually mean but when you hunt a human. You never know what might happen.
In the 19th century Bram Stoker wrote the infamous novel, Dracula. This novel was composed in the style of letters, journal entries, newspaper articles and telegrams in order to convey to the reader a realistic story. The story of Dracula is about an ancient vampire who moves to London from his native country of Transylvania. In London, Dracula seduces and bites a young woman by the name of Lucy Westenra. When Lucy falls sick, no one knows how to help her because while Dracula has bitten her many times she has always been in a trance. Lucy?s friends decide to join together to combat what ever is ailing Lucy. In hopes of some help, Lucy?s friend Dr. Seward asks an old mentor of his by the name of Dr. Van Helsing to come to London and solve this puzzling illness. When Dr. Van Helsing arrives in London and sees Lucy he is the only one that knows almost immediately what has happened and what they are up against. The character of Dracula rarely appears in the story because this creates suspense and magnifies the fear of the unknown. The theme of good versus evil is developed throughout the book in many ways. One of the most important examples is Dracula and Mina. Dracula is the ultimate evil and Mina is full of goodness and purity. The Victorian view of women was not helpful to the characters in Dracula. For example, every time the male characters in the story decide not to tell Mina some particular type of information, things end up going terribly wrong. Even though Mina ends up being the key to destroying Dracula she is still a women and the Victorian view gets in the way.
Foakes, Francis. "A New Perspective of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 58-64.
In conclusion, Run Lola Run is an excellent film that incorporates phenomenal editing and music. If a viewer were not dazzled by this film one would be very surprised because it is a very compelling and breathtaking. The formula editor Mathilde Bonnefoy used to manage the complex rhythms in this film will not only dazzle viewers with the pacing, but it also maintains an extensive focus on what Lola is doing, why she is doing it and what of importance is happening in the film.
“Dracula’ depicts what happens when Victorian women abandon their role as house-maker, house-wife and the ‘possession’ of their husband. Lucy is the ‘wanton’ women in this case, presented as subtly sexual with her flirtations to not one but three suitors, her sexual innuendos for example, about the size of one beau’s knife and continual requests for being kissed. In contrast, Mina is the embodiment of the perfect Victorian woman, the Gothic female. She is steadfast and reliable, and knows her role as a demure submissive fiancé. She personifies the new era of working women with a sensible job as a teacher, indicative of her intelligence.
Gothic literature is a genre fashioned to portray concealed fantasies and unsocial behaviours, only to go against social boundaries and emphasise these by the end. This chapter focuses on the representation of male characters in the gothic text, Dracula by Bram Stoker. Gothic texts not only violate social norms but throughout the nineteenth century male characters have had a persistent need to conform to the high standards of society. Several writers within the Victorian era expressed feelings of repressed sexuality and issues surrounding gender, Dracula is one of many gothic novels that hold these issues central. Men have had to ignore their individual needs for sexual relations and playing along to fit into society. The gothic characterises this emotional war fought within the anxious males and expresses these ideas of homosexuality and violating social norms in a negative light. One of the major themes of Dracula is the triumph of the masculine over the feminine. This interpretation is not limited to the treatment of the characters. Even though the men – Van Helsing, Seward, Godalming, Morris and Harker do rescue the female character, Mina Harker, from the evil hands of another male, Count Dracula, their real triumph is over the feminine forces that he represents. In Dracula anxiety is displayed when the male characters are left alone with the females – Harker writes in his journal ‘I am alone in the castle with those awful women. Faugh! Mina is a woman, and there is nought in common. They are devils of the Pit!’ (p.46) here we see Mina contrasted to the three Brides of Dracula, Harker portrays them as complete opposites. Masculinity remains as the more powerful position, despite the depiction of powerful females on the surfac...
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, is a highly controversial work of fiction that is still being read for the first time today. Dracula touches many different categories including; sci-fi horror to 1800’s English romance literature. This is the main reason why the novel Dracula can be analyzed in many different ways using many different literary theories. The theory which stuck out most to me while reading this novel was the Feminist Theory. The Feminist Theory cannot be used to analyze Dracula as a whole novel, but it can be used in order to analyze the different female characters throughout the book. Therefore, Bram Stoker’s Dracula can be analyzed through the feminist theory by focusing on the characters Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, and the three brides of Dracula.
Similar to almost every piece of literature ever created, Dracula by Bram Stoker has been interpreted many different ways, being torn at from every angle possible. Just as one might find interest in interpreting novels differently, he or she might also find interest in the plot, prose, or theme, all of which ultimately lead to the novels overall tone. Throughout the novel, it becomes blatant that the novel contains an underlying theme of female incompetence and inferiority. Through a true feminist’s eyes, this analysis can clearly be understood by highlighting the actions of Mina and Lucy, the obvious inferior females in the book. Through Stoker’s complete and utter manipulation of Mina and Lucy, he practically forces the reader to analyze the co-existence of dominant males and inferior females in society and to simultaneously accept the fact that the actual text of Dracula is reinforcing the typical female stereotypes that have developed throughout the ages.
Encyclopaedia, Britannica. “Macbeth.” Britannica Biographies (2012): 1. History Reference Center. Web. 6 November 2013. http://web.ebscohost.com.
...humanity which increases his survival abilities. Even though Eliezer loses his relationship with his father, losing the relationship fuels his will to survive positively.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press New Folger Edition, 1992
“Dracula, in one aspect, is a novel about the types of Victorian women and the representation of them in Victorian English society” (Humphrey). Through Mina, Lucy and the daughters of Dracula, Stoker symbolizes three different types of woman: the pure, the tempted and the impure. “Although Mina and Lucy possess similar qualities there is striking difference between the two” (Humphrey). Mina is the ideal 19th century Victorian woman; she is chaste, loyal and intelligent. On the other hand, Lucy’s ideal Victorian characteristics began to fade as she transformed from human to vampire and eventually those characteristics disappeared altogether. Lucy no longer embodied the Victorian woman and instead, “the swe...
Stevenson, John Allen. A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula. 2nd ed. Vol. 103. N.p.: Modern Language Association, 1988. JSTOR. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .
... be feeling this way. In Run Lola Run this was used when Manni is in the phone box on the phone to Lola . You see Manni standing in the phone box and his body language is showing the audience frustration and on the edge. This technique was used so the viewers can get an idea of not only how the characters are reacting with the expression on their face but also how they are taking it.