Shakespeare's Macbeth - Villain, Tragic Hero, or Simply Ambitious ?

2068 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Historical contexts of macbeth

Macbeth: Villain, Tragic Hero, or Simply Ambitious ?

The play MacBeth conforms to the definition of a tragedy: “A play in verse or in prose dealing with tragic events, usually ending in the downfall of the protagonist”1. However, many sections of MacBeth do not describe a tragic hero, but merely a villain or a lord who is overly ambitious and pays the consequences for his actions. MacBeth is a tragedy that challenges the very foundations of that genre, set by Aristotle and Plato in the third century B.C. These foundations had been part of the text Poetics, in which Aristotle listed the six requirements of dramatic tragedy, one of which is the inclusion of a tragic hero, a fundamental that has been followed by many tragedians including Sophocles, Aeschylus, O’Neill and Shakespeare himself in his other tragedies.

MacBeth however is different from these tragedies in that the protagonist is not clearly defined as a tragic hero, the reader may view glimpses of a hero in MacBeth but not in substantial amounts, so this is neither completely validated nor revoked by Shakespeare. In order to come to a conclusion the reader must take into consideration not only MacBeth’s intentions but those of the people around him as well, such as Lady MacBeth and the three Weird Sisters, both of whom can be deemed to have influenced his actions in some way.

MacBeth’s downfall and ultimate fate begins with his decision to murder King Duncan. Yet, from what the reader has seen of MacBeth so far, this action seems highly out of character. He is initially portrayed a loyal warrior who has a wife and his own castle, and yet he still chooses to murder Duncan. The apparent reason for this is ambition, we are told this by Ma...

... middle of paper ...

...d, not once was he forced into doing anything that was not desired by him. On many occasions, the reader is tempted to see MacBeth as a simple villain and yet his resolve to carry out what he had already started influences them to rethink their opinion on his status as a villain. This remarkable blend of a tragic hero, a villain and a man beset with sheer determination is one that allows MacBeth to stand out arguably as one of the finest morality plays ever written.

1. Concise Oxford dictionary

Bibliography

English 366: Studies in Shakespeare Introduction to Macbeth http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/eng366/index.htm

Barnet, Sylvan. Shakespeare’s MacBeth, Signet Classic 1987

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a Play for our Time http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/mac/intro.html

Aristotle, Poetics http://planetpapers.com/poetics/1209.html

Show More
Related

  • Native American Captivity Narratives, By Mary Rowlandon

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...n Brown used it to their advantage in creating their own captivity narratives based on fiction. Mary Rowlandson’s story happened to her and they just wanted to write about it. The Native Americans reputations have been destroyed because of this theme and people are not realizing that captivity narratives are from an unfair times in the Native Americans culture.

    Read More

  • Growing Up In The Nuclear Shadow Of Rocky Flats Analysis

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    The US government hid a deadly secret in Rocky Flats. The department of Energy set up a nuclear plant for manufacture of plutonium triggers for use in nuclear weapons during the Cold War in 1950s and 1960s. For years, residents believed that the plant made industrial detergent (McGrath). During her childhood, Iversen inquired of her mother of the sole business of the Rocky Flats. Her mother said, “I think [Rocky Flats] makes cleaning supplies, scrubbing bubbles or something.” (Iversen 12). This was indeed a lie propagated among the Coloradans. Full Body Burden reveals cover-up of US government mistakes in justification of its security concerns. Establishment of the plant by the government resulted into radioactive emissions into the environment. Ef...

    Read More

  • The Emotions of Ambition, Remorse, and Fear in 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.

    Read More

  • Jean Watson Theory In Nursing

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    Watson first published her theory of caring in 1979 in a book titled, Nursing: Human Science and Caring. Watson and other researchers have built upon this theory and caring theory should continually be evolving as the delivery of patient care evolves. This theory focuses on care between the nurse and the patient. This interaction is defined as setting mutual tasks, how a spiritual force may help the interaction and when caring in the moment of true healing may occur. When the nurse and patient are on the same level spiritually self-awareness and self-discovery occur. There are ten themes identified in this article essential to caring in

    Read More

  • The Birth of Monsters

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Each monster has its influences that caused its inception. Vampires were born of Byron’s lifestyle, sexuality, and opium use. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a piece of writing about the duality of good and evil within humanity. Despite their differing influences, these books, written seventy years apart, inspire some of the same emotions in readers. What is it about the nineteenth century that caused a craving for the horrific and scary?

    Read More

  • Mandatory Vaccination in the United States

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is hard to say whether this plan, had it been successful, would have been for the public good. Before this vaccination period, smallpox had been declared eradicated, and only the United States and Russia were allowed to remain in possession of strains of the disease for research. Fearing an attack, President Bush chose to target those who would be the first-responders in the face of a national medical emergency. However, the CDC has emphasized that there is no imminent threat of an outbreak, which leads one to wonder if this vaccine is really necessary or useful to the public, or if it only hinders our workforce and wastes the tax-payer’s money (5).

    Read More

  • Evoking Sympathy for Macbeth

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within Macbeth the tragedy and demise of Macbeth is an important factor in determining his character as a tragic hero.  However in order to elucidate on this point we need to define what is a tragedy.  Aristotle within ‘Poetics’ highlighted what characteristics he believed to define tragedy these being;

    Read More

  • The Great Migration

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...one example of how African-Americans were forced to live in big cities and how the North wasn’t as promising as it was supposed to be.

    Read More

  • The Zombie Craze

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zombies were born of Caribbean and bayou voodoo. They weren’t undead and flesh seeking, as society knows them today. They were people who were highly suggestible and didn’t think for themselves, being controlled by the voodoo practitioner. These stories quite often involved dark magic and rituals. In reality, it was a mix of herbs that caused the suggestible state. This fear is understandable as the government of the time grew increasingly powerful and every other system began to collapse during the Great Depression. The only way to survive would to be entirely subjected to Uncle Sam’s will.

    Read More

  • Child Labor

    2364 Words  | 5 Pages

    The three C’s of child labor are its causes, consequences, and cures. Causes and cures receive the greatest focus, but the consequences of child labor are far-reaching and long lasting. Yesterday’s child laborers are today’s uneducated, non-productive adults.

    Read More

  • Modern Day Child Labour

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    While we, as Americans, are currently living in the most advanced civilization up to this time, we tend to disregard problems of exploitation and injustice to nations of lesser caliber. Luckily, we don't have to worry about the exploitation of ourchildren in factories and sweet shops laboring over machines for countless hours. We, in the United States, would never tolerate such conditions. For us, child labor is a practice that climaxed and phased away during and then after the industrial revolution. In 1998 as we approach the new millenium, child labor cannot still bea reality, or can it? Unfortunately, the employment and exploitation of children inthe work force is still alive and thriving. While this phenomenon is generally confined to third world developing nations, much of the responsibility for its existence falls to economicsuper powers, such as the United States, which supply demand for the cheaply produced goods. While our children are nestled away safely in their beds, other children half way around the world are working away to the hum of machinery well into the night.

    Read More

  • Child Labor

    2143 Words  | 5 Pages

    The hopes of hundreds of millions are a stake; thinking things through is not just good intellectual practice, it is a moral duty because child labor is a human rights issue. By encouraging more child labor in an immoral way, we are not only taking away those innocent years from them but also the rights to be educated and the rights to be free. What is more of human rights than growing up as a free person, attending school without being held in bondage?

    Read More

  • child labor

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, forcing children to work starts a vicious cycle that will affect future generations. “According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 158 million children aged 5 to 14 engaged in child labor worldwide.” Because children are forced to work, they will miss out on getting educated and that will result in them not getting jobs in the future. This will only cause more poverty and lead them to force their own children to work. It is a never ending cycle. Unfortunately, because families are living in poverty, some have no choice but to force their children to work. People who live in extreme poverty often rely upon child labor in order to earn extra income to attain basic living necessities. Sadly, many children are being forced to work beyond their physical ability...

    Read More

  • Macbeth As A Tragedy According To Aristotles Definition

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    While the genre of some works of literature can be debated, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, seems to fit into a perfect mold. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy, combining seven elements that he believes make the genre of a work a tragedy, is that mold. Displaying all seven aspects, Macbeth fits the definition precisely. Key elements in the play substantiate the fact that Macbeth is a serious story, the first elements of Aristotle’s definition. From the first lines of the play, the mood is set featuring witches who speak of witchcraft, potions and apparitions.

    Read More

  • The Critique of Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ty her by her misfortunes. It is obvious the Faulkner wants you to learn from his reading as he said once, “I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it.”

    Read More

More about Shakespeare's Macbeth - Villain, Tragic Hero, or Simply Ambitious ?

Open Document