Macbeth: Macbeth - A Tragic Hero "(Sometimes a tragic hero is created, not through his own villainy), but rather through some flaw in him, he being one of those who are in high station and good fortune, like Oedipus and Thyestes and the famous men of such families as those." (Poetics, Aristotle). Every great tragedy is dominated by a protagonist who has within himself a tragic flaw, too much or too little of one of Aristotle's twelve virtues. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, a great Scottish general and thane of Glamis, has just won an important battle, when he is told by three witches that he will become thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. After Macbeth is given Cawdor by King Duncan, he takes the witches words for truth and conspires against Duncan with his wife. When Duncan comes to Macbeth's castle that night, Macbeth kills him and takes the crown for himself after Duncan's sons flee from Scotland. Then Macbeth reigns for a while, has several people killed, and is eventually slain by Macduff when he and Malcolm return leading the armies of England. Often people read the play and automatically conclude that Macbeth's tragic flaw is his ambition; that he is compelled to commit so many acts of violence by his lust for power. However, by carefully examining the first act, one can determine the defect in Macbeth's character that creates his ambition; his true tragic flaw. Macbeth's tragic flaw is not his ambition as most people believe, but rather his trust in the words of the witches and in his wife's decisions. At the beginning of the play Macbeth has no designs on the throne, and he does not start plotting until his wife comes up with a plan. When first faced with the witches' words, Macbeth expresses astonishment and disbelief rather than welcoming them when he says, "...to be King stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor...."(1.3.73-75). When confronted with the witches' proclamation that he is to be king, Macbeth responds as a loyal subject would; not as a man with secret aspirations in his heart. He has no reason to hide his true feelings at this point so therefore it can be assumed that Macbeth has not yet truly considered killing the king. Even after the first of the witches' predictions comes true, Macbeth does not plot against the king but instead decides to leave it to chance. "(Aside) If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir."(1.3.143-144). Macbeth has already been granted the title of thane of Cawdor, but still he acts as though a loyal subject would. His lack of ambition is stressed here by the fact that the actor is speaking the thoughts of the character rather than words that the character says aloud. It is Macbeth's wife that decides to convince her husband to kill Duncan after she has learned what has happened, "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way."(1.5.14-17) Lady Macbeth is saying that her husband is too kind to kill the king but that he will get what has been promised to him. She goes on to say that she will bring him around to her way of thinking. So obviously, Macbeth himself is not excessively ambitious, he has no desire to kill Duncan until Lady Macbeth plants the thought within his heart. Macbeth's true tragic flaw, the force behind his ambition, is his gullibility, his willingness to trust the witches and his wife; no matter how terrible their ideas may be. By the end of the fourth scene Macbeth is already beginning to acknowledge the witches' words as truth after Malcolm becomes Prince of Cumberland, the heir to throne, "(Aside) The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o'erleap, for in my way it lies."(1.4.48-50) Less than a day has passed, and already Macbeth is beginning to believe in the words of the witches, Satan's representatives on Earth. Despite centuries of tradition that tells Macbeth that witches are evil, and therefore lie, he is already thinking that what they say is true. While talking with his wife about her plans, Macbeth says, "We will proceed no further in this business..."(1.7.31), and then, less than fifty lines later, they are working out the details of their nefarious scheme. Macbeth quickly accedes to his wife's wishes, displaying his willingness to trust his destiny in the hands of others. If Macbeth had not placed so much trust in his wife and in the witches, perhaps he would not have become ambitious and killed a man he loved and admired. His gullibility is his true tragic flaw as it is the cause of his ambition and the weakness that allows evil to take root in his soul. Macbeth's ambition is not the fatal flaw within his character, but rather that which leads to his ambition; his trustful nature. This is evident in that he does not desire the throne until after he finally accepts the predictions of the witches as truth; and he does not want to kill the king until after his wife convinces him that he should. If Macbeth had not trusted the emissaries of Satan, then he never would have considered killing Duncan and would have been satisfied with being thane of Glamis and Cawdor. And if he had not trusted his wife, Macbeth would not have killed a man he loved and revered, an act that eventually led to his downfall. Not everybody in this world can be trusted, there are too many people who are only looking out for their own best interests. While one should not become paranoid and trust nobody, lest they become cut off from society, safeguards must be established against these fraudulent people so that they cannot take advantage of an unprepared populace.
one page 11) this indicates that he is a selfish man and cares for his
he will carry out the deed. At one point he decides not to do it but
...nsibility because it is required of him, not because he desires to. Also, if he did feel a strong sense of responsibility, he would have stayed and taken care of his home. He would have found a way to get rid of the suitors through one of his father’s friends. He would have stepped up and taken responsibility. Instead he left, partially because he couldn’t take responsibility by himself. Even so, he is doing is best to take control of his household.
Readers are able to relate to the fact that he does not want to be humiliated
At first encounter with the witches, Macbeth is foretold three prophecies. The witches call him Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter. Macbeth at first dismisses the prophecies as fantastical. Then thoughts of the greater power seep into Macbeth’s mind. The “fiends that lie like truth” (Shakespeare) encourage Macbeth’s malice thinking by foretelling the truth that Macbeth does indeed become Thane of Cawdor without any extra effort on his part. Banquo, although at first charmed by the witch’s prophecy for him, tends to eventually dismiss it as a trick by the witches. “To win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betrays in deepest consequence,” (Shakespeare)
he faced and his limited intellect led to a tragic event at the end of
example of him being a static character. Being overconfident led to his downfall because when
There is much persistent debate throughout culture these days concerning video games. Common questions asked are things like ?Where should the lines be drawn in terms of content? and What audience, if any, is this appropriate for? As lawyers fight, bizarre crimes are blamed on video games, constant studies take place, and technology continues to evolve, the video game world continues to thrive and be extremely profitable. While there is near-constant focus on the supposed ?negatives? of games like simulated killing, drug use, or sex, most people, especially those completely outside of gaming circles, fail to acknowledge that gaming of any kind can possibly have positive effects on players. While increased hand-eye coordination is a common benefit attributed to gaming, one particular study conducted revealed a mixed bag of possibly positive and negative effects.
Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband is not as patriarchal as is seen in traditional representations of husband and wife dynamics during this time period. For example, she says, “To alter favor ever is to fear/ Leave all the rest to me” to Macbeth (I.v.72-73). She tells him what to do and how to do it rather than the more accustomed reverse. She is also taking a position of authority by doing things for herself. Lady Macbeth criticizes her husband, saying, “Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life/ And live a coward in thine own esteem?” (I.vii.41-43). She calls him a coward, easily insulting him without repercussions and with the knowledge that he won’t do anything because of it. After Macbeth kills Duncan and is in shock of the crime he has just committed, Lady Macbeth says, “Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil” (II.ii.53-55). In this scene, she is taking charge of the situation by ignoring her husband’s inability to fully comprehend what he has just don...
His highly complacent attitude often leads to problems. Although he generally is very blunt, his desire to be humble and respected can come in the way of him expressing words that are essential to the avoidance of a conflict. This is his major character flaw. His quick manner of
Video games are said to be harmful for the mental and physical health of adults and children, but games can also be beneficial, depending on how they reflect what they learned while playing unto their lives.
Video games have also shown other ways that they can help children and adults more than if they just sat and watched TV. Video games increase the grey matter in the right side of your brain. This means that the brain has an increased process of information from the sensory organs. A study on people who had strokes showed that video games improved hand strength and helped with movement of their arms. Video games being able to help people wh...
not simply acting out of jealousy or betrayal; he is in fact solely and whole-heartedly acting out
loyalty he has to the king. He is very intent to get what he wants and
“4 out of 5 households contain at least one device used to play video games.” This was said by Colin Campbell, a journalist and writer that published a novel about the gaming industry. We always hear from parents and others that video games are a waste of time, or they kill brain cells, but what about the benefits of playing video games? Why aren’t people talking about the benefits of playing video games? Video games have benefits in multiple areas. A couple areas for example would be education or work related benefits. With the amount of people that play video games whether it’s for a living or if it is just once in a while that you play there’s benefits to playing. I personally see benefits from playing and I’m going to use a little personal experience into this paper as a first hand account.