Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

Tragic hero or not?

The question for years on end has always been, is Macbeth a tragic hero or not? The definition of a tragic hero is “a protagonist, usually of noble birth or high-standing, who brings about his own downfall by a choice brought on by a character flaw?” Does Macbeth fit these standards? Well according to Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, the witches impact on Macbeths own decisions, and how power hungry he became overtime he just might be a tragic hero. Macbeth shows traits of being a tragic hero all throughout the story but there has always been controversy to if he really is a tragic hero or not.

According to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, “An imitation of an action that is serious, complete in itself, and

When he visits the witches again they show him more of the prophecy and what does he do to try to stop it? Hires murderers to kill Macduffs wife and children. He believes that no army can harm him because the witches said “…for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Macbeth 382) With Macbeth believing he is untouchable in a sense he has bit off more than he can chew. While the witches said “…Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” He had no idea the army was coming towards him covered in bark from the Great Birnam Wood. Also, when Macduff confronts Macbeth he tells him that he was not born from a woman but, “from his mother’s womb, untimely ripped.”(Macbeth ) Which then leads to the downfall of the great power hungry tyrant Macbeth has become. “A protagonist, usually of noble birth or high-standing, who brings about his own downfall by a choice brought on by a character flaw?” So does Macbeth fit the definition of a tragic hero? Personally, I strongly believe that he brought his own downfall by his one flaw, he believed the people who were telling him exactly what he wanted to hear, even though they knew it would ultimately end in his downfall. From, Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, the witches impact on his own decisions, and how he continuously craved more power then he already had, was it enough to prove he is a tragic