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Regicide And Fretricide In Macbeth Essay

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Regicide and fratricide are two of the most unforgivable crimes, and Macbeth commits both during the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. Due to his characteristics and actions, Macbeth displays the attributes of an Aristotelian tragic hero because he begins with a status of nobility, and due to his tragic flaw, he experiences a fall from grace; however, he regains some of his lost status after a moment of self-awareness. During the exposition of the play, Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, a title similar to that of a lord. Few people possess such titles in the play, and among those who do, they all have powers of nobility. Thanes are closely connected to King Duncan, and therefore, they experience a much better life …show more content…

During the course of the play, Macbeth goal is to fulfill only the prophecies that are beneficial to him and him only. His thirst for power allowed his character flaw to show, for he was consumed with hubris. While he is thinking about his plan to kill Duncan, Macbeth has all of these reasons not to kill Duncan, but his ambition is so strong, Macbeth cannot deny his urge to murder. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition” (I, vii, 25-27). He also says that, by eliminating Duncan, he would only be teaching his subjects that a rise to power is possible through violence, and karma would come back to bite him. He believes that he should not murder Duncan because he is his servant and host whose main goal is always to protect him. Duncan has been a gracious and humble leader that many respect, and in the case of his untimely death, his subjects would mourn him greatly. In spite of this, when Lady Macbeth offers the escape of blaming the murder on the guards, Macbeth’s ambition kicks in and he is in total support of the crime. Proven from a direct quote from Macbeth himself, Macbeth’s flaw, hubris, further supports his status as an aristotelian

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