Is Macbeth a Tragic Hero?

Lesson Transcript

This lesson will cover the reason why Macbeth from Shakespeare's famous play, ''Macbeth'', is a debated tragic hero. We'll explore the argument that shows he is a tragic hero by proving his stature and greatness, his tragic aw, and his downfall.

What Makes a Tragic Hero? Many of us encounter the tragic hero in popular movies and ction. Sometimes, that hero is even considered a villain. The well-known Godfather trilogy follows hero and sometimes villain Michael Corleone on his journey through (1) _____. Michael is born into a powerful family, is awed by his ambition, and is left broken and alone after the deaths of his family members. This makes him a tragic hero, or a character of noble birth who has qualities the audience can (2) _____ with, but who also has aws and is fated to doom. The roots of these characters stem from Shakespeare's plays written hundreds of years ago, which is why it's important for us to study them today.

The Argument for the Tragic Hero Many scholars see Macbeth as a villain instead of a hero because of his vile actions. But, a (3) _____ can be either a protagonist or an (4) _____. The key is that the audience can empathize with the character. Look again at the example of Michael Corleone. Many of us do not approve of mob violence and crime, but we can empathize with Michael when he loses his family members. The same can be said for Macbeth. We can empathize with Macbeth because he has been persuaded to commit certain crimes by his wife. Have you ever been persuaded by a person who you care for to do something that you feel is not right? That was Macbeth's situation.

Stature and Greatness So what else makes Macbeth a tragic hero? Macbeth is named the Thane of Cawdor and Glamis by King Duncan. Duncan refers to him as 'Noble Macbeth,' so the audience is aware of Macbeth's noble stature in the rst act of the play.

When Macbeth visits the witches, they tell him that he is to be king of Scotland. At rst, he rejects the idea, which contributes to his greatness: 'This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good.' He is fearful of the witches' prophecies because two of them have come true so far. He was

1/3 not aware of the death of the (5) _____ and that the king had named Macbeth as his successor. When he nds out that this is true, he is frightened and wonders how he will be named king.

Macbeth's loyalty to his king also indicates his greatness. When Lady Macbeth suggests that he (6) _____ the king, he replies: 'First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself.' Macbeth has indicated that he is content with his new title of Thane of Cawdor, but his curiosity as to how he will be made king is still eating away at him.

Macbeth's Fatal Flaw Ultimately, Macbeth's (7) _____ is pride that leads to wild ambition. When Macbeth initially refuses to assassinate the king, (8) _____ uses a strategy to convince him otherwise; she threatens his manhood and divulges a plan to murder the king in his sleep. Macbeth nally agrees to go along with the plan to get all of their guests drunk so that he can sneak into (9) _____ chamber. We see the goodness is still in Macbeth as he immediately feels guilty for his crime against his king: 'I am afraid to think what I have done.' Unfortunately, Macbeth lets his ambition take over and does not confess his crime to others. Instead he hides the deed.

Macbeth's ambition also leads him to murder (10) _____, his friend. The witches have promised Banquo that he will not be king, but his successors will be. Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo so that the throne will be Macbeth's and his successors. (11) _____, Banquo's son, survives the attempted murder on his life and disappears. Macbeth is haunted by the spirit of Banquo, who reminds him of his betrayal and sends him into madness.

Macbeth's ambition leads to the murder of another innocent child of one of his friends; the child of MacDu. In the scene, we hear (12) _____ tell her son that his father is dead, since MacDu has been missing. She suspects that he might be a traitor. Macbeth's hired murderers come in and murder her son, who pleads with her to ee before they murder her, too. This scene shows the decay of Macbeth's character at the hands of his ambition.

Macbeth's Downfall A hero cannot be considered tragic without paying some terrible price. Macbeth's downfall comes to him because he has not ruled in favor of his people. Instead, he has been (13) _____ with keeping his power. He walls himself up in his castle to defend himself against the English and the men of his kingdom that have joined forces with the (14) _____.

Macbeth is frightened when he realizes that the prophesies of the witches are coming true, but not in the way that he thought. (15) _____ does come to Dunsinane, which predicts his defeat. He is then fearful that the other prophecies will also come true. The witches had told him he would be

2/3 killed by someone who was not 'born of woman.' When Macbeth learns that MacDu was born by cesarean section, he realizes MacDu is to be his killer. And he's correct. MacDu kills (16) _____, which is the ultimate downfall of the character.

It's important to note here that with the downfall of a tragic character, there tends to be a period of enlightenment. Macbeth realizes when MacDu reveals the way he was birthed that he has been a pawn in the (17) _____: 'Accursèd be that tongue that tells me so, for it hath cowed my better part of man; and be these juggling ends no more believed, that palter with us in a double sense, that keep the word of promise to our ear and break it to our hope. I'll not ght with thee.' Shakespeare gives Macbeth a chance to understand why he is (18) _____ to die before he does, sealing his fate as a tragic hero.

Lesson Summary A tragic hero is described as a (19) _____ you can empathize with, and whose aw leads to his demise. The character of Macbeth is noble with his titles of (20) _____ and Thane of Cawdor. His tragic aw is pride that leads to ambition with the help of outside forces. Macbeth's tale ends with his death at the hands of MacDu only after he has understood that he was responsible for his own fate. The tale of Macbeth certainly makes us want to think twice before having our fortunes read.

Macbeth's missing words: tragedy -- empathize -- Banquo -- assassinate -- witches game -- Duncan's -- Thane of Cawdor -- Lady Macbeth -- fatal flaw -- tragic hero -- antagonist -- Fleance -- fated -- English -- Lady MacDuff -- preoccupied -- Burnam Wood -- Macbeth -- noble character --Thane of Glamis

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