To what extent is Macbeth an archetypal tragic hero?

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Dehenna Davison – 11Y

To what extent is Macbeth an archetypal tragic hero?

   In this essay I am going to identify the tragic pattern, and how it corresponds to the story of Macbeth. But what is a tragic hero?

   The definition of a tragic hero was originally composed by Aristotle. A tragic hero is a person of nobility, who is admired by the public, yet has a flaw which will eventually lead to their downfall. However in Macbeth, pride is not the cause for misfortune. In this case, the flaw is ambition. This flaw leads Macbeth to commit terrible felonies in order to climb his way up the social ladder to reach the ultimate position – King of Scotland. It is typical of a tragic hero to commit crimes to achieve his goals. However, Macbeth was greatly influenced by external factors which, I believe, helped to lead him to the grave. This is not as typical of a tragic hero. This is the final stage of the tragic pattern, and is the one I believe to be of the most importance.

   The stages of the tragic pattern are: a man of nobility with a flaw in his character; there is a time intrusion and a sense of urgency; there are some kind of misreadings and rationalizations; there is murder of enemies and allies; the tragic hero should become isolated; the opposition become mobilized; the tragic hero recognizes the flaw when it is already too late; the tragic hero has one last brave attempt to restore their lost greatness; the audience recognizes this potential for greatness; the tragic hero is killed; and finally order is restored to the people who surrounded the tragic hero.

   At the start of the play, Macbeth is admired by the public. “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name...” This is said by a wounded captain. He is just a normal member of society, and plays no further part in the chain of events, yet as he sees Macbeth this way, it suggests that his view is shared by the rest of society. This fits into the first stage of the tragic pattern, which states that the tragic hero must be a man of nobility.

   The next major happening in the play is when Macbeth encounters the witches. He happens to repeat something that the witches had said previously. The witches said “Fair is foul, and foul is fair;” and Macbeth says “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” This suggests irony, yet could also represent the potential for evil that Macbeth possesses, as the witches are seen as dark and alien – “What are these, so withered and so wild in their attire, that look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth, and yet are on’t?”

   The witches all refer to Macbeth differently. The first witch refers to Macbeth as Thane of Glamis. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!” The second witch refers to Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor. “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!” The third witch refers to Macbeth as the future king of Scotland. “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”

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   What the first witch said was already true of Macbeth. Macbeth would not have thought the second and third witches to be correct, as, although King Duncan had already decided Macbeth was to be Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth did not yet know this, and before this point he had no intention of becoming king. This may have led Macbeth to his decisions later in the play, as it planted the idea in his mind that maybe he would be a good king one day. This begins to feed his ambition, as before it was just a minor thing, it ...

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