Macbeth as a Tragic Hero

Defined by Aristotle, a tragic hero is one who falls from grace into a state of extreme unhappiness. The protagonist Macbeth of William Shakespeare's Macbeth is in all ways the perfect example of a tragic hero. He is a person of importance in society; at first an intrepid nationalist, fighting for his country and ultimately, becoming king. Macbeth had character flaws and made a series of serious errors in judgment, one being the assassination of King Duncan. Incidentally, Macbeth had become increasingly miserable throughout the events of the plot. He had outside forces that contributed to his degeneration; the main one being The Weïrd Sisters. A Shakespearean tragic hero contains all of the afore mentioned qualities including others such as: providing a moral example to the audience, suffering public humiliation, and meeting his doom with courage and dignity which Macbeth did all of. Therefore, Macbeth fits the attributes of a tragic hero.

Macbeth’s increasing importance became a vital reason as to why he became a tragic hero. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth, a Scottish general, is portrayed as an intrepid man whose performance in Scotland’s battle is greatly celebrated. The Captain describes Macbeth’s performance as “C

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