A traditional tragic hero is defined as someone that is essentially a good and noble person but fails because of a certain flaw in his/her character. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the lead character, Macbeth is indeed a traditional tragic hero. The three main things that fit Macbeth into this category are his tragic flaw, his eventual downfall, and the fact that he is essentially a good person.
Topic Sentence: Macbeth is, in essence a good-hearted and noble man.
- At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is described by the soldier as a brave and fearless man (1,2,17).
- The king saw Macbeth's good qualities in him and decided to name him the new Thane of Cawdor (1,3,107).
- Macbeth would have stayed true to the king if the witches did not tell him the prophecies.
- When he was name Thane of Cawdor, he started wondering if he would really become king (1,3,137).
- If what the witches spoke was true, Macbeth would have eventually become king because of his noble personality. But Macbeth did not see this and instead, he tried to make the witch's prophecy come true (1,3,153).
- Macbeth because of his good conscience came to the conclusion that he would not kill the king, but because of his wife's pressuring, he finally gave in (1,7,33).
- Before Macbeth's death he shows the audience that he indeed has some goodness left in him(5,3,58).
- He wants normalcy for his country and he wants his wife to be cured.
Topic Sentence: Macbeth's tragic flaw was undoubtedly his ambition. His ambition overcame all other factors that would have prevented him from murdering the king.
- The witches created Macbeth's ambition. They told him that he would become thane of cawdor and when that came true he believed that he would also become king.
- They filled him with his ambition and he felt that if he did not do anything, he would not become king.
- Macbeth almost overcame his ambition, but his wife only strengthened it by threatening his man hood and urging him to continue with the murder.