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Macbeth as an Aristotilean tragic hero

            
             Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher who lived during the 4th century BC, and had several theories that characterised a tragic hero. The character of Macbeth created by William Shakespeare demonstrates many of the qualities that Aristotle believed a tragic hero should possess. In Macbeth we see a hero whose tragic flaw and the hand that fates plays bring about his downfall and chaos within the kingdom.
             The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tragedy in which a young man named Macbeth living in Scotland during the 11th century visits three witches who foretell that he shall become King of Scotland. Subsequent events tell the story of a hero, who because of his tragic flaw, brings about his downfall in his endeavour to become king.
             Aristotle considered the aim of a tragedy is to being about a catharsis within the audience. A catharsis can be defined as the release of emotions experienced by an audience towards the end of a tragedy. It is an emotional response that produces a state of relief for the audience. Aristotle believed that the audience is able to relate to the central character and the feeling of hatred for the tragic hero is replaced by sympathy and pity. This is shown in Shakespeare's Macbeth when the audience sees a truly great man succumb to the forces of evil and this makes the audience feel for themselves as lesser beings. The audience's initial reaction is one of hatred; that he could commit such a crime but as the play progresses there emotions change to those of pity and sympathy as the audience witnesses Macbeth's insanity bought on by the immense amount of guilt he suffers having killed the king. This leaves the audience feeling cleansed of all those initial emotions.
             Another component Aristotle believed a tragic hero should possess is a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is not a defect in the tragic hero's character; it is an error in the characters judgement. This generates fear within the audience as they realise that everyone makes mistakes and the audience can recognise their ability to commit the same errors.


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