Macbeth Tragic Hero Essay

Macbeth: Aristotle’s Tragic Hero

"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." This is the well-known quote by Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, about the path a man must take in becoming a tragic hero of literature. In his literary book “Poetics”, Aristotle described the attributes that a true tragic hero must possess. These were nobility, a relatable personality, a fatal character flaw, and the experience of a tragic fate with a gain in understanding from the downfall . He believed that only by possessing these attributes could an audience relate to a character. By sympathizing with the character, the audience can experience new understanding about some point of morality. Shakespeare followed Aristotle’s format in his play “Macbeth”, making the hero Macbeth possess all the attributes of a tragic hero.

The character must not just be of noble birth, but he has to be good and virtuous. Aristotle said that the character must be in “habitual possession of one or more of the separate virtues, such as courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, gentleness, truthfulness, friendliness, and even witness” (neoenglish). Moreover, the audience must be able to understand that the character has these virtues through the play’s dialogue and actions. As a result, the audience can sympathise with or relate to the character, as that is the only way they can experience the tragedy. Macbeth has a noble position as the Thane of Glamis and is second-in-command in the military, second only to King Duncan. There are many examples in the play “Macbeth” of Macbeth’s virtues. He is considered brave by King Duncan, calling him, In Act 1, Scene 2, “…valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” and “Worthy Thane” (Skakespeare) In the same scene, a captain describes Macbeth as a brave soldier in killing the villainous