Macbeth's Complex Character

In the comprehensive history of philosophy, Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder, beliefs of three well known Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, are discussed. According to the book, Plato’s philosophy consisted of the idea that all beings were formed from a universal “cookie cutter” which resembles its perfect form derived from a higher state of being. Aristotle, Plato’s most famous pupil, did not accept his teacher’s philosophy. Instead, Aristotle claimed that each being stands alone in this world. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a person of high and noble standing whose downfall is caused by some moral weakness or flaw. Using Aristotle’s philosophy, we can then conclude that a tragic hero can stand alone in the world and undergo changes that could alter the term “tragic hero” and its validity. An ideal example of this is William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. In “The Scottish Play,” Macbeth’s heroic qualities are clear at the beginning of the play. As the play progresses, Macbeth shows some moral weakness that leads to his downfall. Eventually, Macbeth renounces all of his heroic qualities, eventually becoming tyrant. All of these events show that Macbeth undergoes multiple personal changes that keep him from being labeled as a tragic hero.

The play Macbeth begins with the main character Macbeth being portrayed in a positive light. In the beginning, Macbeth is seen as a brave Scottish general who fights both valiantly and courageously. At the time, Macbeth also held the honorable position of Thane of Glamis. Early in the first act, Macbeth contributes to the defeat of the Irish rebels challenging Scotland. Macbeth manages to defeat the traitorous Macdonald, winning the glory for Scotland and further stren...

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...ero, or even a tragic hero.

The story of Macbeth is a catastrophic tale filled with dreadful events and heroic qualities. Nonetheless, the state of these qualities changes too often throughout the course of the play to properly label Macbeth either as a hero, a tragic hero, or a tyrant. One way of putting it is that Macbeth does not fit into the “cookie cutter” of the archetypical tragic hero, such as in Plato’s philosophy. Instead he resembles a complex character that stands alone, such as in Aristotle’s philosophy. As a result, the character Macbeth is much too ambiguous to be properly labeled as a tragic hero.

Works Cited

Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World A Novel About the History of Philosophy (Fsg Classics). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library). New York: Washington Square, 2003. Print.