Lady Macbeth: A Tragic Heroine
The definition of a tragic hero is much more than a heroic character with a tragic ending. In William Shakespeare Macbeth, there are many detailed qualifications as to being the tragic hero. Although it is said that a Shakespearean tragic hero must be a male, it is highly arguable that Lady Macbeth is a potential contender as the tragic hero in the play Macbeth in replace of the main character, Macbeth.
Firstly, an important characteristic of a Shakespearean tragic hero is that one must suffer outwardly and inwardly which is something that occurs for Lady Macbeth throughout the majority of the play. The first incident in which Lady Macbeth displays acts of suffering is the constant referencing to the removal of blood from her hands. For example, after taking part in the killing of the king, Lady Macbeth begins to go mentally ill in the sense that she is constantly thinking that Duncan's blood is still on her hands from that night. This is a clear example of how she suffers inwardly and outwardly as it is said that she is constantly washing her hands to try to remove the blood from her body. As Lady Macbeth said, "Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand" (Macbeth 5.1.54-56) This is showing that her brain suffering and showing signs of mental illness as well as obsessive compulsive disorder to which is making her believe that Duncan's blood is unable to be removed from her hands. On the same note, Lady Macbeth is showing signs of outward and inward suffering is when she sleepwalks because of her guilty conscience as well as doing and saying things due to
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The regret she is suffering from. For example, during Lady Macbeth's sleep...
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...beth 5.1.65) This makes the final conclusion that Lady Macbeth has an incurable disease of the mind and foreshadows that she will soon be dead, once again requiring the audience to make a personal connection therefore admitting pity for her. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth also delivers a message of fear to the audience as she presents relatable situations that would be frightening towards others in the same situation. With that being said, Lady Macbeth sends out signals that in which elicit both pity and fear from the audience which is a very important character trait to possess while being the tragic hero.
To summarize, although the traditional definition of Shakespearean tragic hero is said to be of the male gender, the character, Lady Macbeth from the play, Macbeth, portrays multiple signs that apply to the characteristics of a Shakespearean tragic hero.
Macbeth was a tragic hero. Traditionally, a tragic hero is someone who is born as an example of greatness but somehow along the way they acquire a flaw in character that brings about his own downf...
the way it is written and the time period it's takes place in says that Macbeth is a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a little different from a normal hero because tragic hero will experience some supernatural being that will be the purpose of his actions and is said to experience a bad end when these said actions lead him or her there. In Macbeth, this is very true. Throughout his life, he displayed characteristics that would be considered a tragic hero.
Lady Macbeth cannot accept loss of power and control, so she commits suicide. In (Act 5. Scene 8.69-71) “That fled the snares of watchful tyranny, Producing forth the cruel ministers of this dead butcher and his fiendlike queen,Who, as ’tis thought, by self and violent hands took off her life; this, and what needful else that calls upon us, by the grace of Grace, we will perform in measure, time, and place.” This explains why Lady Macbeth enemies perceive her as a cruel and evil queen. In (Act 5. Scene 1. 40-43) “This disease is beyond my practice. Yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep who have died holily in their beds”. The kingdom should celebrate since Macbeth got killed and his Queen has committed suicide. Lady Macbeth physically has removed the blood from the her hands but mentally she stills has guilt about assisting in the killing of the King. In (Act 5. Scene. 1. 43-36) “This disease is beyond my practice. Yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep who have died holily in their beds”The doctor could not help Lady Macbeth cure her
Defined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, a tragic hero, in literature, is the main character in a story or piece of writing who has one flaw that brings them to their demise. In William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet, throughout the tragedy there is one character above all the others that fits the part of a tragic hero. The misfortunate protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark who constantly shows the viewers his flaw of procrastination and which ultimately leads him and many other characters to their unfortunate and preventable death.
Macbeth could justly be classified a “Tragic Hero” as his tragic story fills out the defined criteria for a tragic hero. Macbeth holds a significant social status, reveals essential truths about humanity through his suffering, has tragically wasted talent, contains a “tragic flaw” leading to his downfall and finally he finds some relief in his death.
Macbeth exhibits most, if not all, of the classic traits of a Shakespearean tragic hero almost flawlessly. From his rise to greatness to his ultimate destruction and death, he is most certainly a tragic hero.
Her choices triggered the rise of her status, but also began the recession of her mental health. For a majority of the play, Lady Macbeth constantly reminds for Macbeth to ‘be a man’ and to overcome his emotions. Soon after the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth comes to her, full of guilt and trauma. She mocks him, stating that “tis the eye of childhood /that fears a painted devil,” (II, II, 70-71) in an attempt to belittle him, reducing him from a man to a child. Lady Macbeth tries to minimize the guilt of herself and Macbeth’s murderous deed by belittling his emotions, forcing him to repress his guilt in the name of manhood. A common trait of hypermasculinity is the suppression of emotions, and both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth soon express this. As Lady Macbeth settles into the role of queenship, she soon expresses discontent, lamenting that “nought’s had, all’s spent. / Where our desire is got without content” (III, II, 6-7). But when Macbeth enters, she quickly hides her unhappiness and reclaims the role of the sensible advisor, immediately ridiculing his “sorriest fancies” born of guilt (III, II, 11). But, unable to quiet her emotions no matter how deeply she hid them, Lady Macbeth was overwhelmed with guilt, and soon loses control over her behaviour in her sleep. Unable to talk about her guilt and feelings while awake, she laments over her, and Macbeth’s, choices while unconscious. Lady Macbeth, unable to personalize a trait of manhood she so strongly pressed on Macbeth, she soon becomes unable to live with her emotions, and ultimately prompts the ultimate consequence, suicide. As an after-effect of renouncing her femininity earlier in the play, and learning to internalize her emotions, Lady Macbeth personalizes a harmful effect of exaggerated hypermasculinity that deeply affects her mental health and does nothing but cause her
Many of us want to become a hero, a person with exceptional courage and strength. Macbeth desired this, but he wasn’t flawless. Macbeth was a man with many faults that led to his downfall. Starting out as a hero, Macbeth soon became a cowardly man, a tragic hero. Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a man who "falls into misfortune through some flaw” or simply a great man, who possesses a character flaw, which eventually causes their downfall. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a good example of a tragic hero. Macbeth is portrayed as a man who falls from his position of nobility due to a flaw in his character that eventually results in his tragic death. Macbeth, even though a great man, let the witches prophecies, influence of Lady Macbeth, and his ambitions get the best of him leading to his tragic death.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
In our society, as a rule, the man is the head of the household. However, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth appears to be the neck that turns the head. William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in history, but he wasn’t recognized until the nineteenth century. He wrote many plays, sonnets, plays, and narrative plays. It was during the sixteenth century that he wrote the tragedy of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, wife to the protagonist Macbeth, is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and evil female characters. At the start of the play, Lady Macbeth is ruthless, ambitious, cruel, and manipulative; however, by the end of the play she becomes insane and helpless. The transformation of these characteristics makes Lady Macbeth a very dynamic character.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. It artfully takes its audience to a place that allows one to examine what a human being is truly capable of once tempted by the allure of power. In the play, Scottish noble Macbeth and his wife inevitably fall prey to their own self corruption. Initiated by prophesies made by three mysterious witches, the Macbeths set their sights on the throne. When the curtains open on the plot to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the driving force. Her criminal mind and desire for ruthlessness have led many a critic to define her as evil. Closer examination, however, reveals that she is a multifaceted character; other sides to her persona include: genuine good will towards her husband, coy manipulation, and feminine tenderness.
A little later in the play, Lady Macbeth also sees the blood, and thus their moral wrong doings. She is completely consumed by guilt and slowly slips away into madness. In the planning stages of the murder Lady Macbeth felt much more strongly than Macbeth about the necessity to kill Duncan, and now in the aftermath she feels the guilt much more strongly than Macbeth. At one point in the play she is completely lost in her guilt; she sleepwalks around the castle saying "Out, damned spot. Out!" She is speaking of the bloodstains she now also sees for her part in this murder. In the beginning of the play she seems much more blood thirsty in her quest for power, but later it seems that the throne was not worthy enough to constitute the means used to gain it.
The character of Lady Macbeth is a complex one, there is much that can be said regarding the juxtaposition of ideas concerning her behavior. Within this essay I shall attempt to elaborate on her forceful, selfish and contradictory character.
A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.
The tragic hero is a very specific character and must meet several criterias. This tragic character must not be an extremely virtuous individual that instead of the audience feeling pity or fear for their downfall, they feel anger. The character must as well not be so evil that the audience wishes their downfall, simply for the sake of justice. This tragic hero is best described as someone ‘’who is neither outstanding in virtue and righteousness; nor is it through badness or villainy of his own that he falls into misfortune, but rather through some flaw", Macbeth fitting this character perfectly. He is introduced to us as a military hero who has proven himself in battle time and time again, but still an average man, easily comparable to a modern day soldier. Along with all of Macbeth's many positive attributes comes his tragic flaw, a moral weakness of being extremely ambitious. It is this seed planted in him that inevitable takes over this ordinary man and entraps his will and leads him down his