A Shakespearean tragic hero may be defined as “an exceptional being of high degree” who contributes to his own degeneration and illustrates a personality flaw. The character of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is in all ways the perfect example of a tragic hero. His greatness and bravery in battle for his country ultimately leads him to be a great thane and eventually a powerful king, making his actions have a significant impact on a country. Macbeth’s ambition on becoming a king leads to an obsession to remain in his current position. His ambition comes to a point where he falls to the temptation of evil which leads to Macbeth’s inevitable downfall. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a brave man whose performance in Scotland’s battle is celebrated. This is clearly evident from the courage in defense of Scotland in the opening scene. A wounded solider describes Macbeth’s actions as “Cannons overcharg’d with double cracks ... Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe” Act 1, scene 2, line 37-39 With such positive feedback from the battle, King Duncan can not help but be joyous towards Macbeth and his soldiers. His response to the valiant news is giving him a title which upbrings him from his present position “No more thane of Cawdor shall deceive ... and with his former title greet Macbeth... What hath lost noble Macbeth hath won” Before the hearing of his new title, Macbeth as well as his partner Banquo encounter three witches who give Macbeth a look of what his future beholds. With each word spoken from the witches, the importance he holds for Scotland increases. From Thane of Glamis, to Thane of Cawdor and eventually the all and mighty king. With all the praises he receives and learning about his new title, Macbeth’s ambition to become a powerful king can not help but rises. Macbeth wins a battle and proves loyal to Duncan, however his ambition to become King is too strong to keep his morals. When his ambition is associated with the witch’s prophecies, his morals become non-existent for he is easily persuaded into what he wants to hear. For a moment Macbeth’s ambition takes over, when the thought of killing Duncan comes across his mind, however morality takes over. “Why do I yield to such suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair... If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” In spite of this, Macbeth’s moral decision is clouded by his ambition once again when he hears of Malcolm’s succession to the throne.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist chooses to forgo civic responsibility in order to act upon his true desire of having power. This conflict not only provides for the majority of the plot, it provides Macbeth with depth of character and makes him far more relatable for the audience, and ultimately gives the work greater credibility as a tragedy by allowing the audience to empathize with the protagonist. Macbeth, over the course of the play, fails to balance his loyalty to king and country with his desire for the crown. As a general in King Duncan’s army and the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, Macbeth is a servant to the Scottish King. However, temptation strikes, and the he soon finds himself stained with royal blood.
The songs that I will be dedicating in this play are for the character Macbeth. He is the most unique entity who is constantly changing his personality and developing more evil traits. These songs will represent all of the Macbeth’s major characteristics and the events that led to demonstrating and revealing what kind of person he is. Every crime he committed had a big consequence on his conscience. The lyrics or the mood of the song will, in some way, describe Macbeth and his behavior in this play.
Plato (in Phaedo) and Aristotle (in De Anima) present two fundamentally different conceptions of the soul. Through an analysis of their frameworks and genre, and whether their methods are plausible, it can be concluded that Aristotle's formulation of the soul is more compelling than that of Plato.
Through the chronicles of history there have always been heroes. Men and women that stand up and take charge and are moral leaders of countries. Joan of Arc, Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Churchill are only a few examples of people that are remember eternally for what they have done. There are also other leaders that people would like to forget because they are moral cowards killing their subject and causing evil. Stalin, Fidel Castro, and the Character of Macbeth are all examples of this. Macbeth is a moral coward. During the play Macbeth often shows that he is morale coward. For instance, when he is planning Duncan’s murder. Likewise he also shows cowardice by killing Banquo. Lastly he shows how spineless he is when he orders Macduffs family to be murdered.
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
The supernatural plays an important role in Macbeth and supports the plot. From the floating dagger to Banquo's ghost, the supernatural is greatly responsible for every dark moment in the play. Supernatural experiences is what kept the play going and entertaining in my mind. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are propelled into killing because of the supernatural or them making it happen. The supernatural was scary at the time and the play was risky because of the witches, but doing it made the play even better.
My first inquiry into the divisions of the soul and examine the way in which Aristotle views each division of soul and the faculty that each possesses and how, in fact, it
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
The tragedy of Macbeth opens up with him returning home from a victorious military battle, displaying his honor and excellence. This is, also the first time he is presented with the opportunity for power. His success covered him with glory in defense of the crown. Macbeth is busily basking in his own glory and soaking up credit when Duncan basically steals his spotlight from right over his head, proclaiming Malcolm, Duncan's son, as the heir-apparent. This action also belittles Macbeth's achievement, since the procession of the throne is not necessarily dictated by bloodlines. Duncan is basically announcing that Macbeth, while noble, is inferior to his son Malcolm. This is where Duncan provokes Macbeth to hate him and also points out what Macbeth must do to become King. Duncan even tempts Macbeth, by pronouncing him as the Thane of Cawdor. This gives Macbeth a taste of power and he begins to have a desire for more. This desire or ambition is his fatal flaw. Shakespeare, by using Macbeth as a guide, shows that even the honorable men can fall into the hands of evil just like everyone else. No one is safe from his or her own ambitions of power and success. It is clear that Macbeth ends up a far more brutal and simple...
He uses his concepts of actuality and potentiality to explain the connection between the soul and body, as well as argues that each soul and body combination is unique and therefore the two must be one. A major aspect of Aristotle’s philosophy is the concept of potentiality and actuality. Matter, a thing that is not itself without form, is potentiality. Form, the essence that makes a thing (or matter) itself, is actuality. In order for a thing to fulfill its purpose, it must move from potentiality to actuality. (On the soul Bk.II) He states that the soul is the actuality of the body. (On the soul bk.II) He defines the body as having the potentiality of life and therefore it must be matter. Because form and matter are compliments and one cannot exist without the other, the soul must be the form because it fills the body, that had potentiality of life, with actual life. Through this reasoning the conclusion is made that the body and soul are connected and compliment each other. Contrasting to Plato, they seem to need to be together and they are not striving to be separate. Aristotle creates a concept that deals with classifying souls into categories. He defines the soul as “substance in the sense which corresponds to the definitive formula of a thing’s essence” and that it is the “essential whatness of a body of the character just assigned”. (On the soul book II) He has three
I usually give them input on where I usually eat and they could try that place or just give them suggestions on what is the famous/ favorite thing people buy from. How this applies to me? Being an usher it’s my job to help fans find seats and keep them company. Answer all questions they have. Also in the end fans reach out to my managers via or call and leave positive feedback and input on my service if they choose to do
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
He believes that the soul takes shelter within the body. The three parts are all located in three different areas: reason is in the mind, spirited is in the heart, and desire is in the stomach. Reason is what controls the whole soul (Plato p. 49). The mind tells the body what to do, how to feel, what to say. The mind controls our appetites and decides who to honor according to memories about those people or events. The spirit is in the heart, the heart is what shows us how we feel about others. The stomach is desire as we crave to have certain possessions such as food or other physical materials in life. If what Plato is saying is any truth, than the argument presented that our soul is our life and our body is nothing but what carries our soul, is therefore false and unsupported by this idea of the mind, heart and stomach. Then so, our thought that Plato’s idea that we can make ourselves alive, is fairly reasonable and true. This is because it is more understandable to say that the reason why our souls are what makes us alive is because our souls are physically made of three parts that control the way we live. Our body is now not only what carries life for us, but what allows us to keep it. Our soul is different from the body because it represents life, but it is our body that allows our lives to
Aristotle argued and disagreed with Plato’s views of the self and soul being a separate from the body. Aristotle’s view is that all humans have a soul, yet they cannot be separate from the body in which they reside. To him, there are four sections of the soul; the desiderative and vegetative parts on the irrational side are used to help one find what they are needing and the calculative and scientific parts on the rational side are