Macbeth is the driving force behind Macbeth’s downfall Lady Macbeth? The driving force behind Macbeth’s downfall? Certainly not. Macbeth was completely and solely responsible for all the acts of great evil which were to lead to his downfall, and to even suggest the blame can be shifted on his wife is ludicrous. From his very first meeting with the witches, Macbeth’s mind became instantly plagued with thoughts of murder and treachery. The guilty start that Banquo noticed: "Good sir, why do you start
In Medea, a play by Euripides, Jason possesses many traits that lead to his downfall. After Medea assists Jason in his quest to get the Golden Fleece, killing her brother and disgracing her father and her native land in the process, Jason finds a new bride despite swearing an oath of fidelity to Medea. Medea is devastated when she finds out that Jason left her for another woman after two children and now wants to banish her. Medea plots revenge on Jason after he gives her one day to leave. Medea
miscalculations eventually lead him to his own downfall. First, Brutus truthfully feels that the conspirators have enough will and intelligence to keep the plot concealed from others. He believes the conspirators will not confer with anyone who may feel betrayed by their plans and protect Caesar. For this reason, Brutus strongly goes against the conspirators taking an oath to pledge their loyalty to the group. Brutus proceeds by stating that through each conspirator’s own personal motive for defeating Caesar
Tiresias will bring Oedipus' 'birth' and 'destruction'. King Oedipus is the central protagonist and within his character lies a tragic flaw. He is unintentionally the architect of his own downfall. The strengths that once lead him to solve the riddle behind the sphinx later lead him to his own downfall. In the words of the priest; 'you helped us stand, only to fall once more'. Oedipus' hamartia is his anger. It lies at the root of the plot. It was fury that lead him to kill Laius. He was
The Significance of the Coin Flips in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern At the beginning of the play "Rosencrantz and Guildensten," one of the two characters found a gold coin during their journey through the desert. He immediately began to flip the coin to see what side it would land on. By the seventh flip, two tails turned up. Every flip after was heads. The characters fliped the coin over 157 times, and they each after the seventh flip turned up heads. The significance of the coin flips in
the play's progression. The calm and confident Tiresias also acts as a foil for Oedipus through his dramatic difference in character, which allows the reader to see Oedipus for who he really is and realize that it was he who brought about his own downfall. Lastly, the wise prophet who functions as an authoritative father figure to the authority-threatened king (Lesser 147-148) helps make the motif of fathers, all of whom Oedipus sees as threats, evident. This motif of father figures is strongly
the King is Sophocles’s first play of “The Theban Cycle.” It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate, but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character. Oedipus is a man of noble blood; his parents, who raised him as a child, were King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus
that a human who attempts to usurp the role of God will be heavily punished. Victor Frankenstein is severely punished. He loses everyone he loves before perishing himself in the arctic wastes. But did he really "play God" or did he merely unleash his own id and destroy himself? Allusions to Frankenstein's identification with God are sprinkled liberally throughout the book. From an early age Frankenstein identifies himself with God through his study of metaphysics. "It was the secrets of heaven and
and leads to his down fall. Normally, the characters close to the protagonist are all affected by his flaw. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon's tragic flaw is that he is insecure. Creon's insecurity leads to the death of many people and to his own downfall. At many times, Creon feels that people are directing everything toward him, when of course they are not. Consequently, he takes action to make sure people take him seriously. He hopes his actions will teach people not to walk all over him and
definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self. All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according to Aristotle's
but being a good person but makes an error in judgment, and when this error occurred it causes his own downfall. First off is that Brutus makes an error in judgment by joining the conspiracy to over throw Caesar. But the only reason that Brutus had joined was because his tragic flaw was honor; he lived his life on the guidelines of honor and loyalty. Now lastly Brutus had caused his very own downfall when after killing Caesar all of Rome has now turned against the conspirators. Those are some of the
Iago’s plan a little to well. For Iago, everything happens at exactly the right time. Othello listens to what Iago says because Iago has gained much trust from Othello. He has no reason not to believe what Iago was saying. He played a part in his own downfall because he falls for every lie that Iago throws at him. He needed to have a stronger mind for things like that. Othello needed to think harder about what was being said to him by Iago. At the time that Iago was telling him these lies, it all seemed
Jay Gatsby as Tragic Hero of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby According to Aristotle, there are a number of characteristics that identify a tragic hero: he must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. These are all characteristics of Jay Gatsby, the main character of Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero according to Aristotle's definition. Jay Gatsby is an enormously
and Cleopatra concerns itself with typically distressing and grave imagery, most importantly the theme of permanent loss. Although circumstance plays a part, the tragic hero is damned by what he himself does and is an active participant in his own downfall. In this sense, Antony is a tragic hero, although Shakespeare also presents him as a man torn between the tragedy of a powerful Rome and comedy in the pleasurable Egypt. In due course Antony could not sustain his duty to Rome, confused by his unwillingness
Oedipus was a victime of fate, his futur was foretold by an Oracle, he had no way of knowing that his wife was his mother nor that the stranger he killed was his father. Oedipus could not prevent his own downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, he became king when he cured the city of a deadly plague. He cured the plague by solving the riddle of the mythical creature, the Sphinkx. Now the city is suffering from another plague and as king Oedipus must solve the riddle of this one. When Oedipus was
man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he fell right into the trap of the prediction by unwittingly killing his father and later marrying his mother. By doing this, he
A Feminist Reading of The Winter’s Tale In the Shakespearean tragedies we have studied, we have been exposed to tragic male protagonists who create their own downfall. Within these tragedies, Shakespeare's female characters are vested with varying degrees of power in relation to the tragic heroes. In looking back at Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, The Winter's Tale can be seen as an extension of the exploration into the nature of women and power broached in his earlier tragedies, as well as
Although aware of the consequences of such a pact, he is blinded by three things that bring about his ultimate demise. His greed to know all, his pride that made him believe he was better than man, and his denial that in the end he would bring his own downfall upon himself. If Faustus had not been these things he would not have brought an end to himself. Dr. Faustus denies the existence of everything, from his eventual torture in hell if he does not repent, to men, society, and indeed the world. The
Othello as Victim of Hamartia By definition, a tragedy is a story that details the downfall of a protagonist. Most often, the protagonist (tragic hero) is a member of high society who is faced with an oppositional force, be it internal or external. In his Poetics, Aristotle states that "tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves
Vengeance in The Count of Monte Cristo The corpse of Madame de Villefort lay stretched across the doorway leading to the room in which Edward's lifeless body resided. Eyes filled with tears, the miserable M. de Villefort revealed the sorrowful scene to Dantes. After beholding the results of his revenge "Monte Cristo became pale at this horrible sight; he felt he had passed beyond the bounds of vengeance, and that he could no longer say 'God is for and with me.'" Set in France during the turmoil