A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In addition, this character is happy at the beginning of the play. A tragic hero must be of noble birth and demonstrate a tragic flaw throughout the story. This character will realize their flaw once it is too late to overcome the conflict. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus exhibits qualities that make him the tragic character.
A tragic flaw is a weakness that makes a hero susceptible to mistake, which brings on the fate of personal tragedy. Brutus‘s tragic flaw is his honor, which interferes with most of his decisions and blinds him thought out the play. During his speech, Brutus explains that he killed Caesar for the good of the people, to show to the people that he had more honor to the people and not Caesar, by saying, “It’s not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”(III, 2 20-1) Brutus believed that his honor to Rome meant more
Macbeth – A Tragic Hero? “Macbeth” by Shakespeare tells the story of a high birth who ends up bringing about his own downfall. Macbeth is led behind the curtain by his own urge to possess power. First, he is a hero, then a villain, then a human being feeling regret. Is Macbeth a tragic hero?
Tragic Hero Essay A heroic figure that possesses a character flaw which eventually leads up to his or her defeat is know as a tragic hero. This character is known to be both good and noble, but suffers many flaws that do not bring out the best traits that he or she has. In the play “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, Marcus Brutus qualifies to a high extent as the tragic hero. One of Brutus’ flaws has was that he had a lust for power. Others easily manipulated him into any situation, which resulted in him joining the conspiracy.
In act 1 scene 3 the three witches foretold that Macbeth would become Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. If not for the prophecies Macbeth’s curiosity and ambition to become King might never have begun in the first place, however when hearing the prophecies of becoming king, horrible imaginings of murder came across his mind. As it gets further into the play Macbeth increasingly relies on the prophecies given by the witches, this lead to the murder of many people and slowly corrupted Macbeth near the end of the play. The manipulation and influence of Lady Macbeth was also a factor of Macbeth’s becoming more and more evil. When Lady Macbeth reads her husband’s letter, she is afraid that Macbeth is not evil enough to do what he must to get the crown.
Macbeth begins to kill more to acquire the throne of Cawdor. The more he kills the more it haunts him in the end. Macbeth kills a man named Banquo. During the play he is talking about his achievements of becoming king and his conscience is so messed up and enraged with fear, he sees a ghost of the dead Banquo. Macbeth’s mind and attitude have changed since the beginning.
Tragic hero, a Tragic hero is a not so perfect person of high social status. That then has a downfall from his from his high title in society and pays for all of his wrong doing. During or after his downfall he has a moment of clarity finally realizing what he has done. In the book “Oedipus The King” Oedipus shows to be a true tragic hero. Using Oedipus as an ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be an important or influential man who makes an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the consequences of his actions.
Macbeth Tragic Themes One of the themes in The Tragedy of Macbeth is that of blood. Macbeth is known for his skills as a warrior and his mercilessness that is shown in his killing of MacDonwald, this warrior mentality spreads though into his life and Macbeth begins to make killing a habit. When he is told in a prophecy that he shall be king, Macbeth takes it upon himself to murder, Duncan, king of Scotland, after this murder though he has visions of blood on his hands, blood nothing could remove. As Macbeth becomes more and more ambitious, he also begins to kill more people to get what he wants, more power. The theme of blood is shown throughout the play and it is a problem that Macbeth finds harder and harder to rid himself of after each killing.
Aristotle believed that a tragic hero must have been a man of greatness and nobility, while still being flawed in essence to his personality. Causing his own demise, the character must suffer far worst then one might think he deserves, at the same time gain insight of this and accept his failure to complete himself and achieve a more righteous self. In my opinion Creon is, according to Aristotle a tragic hero. Creon, being next in line for the political post as King of Thebes, was known for his outstanding beliefs and morals. Creon states, “I say to you at the very outset that I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid/ for whatever reason/ to follow the course of that he knows is best for the state…I have no use for him…” (Antigone.
Instead , he murdered the king to take his place. Opting not to wait to see if Banquo would be loyal to him, Macbeth had his companion murdered. His impatience led Macbeth to listen to his wife, the witches , and his darker side. He again informed people what a good man was not. In the end, Macbeth did regain a shred of his previous distinction when he faced his adversaries like a true warrior.