In his book, "Poetics", Aristotle devises a set of requirements which he feels all tragic heroes should achieve. The first quality of an Aristotelian tragic hero is that "the hero must be good but not perfect, he must be like us in order to gain out sympathy" (House 481). The hero is a person of higher social standing, in essence, better than average people, yet he still possesses only human characteristics. The hero makes a fatal error in judgement that is caused by his fatal flaw, or hamartia (

plainly and strongly that he has become a servant of hell and the devil... In the close of the play, for the first time in his career, he has to hear himself utterly condemned to his fate for his wickedness... After he is chastised, Macbeth does not utter a single word of repudiation of that verdict" (Else 75).

House 83-97). Then "a reversal of ignorance" (Else 438) takes place in which he experiences a "realization and recognition of the events that conspired" (Barnet 111-112). The play is almost always ended at the complete destruction of the hero, either by death or total emotional devastation (House 96-97). This allows for the purging of emotions which lies in Aristotle's corresponding definition of the tragedy itself. The tragedy, as Aristotle defines it, consists of the following elements: A hero of high importance, usually someone of nobility, and this hero has a hamartia or a fatal flaw. There is then a

reversal of fate for the protagonist and a catharsis, or purging of tension. The tragic flaw results in the hero's ultimate downfall in which death or utter emotional destruction of the character takes place (Barnet 111-113). These things in combination with the general decency of the tragic hero, are very important to the plot of an Aristotelian tragedy.

knowledge required for the protagonist to become aware of his fatal error. The reversal in The Tragedy of Macbeth, is foreshadowed in the first scene by the witches, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I,i,10). These words illustrate the peripety of Macbeth's fate. This statement by the witches represents the reversal of accepted values (Hawkes 6). Macbeth, looking back on the situation would, if he had the choice, rather have had everything he wanted, innocently (Wain 81). In retrospect, Macbeth feels that his ends did not justify his means.

"Siward and MacDuff, representing wide range of human society, tell him

There are many interpretations of the word 'appropriate' in Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero. He chooses to state that the character must be appropriate without elaborating enough on what he means. The general consensus is that the character should be suitably 'better' than normal people (Else 481). "tragedy makes it's personages better than the... men in the street" (92). In other words, the hero should not be a common person. The protagonist must only possess the characteristic indigenous to the his position in society as well as to basic human nature. In support of this, House translates, "[the] character must be true to life,...natural" (House 91). Basically the character must fit appropriately into his social class, and not possess any super-human powers or abilities. Perhaps the definition of verisimilitude is derived from Aristotle's use of the word 'appropriate' as well. By gaining believability in the eyes of the reader, the protagonist continues to be made more true to life through his historical likeness to the person being depicted.

Through careful and thorough evaluation of Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero, and the consistencies within Macbeth's character, it can be conclusively stated that Macbeth is in truth, an Aristotelian tragic hero. His consistency with the Aristotelian definition, from his high place in society to his hamartia and his eventual destruction, are examples of why Macbeth holds the characteristics necessary to be labeled as an Aristotelian tragic hero..

To be described as 'like' the historic figure that the tragedy is based upon is a requirement in the definition of an Aristotelian tragic hero. Macbeth is 'like' the real Macbeth as described in Holinshed's Chronicles, in that he "was a relative [of Duncan] by marriage as is stated in Sha

Some common words found in the essay are:
Poetics Aristotle, Humphry House, Bloom Interpretations, King Duncan, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Tragedy Macbeth, Siward MacDuff, Argument Else, Thane Cawdor, , tragic hero, aristotelian tragic, aristotelian tragic hero, tragedy macbeth, true macbeth, definition tragic, tragic flaw, definition tragic hero, aristotle's definition, reversal fate, aristotle's definition tragic, main character, king duncan, definition aristotelian tragic, tragic hero macbeth,
Approximate Word count = 2506
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)