Macbeth Hero to Villian

A detailed Summary of Macbeth Hero to Villian

Macbeth' is a play by William Shakespeare that shows a protagonist going from bad to worse throughout the play. Shakespeare wrote this play, taking in mind current affairs at the time of 1603-1606. This is the time when a Scottish king, James I was given the English crown. This king was obsessed with witches, so Shakespeare brought this theme strongly into the play. It also brings the theme of treachery towards the King. This pleased King James and also pleased him about showing the line of Stuart Kings, James descendants, in Act 4, Scene 1.

The play, 'Macbeth' is a tragedy. The traditional specification of a tragedy requires the tragic hero to be a person who holds a high position who must oppose a conflicting force, either externally or internally(a conflicting force from his own state or another. Also, the hero should have a Hamartia, which is a tragic flaw. This will lead to the hero's downfall, in this case, it is Macbeth's ambition. This downfall should lead to the hero's death in order for him to qualify as a tragic hero. The action the tragic hero does must be real and could happen at any time.

Macbeth becomes a villain when he discovers he will become King of Scotland. The traditional idea of a villain says that he or

"Why should I play the Roman fool and die

Even though the witches say Macbeth will be King of Scotland, they do not suggest that he kill Duncan to achieve this. Their words are for Macbeth to interpret. Macbeth does not have to follow his ambition, he could resist it, making him a better man. All through the play Macbeth becomes obsessed with what the witches have for-told. He always follows this the obvious way. Macbeth thinks that he should kill Banquo because the witches say that there will be a line of Banquo kings. Macbeth doesn't want to loose the crown to Banquo or his son, so he tries to kill them both so the line will continue in his family. Macbeth also chooses to kill Macduff anyway, even though the witches said know one would kill him. The witches did not really mislead Macbeth; they only put an idea into his head, and left him to decide what action to take. Banquo tries to warn Macbeth away from the prophecies.

Just before Macbeth is killed in his castle, he speaks valiantly and warrior-like, showing where his strength is. If we can forget about Macbeth's ambition we can admire him for this.

Some common words found in the essay are:
King Scotland, England Act, Kings James, Lady Macbeth, King Duncan, Fleance Macbeth, Iiii Act, Banquo Fleance, William Shakespeare, James English, king scotland, lady macbeth, macbeth killed, tragic hero, hear macbeth, act 1 scene, macbeth's ambition, macbeth meet, macbeth kill, 1 scene, act 4, iiii act 1,

Approximate Word count = 1473
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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