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Shakespeare's Macbeth: Why is Macbeth NOT fully a tragic hero?

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Lyah
 
Reply Sun 15 Jan, 2017 11:35 am
We've recently got a homework which is refering to Shakespeare's Macbeth, and I've been thinking and seachring on the internet for about nealy 3 hours now. I don't know nor can I find an answer. Please help.

"In Shakespeare's Macbeth, in how far deos the Macbeth not fully fit the traditional definition of a tragic hero?"

With "traditional" the teacher means "as defined by Aristotle". The problem is that I only find reasons why he IS a tragic hero and not why he IS NOT.

1) Macbeth is noble

2) Macbeth is meither wholly good not wholly bad

3) the audience can sympathise with him (at the begining he is an honourable man)

4) his own tragic flaw (hubris and ambition) caused his downfall

The only thing that doesn't fit is that he does deserve his punishment.

As the assignment is to show why he isn't a tragic hero, I don't know any good answer. Please help.


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PUNKEY
 
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Reply Sun 15 Jan, 2017 11:42 am
Your answer is at the bottom of your own page.

How does that make you feel that "he deserves punishment"?

BTW - you weren't going to find this out on line. It's how you feel about this character. Define 'tragic hero' first.
Lyah
 
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Reply Mon 16 Jan, 2017 09:15 am
@PUNKEY,
No. My answer is not at the bottom of the page. Macbeth is, in my opinion, a tragic hero. That he deserves his punishment is the only reason why he might not be a tragic hero. But that is not enough to answer to a question that is based upon the statement that Macbeth is NOT a tragic hero. So I am looking for other reasons.
I have defined a tragic hero in the middle of the page.
I said that Macbeth fits with the definition as far as
1) tragic hero = noble
2) tragic hero = not only good, not only bad
3) tragic hero = sympathetic to the audience
4) tragic hero has a tragic flaw.
I didn't say tragic hero but Macbeth.
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