Question

Define the term tragic hero. Explain how Macbeth is an example of a tragic hero, citing specific examples from the text to illustrate the character's tragic flaws.

Answer 1

A tragic hero or tragic heroine is the protagonist of a tragedy. Aristotle shared his view of what makes a tragic hero in his Poetics. Aristotle suggests that a hero of a tragedy must evoke in the audience a sense of pity or fear, saying, “the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity." Macbeth is a perfect example of a tragic hero, for that very reason, not to mention he dies at the end of the play. Macbeth's fatal flaw in the play is unchecked ambition, that is a desire for power and position, namely to be king, which is more important to him than anything else in life.