The Hero's Journey In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

Decent Essays
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” Macbeth (4.1.44-45). Written in 1606, Shakespeare’s Macbeth has been one of his most famous works. This play is about a man named Macbeth who struggles between the balances of good and bad, and his journey from being just a general of Scotland to being decapitated as the King of Scotland.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth as a Tragic Hero Throughout history, humanity has consistently risen to great heights, but due to our flawed nature, met failure and loss. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is conveyed through Macbeth which eventually drove Macbeth mad and made him a tragic hero. Due to Macbeths actions, ambition and arrogance he makes many disastrous choices during the play.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plot Summary Of Macbeth

    • 1512 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It all started when Macbeth wanted to kill Ducan,Fleance and also his wife lady Macbeth. King Ducan of the scots awaits news of the battle between his men and all of the rebels led by the thane of cawdor. The king and his sons ,Malcolm and Donalbain, meet a solider who is weak and and bleeding. He reports that Macbeth and Bonquo have performed valiantly in the power of the fight .His adiration of the noble yet of the brutal Macbeth is deep indeed.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shakespeare manipulates the device of contrast very well on Macbeth to reveal his hubris, a flaw in his character, in which results in his catastrophe as the tragic hero. In the beginning of the play, a soldier introduces Macbeth as a noble warrior who has slain the head of the traitor, won the war for his country of Scotland, and remains loyal to his King. At first the war is not going well for Scotland, until “brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-/ Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel,/ which smoked with bloody execution,/ Like valour’s minion carved out his passage/ Till he faced the slave;/ Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,/ Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps,/ And fix’d his head upon our battlements.” (1.2.18-25).…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Shakespeare was well known for the main characters of his plays using their tragic flaws to create their own downfall. In this play, we see a different kind of tragic hero. Macbeth is pushed by his mentally unstable wife to commit the murder of the beloved King Duncan, and even though Macbeth has always been known as a great warrior, he can’t use these skills for evil no matter how much he craves power. Before the idea of power was brought to him, Macbeth was a noble and loyal soldier to King Duncan and the country of Scotland.…

    • 1857 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and soon to be named the King of Scotland Macbeth is the man of the moment in the European country of Scotland. The horrendous murder of King Duncan has forced Macbeth to move up in the ladder of the candidates for the King of Scotland. According to many peasants and Thanes of the kingdom that Macbeth will be crowned King as soon as King Duncan’s funeral has been completed. Macbeth is a fearless warrior; he is a fierce defender of the King, yet the citizens of Scotland doesn’t know much about the soon to be named King of Scotland, and that’s why I will take you on the journey to find more about the glorified warrior known as “Macbeth mac Findlaech.” Lightning shouted from the sky, an enormous strike…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I sit there in shock at the sight of seeing my brother who's standing before me, wearing a black bulletproof vest and army boots. The sounds of screams and guns going off can still be heard within my apartment and...outside? Even with the light shinning in my face and the room completely dark, I can see that he's covered with all this protective gear and... As I was about to open my mouth, Duncan grabs me and pulls me out of the apartment.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1606, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, based on Scottish history and the lineage of King James VI of Scotland. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s shortest and most violent tragedies about a Scottish general named Macbeth (Sarkar). He receives a prophecy from three witches stating that he will one day be King of Scotland. He becomes consumed with ambitious thoughts that allow his wife, Lady Macbeth, to push him towards murdering his friend and current King, Duncan, in order to get the throne. He is racked with guilt and is forced to commit more murders to ensure his crown and safety.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you think that Macbeth had the characteristics to be recognized as a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a man of noble stature. A tragic hero has outstanding qualities and greatness about himself. Tragic hero’s main characteristics are that they are noble, they are not all evil, has talent that makes him great, share responsibility of his down fall, and makes the audience feel some type of pity. I believe that Macbeth was all the characteristics to be classified as a tragic hero.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The play Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare between the time of 1599 and 1606. The play is one of his shortest, yet darkest plays. At this time superstition and witchcraft was very much believed in, hence inspired by the Holinshed’s chronicles Shakespeare wrote the play. The story revolves around the character of Macbeth, a kinsman of the king of Scotland who at the end of a great battle is greeted by three weird sisters who prophesize him being the thane of Cawdor and the future king, Macbeth writes to his wife, describing what the witches had told him and calls her his’ partner in greatness’.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Macbeth: Hero Or Monster?

    • 241 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Macbeth: Hero or Monster? The Webster definition of monster is one deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character. One could say that the definition of monster describes Macbeth perfectly. The Webster definition a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.…

    • 241 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth is a classic Shakespearean play which outlines the rise and eventual fall of a general in Scotland due to his own actions and intentions. The play looks at Macbeth and his path through the royal hierarchy. Ultimately, the path chosen is not the wisest and leads to his drastic demise. A tragic hero is a common element within Shakespearean plays which is a highly esteemed/prosperous main character who falls into misfortune on account of his mistake(s) according to Aristotle. Macbeth accurately demonstrates the specific characteristics of hubris, anagnorisis, and peripeteia.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth: The Tragic Hero

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Tragic Hero The most modern meaning of the word ‘Tragic Hero’ as defined by Dictionary.com is, "A great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat." Several key characters in the play were also affected by tragedy for a number of reasons, but without doubt, Macbeth and his reverse of fortunes are because of his own actions, and the rest of the characters are merely victims of his foul luck. From the start of the play this tragedy of his was illustrated through forces beyond human. These forces were that of the witches. The next major influence in determining his fate were his own decisions and actions.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shakespeare introduces Macbeth to us before he physically enters the play through descriptions of his valour by others *****quotes about his bravery*****. All this greatness of character however is quickly shadowed when we are presented with a fatal flaw in Macbeth when he receives the prophecies from the witches. Here is when Macbeth’s longing ambition and power hunger seem to conquer his thoughts. These thoughts eventually bring about his tragic downfall. Shakespeare depicts this flaw greatly overpowering his good qualities leading to a tremendous waste through circumstance.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth tells the fictionalized story of Macbeth’s rise to the throne. His ambition is spurred by Lady Macbeth who feels that Macbeth will not be strong enough to undertake the necessary requirements, in their minds, to gain the titles of King and Queen. The characterizations of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth undergo complete reversals, and the characters who readers are introduced to at the beginning of the drama barely resemble the people whom they were. The beginning of Macbeth introduces Macbeth as submissive and hesitant, yet extremely dedicated. Macbeth may be Thane of Glamis which holds a position of power, but he is very submissive in his relationship with Lady Macbeth.…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that proves to have a high rank and nobility. In dramas, there is usually a tragic hero, which acquires heroic characteristics, while the play progresses the hero is marred by a flaw. A hero’s fatal mistake is their tragic flaw, which contributes to the character 's downfall. William Shakespeare wrote the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, to show a normal man with noble qualities, who rises to the top, but then his tragic flaw ultimately leads to his demise. The tragic hero of the play is a Scottish general named Macbeth.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays