THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

William Shakespeare

The Tragic Hero

The tragic hero is a person of noble stature, meaning that s/he is not a normal individual but one who is great in two respects:

Social importance (usually a prince or king)

The possession of an extraordinary quality (passion, aspiration, nobility of mind, etc.)

•The hero’s misfortune is not wholly deserved. What most impresses us about the tragic hero is his/her greatness, not his/her weakness.

•The hero’s fall results in some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge. There are two sides to this gain in knowledge:

• His/her responsibility for the fall

• A significant insight, not just an increase in knowledge but in wisdom.

The tragic hero is imperfect, his/her fall resulting from that imperfection, i.e., the tragic hero is responsible for his/her own fall.

•Aristotle: “an act of injustice” committed either 1) out of ignorance or 2) with the belief that some greater good will be served. His term for it: hamartia.•Later critics: a defect of character, or “tragic flaw”•Other critics: not a lack but an excess of virtue, a nobility of character that unfits him/her for life among mortals.

The Fall

Tragic hero makes a mistake and compromises meaningful status in society

Suffering

As a result of a tragic mistake, loses his/her place in society

Reconciliation

Experiences insightTakes responsibility for his/her fall, which s/he realizes is his/her fault

Essential Action

Terms

Aside- words spoken by a character intended to be heard by the audience while other characters are onstage; a character’s inner thoughts

Soliloquy- words spoken by a character alone onstage to the audience; reveals innermost thoughts

Blank Verse- unrhymed iambic pentameter Comic Relief- a humorous episode in a tragedy

intended to break the tension or heighten the emotional impact by means of contrast; also foreshadows trouble

Foil- two characters in the same situation/ status in society that contrast in order to highlight facets of the main character’s personality

Rhetorical Appeals

Ethos- appeals to codes of ethics

Pathos- appeals to emotions and passions/ “tugs on the heartstrings”

Logos- appeals to logic and reasoning

Macbeth

Shakespeare’s Source= Holinshed’s Chronicles

Shortest play- probably written in 1606

Written as a tribute to James I Witches- demonology Banquo- ancestors Divine right of kings

Blank verse with prose (mad scene,drunken porter scene)

Setting: Anglo-Saxon period Scotland

Motifs

Blood/water

Supernatural

Light/dark

Appearance/ reality

Animals

Essential Themes

Appearances can be deceiving Unchecked ambition leads to corruption.

Main Characters

Macbeth- noble soldier who learns that he is to be king from the witches/ acts on the witches’ prophecies

Banquo- Mac’s friend/ foil character/ does not act on the witches’ prophecies

Lady Macbeth- Mac.’s wife/ strong, resolute/ wants her hubby to be king more than he does

Duncan- King of Scotland, good king, poor judge of character

Macduff- noble soldier Malcolm & Donalbain- Duncan’s two sons