Macbeth’s Tragic Flaws
The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a typical tragedy. The main character of the play, Macbeth, is an honorable, trustworthy, and loyal nobleman to King Duncan at the beginning of the play. However, as the play progresses, Macbeth’s tragic flaws influence him to do the unimaginable: He becomes a traitor and a murderer, killing anyone that threatens his rule over Scotland. Shakespeare shows through the character of Macbeth how tragic flaws can bring about chaos and destruction. Macbeth’s downfall is the direct effect of his tragic flaws, which are impatience and over-ambition. At the beginning of Macbeth, Macbeth and his good friend Banquo are confronted by three witches. These witches give predictions to Macbeth that causes him to become impatient, his first tragic flaw. The three “weird sisters” tell Macbeth that he will become king of Scotland. As a result, Macbeth begins to ponder whether or not he should wait for fate to take its course and make him king, or take action to become king himself: “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir,” (Act I- Scene 3- Lines 143-144). In Scene 4, Macbeth’s eagerness to rule Scotland becomes evident when he begins to plot
By the end of the play, Macbeth has changed from a loyal nobleman to a traitor and a tyrant of Scotland. Due to this transformation, his country and his nobleman rise against him, killing him and taking the crown from him. In the beginning, Macbeth’s impatience and over-ambition lead him to do an unthinkable crime. The murder of King Duncan leads him to commit more acts of violence in order to keep the power he has gained. In the play Macbeth, Macbeth himself is a prime example of how tragic flaws can lead a person down a path of destruction. Macbeth is either a victim of fate, or he is a victim of his own actions. Either way, it is obvious that Macbeth’s tragic flaws contributed to his downfall: his impatience and his over-ambition led to his unhappy end. the way to become king over the heir to the throne, Duncan’s eldest son Malcolm: “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap…” (Act I-Scene 4-Lines 48-49). In Scene 7, Macbeth’s impatience grows as he talks about the king’s possible death: “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well if it were done quickly…” (Act I-Scene 7-Lines 1-2). Consequently, Macbeth’s impatience drives him to take fate into his own hands and kill King Duncan in Act II. Macbeth’s ambition continues throughout t
Some topics in this essay:
Act I-Scene,
Act III-Scene,
Macbeth Macbeth,
I- Scene,
King Duncan,
Act IV-Scene,
I-Scene7- Lines,
Act II,
Scotland Shakespeare,
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tragic flaws,
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king duncan,
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impatience over-ambition,
act iii-scene,
macbeth’s impatience,
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act iii-scene 1-lines,
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kill king duncan,
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Approximate Word count = 902
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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