Submitted by: Submitted by elleeeeven
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Category: English Composition
Date Submitted: 05/28/2014 08:55 PM
Villegas 1
Evelyn Villegas
AP English Literature, Period 5
Mr. Yoshida
2/21/14
Macbeth's Tragic Downfall
In William Shakespeare's “Macbeth”, Macbeth is a tragic hero who causes a great amount of suffering by committing murder and distress to others, exemplifying the negative effects of a bloodthirsty desire for power. Even though Macbeth was a hero at first, that didn't stop his downfall. Not only is Macbeth's desire for power physically tolling but it also mentally affects him and the people around him.
When Macbeth finds out about the prophecy he decides to kill the King and also Banquo so he can become the new heir. With that done he gets his wife into the whole mess and she begins to go mad. This causes distress to Banquo's children and the King's children. Malcolm flees the country in hopes of not getting murdered and leaves everything behind. Macbeth then sends murderers out to kill Fleance but they do not succeed which causes great distress on Fleance and Macbeth. To try to get rid of any other competition Macbeth decides to murder Lady Macduff and her son to get to Macduff. This causes great grief to Macduff which causes him to want revenge.
After Lady Macbeth has witnessed the murder of King Duncan she goes
Villegas 2
mad. She begins to see a spot of blood on her hand when it's not really there. Finally, when she can't take it anymore she kills herself and Macbeth is left with nothing. Macbeth decides to fight Macduff for the throne. Macduff beheads Macbeth and Malcolm returns from his flee and takes the throne. After so much suffering Malcolm''s restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order.
All the suffering brought on by Macbeth contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole. It shows how even the noblest and most heroic of men will fall under the seduction of power. Power can be a dangerous thing and it can bring many people down with you if you aren't careful. In this case Macbeth's tragic flaw was his greed for...