MACBETH AND TRAGEDY
MACBETH AND TRAGEDY
Shakespeare’s Macbeth fits within the genre of a ‘tragedy’, and it follows by and large tragic
conventions. Classical tragedies have very strict rules and parameters. We’ve detailed the main points
about tragedy and how they link to Macbeth below, to help you understand how the genre influences
the play and its ideas.
It’s important to note that the main point of a tragedy is that the tragic hero has a fatal flaw; a character
fault that undoes his or her good work and results in death and downfall. We’re supposed to watch a
tragedy and learn ‘how not to be’ – from analysing the flaw and understanding how it ruins a person’s
life. In Macbeth, we are always told that he’s a great hero, ‘brave’ and ‘noble’ – meaning he has been a
great warrior and helped King Duncan up until this point. His flaw ruins everything great about him and
causes a downfall not only of himself but his family and his lasting reputation.
The key message is ‘Don’t be like Macbeth’, but the flaw itself is debatable. Is it pride, or ambition?
Obsession with power? Mental weakness and being easily influenced? Something else?
Through closely analysing Macbeth and trying to figure out this weakness, we can learn to assess what
kinds of emotions and behaviours have bad consequences, and so avoid them in our own lives.
GENRE: TRAGEDY
• Shakespeare was educated in classical tragedy (Greek).
• The rules: a tragic hero is noble-born, successful, well spoken, brilliant in most ways, but they
have a fatal flaw (hamartia) that undoes all of their achievements.
• The audience knows from the beginning that the tragic hero is doomed. It’s not so much a
question of whether they will die, but how and why they will die that is important.
• The tragic hero dies at the end of the play and the audience feels a sense of relief (catharsis)
because the hero caused a lot of chaos in their world.
• Message: not to be like the hero, a cautionary tale that warns us against having the same flaws
as the hero.
• Macbeth’s flaws: debatable what his fatal flaw is – it could be ‘vaulting ambition’, being overly
influenced by others (especially women), turning away from God, indecision, guilt, madness,
greed, lust for power or love of violence.
COPYRIGHT © 2021 SCRBBLY
MACBETH AND TRAGEDY
Shakespeare’s Macbeth fits within the genre of a ‘tragedy’, and it follows by and large tragic
conventions. Classical tragedies have very strict rules and parameters. We’ve detailed the main points
about tragedy and how they link to Macbeth below, to help you understand how the genre influences
the play and its ideas.
It’s important to note that the main point of a tragedy is that the tragic hero has a fatal flaw; a character
fault that undoes his or her good work and results in death and downfall. We’re supposed to watch a
tragedy and learn ‘how not to be’ – from analysing the flaw and understanding how it ruins a person’s
life. In Macbeth, we are always told that he’s a great hero, ‘brave’ and ‘noble’ – meaning he has been a
great warrior and helped King Duncan up until this point. His flaw ruins everything great about him and
causes a downfall not only of himself but his family and his lasting reputation.
The key message is ‘Don’t be like Macbeth’, but the flaw itself is debatable. Is it pride, or ambition?
Obsession with power? Mental weakness and being easily influenced? Something else?
Through closely analysing Macbeth and trying to figure out this weakness, we can learn to assess what
kinds of emotions and behaviours have bad consequences, and so avoid them in our own lives.
GENRE: TRAGEDY
• Shakespeare was educated in classical tragedy (Greek).
• The rules: a tragic hero is noble-born, successful, well spoken, brilliant in most ways, but they
have a fatal flaw (hamartia) that undoes all of their achievements.
• The audience knows from the beginning that the tragic hero is doomed. It’s not so much a
question of whether they will die, but how and why they will die that is important.
• The tragic hero dies at the end of the play and the audience feels a sense of relief (catharsis)
because the hero caused a lot of chaos in their world.
• Message: not to be like the hero, a cautionary tale that warns us against having the same flaws
as the hero.
• Macbeth’s flaws: debatable what his fatal flaw is – it could be ‘vaulting ambition’, being overly
influenced by others (especially women), turning away from God, indecision, guilt, madness,
greed, lust for power or love of violence.
COPYRIGHT © 2021 SCRBBLY
