Discuss Macbeth's relationship to himself. What personal flaws led to his tragic death?why in spite of his cruel deeds and murderous ways was he...

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must possess all of
the following qualities, which Macbeth does not.

1. The
tragic hero must possess a great character and he must fall from a high standing to a
low standing. (Macbeth falls from kingship to his death, but his character is not
great.)

2. Must possess a tragic flaw (also known as
harmatia), but is otherwise a good person. (Macbeth has unchecked ambition, but he also
becomes exceedingly cruel, which the reader cannot relate
to.)

3. The hero gains awareness after his loss. (Macbeth
does not gain awareness, in fact he loses all sense of humanity that can be noted to his
lackadaisical reaction to his wife's suicide.)

4. The
audience must feel pity and fear for this character. (By the end of the play, the
audience is disgusted with Macbeth's continued murdering spree and wishes only for him
to receive his punishment.)

The best way to
formulate a thesis statement is to take an IDEA + YOUR OPINION + WHY. For example:
Macbeth cannot be considered a tragic hero because his unchecked ambition causes the
audience to never experience pathos for his character.

Then
you formulate paragraphs to support this thesis by first choosing quotes that support
the concept. A great way to make sure you have enough commentary in your text is to
follow the SQUIDS method.

SQUIDS(A reminder of the steps in
the process of analysis and commentary)• Select• Quotation: a specific line (or
passage)from the text• Understand• Identify (explain, hold forth, etch)•
Define/Describe/Deconstruct its• Significance