Macbeth 9
Macbeth 9A struggle is present in every tragedy, as a person tries to overcome their flaws and fit the mold of their ideal. William Shakespeare plainly defined a good man in the play "Macbeth". This goal by it’s definition is a difficult one for any man to achieve. Prudence and logic, temperance and patients, as well as the vindication of honor are Shakespeare’s defining characteristics of a good man.
As with any well written tragedy, Macbeth’s title character and hero had to fall from his place of greatness to see his faults and begin his agonizing climb back to his previous position. His position, that of a good man, was one that demanded respect in the beginning of "Macbeth". The Sergeant described Macbeth’s honor and bravery to king Duncan in act I, scene 2.
"For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valour’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave;…"
Macbeth defended his king’s honor as well as his own, as Shakespeare showed a good man never backed down from a foe.
In the later acts of the play, Shakespeare furthered the definition of a good man by portraying what a bad one was not. In Macbeth’s darkest hours, he
showed no sign of prudence and logic as he slayed king Duncan, and hired assassins to murder his friend Banquo. Macbeth displayed his temerity in act IV scene 1 saying,
"from this moment The very firstlings...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.