Honor and Bravery in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth  Honor and Bravery A struggle is present in every tragedy, as a person tries to overcome their flaws and fit the mold of their ideal.  William Shakespe ar plainly defined a good man in the play, Macbeth.  Prudence and logic, temperance and patience, as well as the vindication of honor are Shakespeares specify characteristics of a good man. Honor and bravery are Shakespeares defining characteristics of a good man while illogical passion and impatience are characteristics that do not characterize a good man. As with any tragedy, Macbeths title character and hero had to fall from his place of greatness to see his faults and take calibrate 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 Macbeths honor and bravery to queen mole rat Duncan in Act I, Scene 2. For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name/ Disdaining fortune, with his bran dishd steel/Which smoked with bloody execution/Like valours minion carved out his public life/Till he faced the slave   Macbeth defended his kings 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 Macbeths 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 significance the very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand. / And even now, / To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done (Act , Scene , Line ). Macbeth was no longer the logical, thinking man whom umteen admired.  He had become reckless, acting with only his passion and not his mind.  The tragedy of the murders he brought on fair Scotland was a direct result of this v iolation of the step of a good man. The most apparent flaws, and perhaps the most tragic in Macbeths character, is his lack of patience and temperance.  These shortcomings haunted Macbeth, causing him to let his overvaulting ambition bam fate, and hasten his doom.  Macbeth could not wait for an appointment to a position of more power.  Instead, he murdered the king to take his place.