Tragic Hero

Tragic Hero: Often the main character in a tragedy. Usually male, this person is a noble and great person, aside from a fatal flaw or sinister force on the inside or outside that will be his downfall, which greatly contrasts his previous, happier position. The downfall should make the audience be in awe of how far the hero has fallen, and feel pity for him.  The tragic hero is usually high-ranking member of the military and/or a nobleman.

Root: A similar word, hamartia, is described as a hero’s fatal flaw. This word was defined by Aristotle in his works Poetics. This is a work of dramatic theory, and talks about comedies, tragedies and lyric poetry.

How it applies to Macbeth: In the play Macbeth, Macbeth would be the tragic hero. His fatal flaw is ambition, or, to be specific his greed for the crown. Macbeth is also largely influenced by the witches’ prophecy and his wife persuading him to kill King Duncan. He is also a military commander and a thane (noble).

- LK, VF, and MC


Sources:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/601884/tragedy/51117/Shakespeares-tragic-art

http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/essays/Emacbeth3.htm

http://shakespeare.nuvvo.com/lesson/4435-elements-of-a-tragic-hero-in-literature

http://www.walkinginthefog.net/files/TragicStructureInMacbeth2.ppt

Comparison of Adelaide Version of Macbeth and Oxford Next's Version (Group)

     We looked at the Adelaide University version of the Shakespeare play Macbeth. There were a few differences in this version as compared to the Oxford Next version.

     Firstly is the difference in spelling and punctuation. Many spelling errors were encountered on this website, for example Macdonald was spelled Macdonwald, and there were also many missing capitalizations. Furthermore, there were many added and missed punctuation marks. The lack of capitals makes a large difference in the perception of a sentence, for example the word Fortune is capitalized in the Oxford Next version, but not in the Adelaide one. This is important because Fortune refers a person/diety, and when it is not capitalized, it could be perceived as just a word with little significance. Colons are also used in many instances instead of commas, and many question marks and exclamation marks are missing.

     Secondly has to do with the stage directions. These are the same as the ones in the Oxford Next version, but they are listed in italics, not in square brackets.

     Notes are not included in this rendition of Macbeth. This takes away from one’s reading experience, as one cannot delve deeper into the meaning of a word or scene, nor can one learn more about a character. The only knowledge we get about a character is in the character description at the beginning of the play, which provides little insight into characters.

     As for the format of the play, there are many indents in some character’s lines without any given reasoning. This takes away from the visual experience for the reader. There are also no line numbers given.

     In conclusion, this version is fairly reliable and is similar to the Oxford Next version, only differing in some formatting, language and punctuation marks, but in all, these do not change the overall meaning of the play. Notes are not provided, and this makes it not the best source for a grade 9 studying Macbeth due to lack of extra information.

Comparison of Oxford Next and Bibliomania's 'Macbeth' (Group Version)

Our group researched Bibliomania's version of Macbeth. There are a few important features that differ from this version of the play as compared to the Oxford Next version. Firstly are the setting descriptions. For the most part, the Bibliomania version contains most of the setting description mentioned in Oxford Next, but there are still some parts of the description missing, and often there is another point added that is not stated in the Oxford version, and this added part is often incorrect. As for the formatting of the setting, the Bibliomania version has a part of the setting non-italicized, a space, an indent and more setting description italicized.

Our second point involves the format of the script. All characters are listed in large, bold lettering, followed by a space, an indent and the person's line, which is written in smaller, un-bolded script. However, The witches and other smaller parts (such as the Attendant) are written in lowercase, which is not the same in the Oxford version. Another noted detail is that the stage directions are the same as the one in the Oxford version, but they are not located to the right side of the page, and are not in square brackets. Furthermore, the captain in the Oxford Next version is referred to as the sergeant in the Bibliomania version.   

Regarding notes, there are none visible on this site. It is the script and solely that. This does not allow a reader to thoroughly view and understand the script, or learn more about a character or event that may not be easily seen in the script itself. The only 'notes' were the list of the dramatic personae, which provided little insight on the character themselves, but instead listed their role or position and not much else. 

The final point has to do with the script. The wording and punctuation is similar to the Oxford version, with a some instances of mistakes.There are also some formatting differences. In the Oxford version, when a line is not finished by one character, it would continue in the same point in the line by the other character, however this is not so in the Bibliomania Version.

In all, the Bibliomania version contains most of the written components of the Oxford Next version, differing mainly on it’s formatting and lack of notes and insight about the play. For these reasons, Bibliomania is not an ideal site for people studying Shakespeare.

Comparison of OxfordNext Macbeth script and Bibliomania Macbeth script

The first difference I noticed between the Bibliomania version and the OxfordNext version was in the "Dramatis Personae". In general, the OxfordNext version gives better descriptions of the characters. For example, it says mentions that Malcolm is Duncan's oldest son, and heir to the throne, whereas in the Bibliomania version, it simply says that Malcolm and Donaldbain are Duncan's sons. However, the Bibliomania version mentions when characters may be called something different in the script, such as that "Boy" is also referred to as "Son". Two other things of note are that the "Captain" is a "Sergeant" in the Bibliomania version, and that Fleance is mentioned as the son of Banquo, whereas he is not mentioned in the OxfordNext version.

 In the actual scripts themselves, one of the most major differences between them is that the OxfordNext version numbers the lines, but in the Bibliomania version, the lines are not numbered. This makes citing and referring to sections the Bibliomania version more difficult. There are also numerous punctuation and spelling differences, such as phrases in the Bibliomania version occasionally being separated by colons instead of commas or periods, or spelling "Norwegian" as "Norweyan", or "Memorize" as "Memorise". I also noticed that the settings are rather different.

The OxfordNext version sets the first scene at a battlefield and the second scene at the king's headquarters, while the Bibliomania versions sets the first scene at a "desert place", and the second scene at a "Camp near Forres". Lastly, I noticed that the Bibliomania version has an extra line at the end of Scene 2, which is the first line of Scene 3 in the OxfordNext version. Both scripts seem to generally be lacking stage directions, which could make using them more difficult for actors. Overall, while one's reading of the play would not differ too dramatically if using the Bibliomania version or the OxfordNext version, I would say that OxfordNext version is a better resource for Grade 9 students studying the play, because it has notes on the script explaining the terms used in the play, and it is easier to cite from and refer to.

Online Resource: http://www.bibliomania.com/0/6/3/1075/frameset.html

Women - In the real Macbeth's time and in Shakespeare's day

General Information on women during the Elizabethan period (MC):

-Women were expected to be housewives and mothers.

-Childbearing was seen as a great honor and a gift from god.

-Women were regarded as the "weaker sex" physically and emotionally.

Source: www.elizabethi.org/us/women

Married Women (VF):

-Married women were supposed to bring a dowry to the wedding

-this would include goods, money and the woman's property after the marraige

-Women could marry at 12

Source: www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-women.htm

Women's Education (LK):

- In the Elizabethan times, although noble girls were educated by tutors, they did not go to university.

- Music and dancing were essential skills for noblewomen.

- Common women were only trained to be good wives (e.g. cook, manage the household).

- They would not have attended school or received any other type of formal education.

Source: www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-women.htm

Introduction

Welcome to our plog! Enjoy our lovely posts about the play Macbeth!

From Your Three Witches,

The Ice Shadow Beast (MC)
C-gull (LK)
Victory of Fife (VF)