МАГБЕТ – ОД ИДЕАЛНОГ ДО ТРАГИЧНОГ ЈУНАКА

The subject of this paper is Macbeth – the main hero and the bearer of Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name. Firstly, we will approach the tragedy of Macbeth and point out the character traits of the main hero by examining in which way Macbeth can be determined as an ideal and in which way as a tragic hero. With an analytical approach to the tragedy, we will focus on the three key factors that are laid as the groundwork of the investigation: witches, Macbeth’s ambition and the influence Lady Macbeth has on Macbeth. Examining the three factors, we will point out Macbeth’s penetration into the criminal world that begins with the witches’ prophecies and completely distorts the moral norms he followed until then. Macbeth’s ambition, placed at the centre of his malice, is considerably strengthened by the prophecy of the third witch and plays the greatest part in Macbeth’s tragic downfall. Lady Macbeth is an additional element to the previously mentioned factors. She does not allow the criminal thread already ingrained in Macbeth to be cut and her role is to incite him to criminogenic activity. Mutually intertwined, these factors affect the radical metamorphosis of Macbeth’s personality, undermine his integrity, his noble inner being that turns evil and disastrously impact his mental state. Therefore, the aim is to point out the genesis Macbeth’s character underwent – from ideal to tragic and how this abrupt transition resulted in the tragicality of Macbeth’s fate, that is, how Macbeth’s fate is causally related to his committed misdeeds.