Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar

This paper examined Julius Caesar and Macbeth as a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. In particular, this work of art deals briefly with the error of judgment which inevitably led to the tragic downfall of the characters particularly the protagonist in each play. This study utilized the qu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marie Jo Tess Ragos, Cynic Tenedero
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: English Department of Antasari State Islamic University 2025-06-01
Series:LET: Linguistics, Literature and English Teaching Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jurnal.uin-antasari.ac.id/index.php/let/article/view/14616
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849709798252085248
author Marie Jo Tess Ragos
Cynic Tenedero
author_facet Marie Jo Tess Ragos
Cynic Tenedero
author_sort Marie Jo Tess Ragos
collection DOAJ
description This paper examined Julius Caesar and Macbeth as a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. In particular, this work of art deals briefly with the error of judgment which inevitably led to the tragic downfall of the characters particularly the protagonist in each play. This study utilized the qualitative research using objective approach and textual analysis. The researchers incorporated ideas from literary device called Hamartia by Aristotle, and the formalistic approach. This gives emphasis to the error of judgment of the characters found in two major plays of Shakespeare and show that this error has to do with their downfall and its implication to teaching literature. In the play Macbeth, the focus is on the ambition of the protagonist of becoming a king, and being too ambitious led him to danger while Julius Caesar’s error of judgement was his pride, arrogance and individual quest for power, self-priority and use of popularist tactics to further own political gains which led to political and military leadership. With all the good and horrible deeds of the characters in the play, the cause of the tragic end of the protagonist must be emphasized in the classroom discussions, since it is indeed timely and relevant for the readers to analyze how the sequence of the events changes from the state of happiness to a state of misery.
format Article
id doaj-art-3eeb46e3cfe3445095ae1220acdcbbc6
institution DOAJ
issn 2086-9606
2549-2454
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher English Department of Antasari State Islamic University
record_format Article
series LET: Linguistics, Literature and English Teaching Journal
spelling doaj-art-3eeb46e3cfe3445095ae1220acdcbbc62025-08-20T03:15:09ZengEnglish Department of Antasari State Islamic UniversityLET: Linguistics, Literature and English Teaching Journal2086-96062549-24542025-06-0115110.18592/let.v15i1.14616Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius CaesarMarie Jo Tess Ragos0Cynic Tenedero1Technological University, PhilippinesTechnological University, Philippines This paper examined Julius Caesar and Macbeth as a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. In particular, this work of art deals briefly with the error of judgment which inevitably led to the tragic downfall of the characters particularly the protagonist in each play. This study utilized the qualitative research using objective approach and textual analysis. The researchers incorporated ideas from literary device called Hamartia by Aristotle, and the formalistic approach. This gives emphasis to the error of judgment of the characters found in two major plays of Shakespeare and show that this error has to do with their downfall and its implication to teaching literature. In the play Macbeth, the focus is on the ambition of the protagonist of becoming a king, and being too ambitious led him to danger while Julius Caesar’s error of judgement was his pride, arrogance and individual quest for power, self-priority and use of popularist tactics to further own political gains which led to political and military leadership. With all the good and horrible deeds of the characters in the play, the cause of the tragic end of the protagonist must be emphasized in the classroom discussions, since it is indeed timely and relevant for the readers to analyze how the sequence of the events changes from the state of happiness to a state of misery. https://jurnal.uin-antasari.ac.id/index.php/let/article/view/14616MacbethJulius CaesarWilliam Shakespeare,Error of JudgementTeaching Literature
spellingShingle Marie Jo Tess Ragos
Cynic Tenedero
Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar
LET: Linguistics, Literature and English Teaching Journal
Macbeth
Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare,
Error of Judgement
Teaching Literature
title Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar
title_full Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar
title_fullStr Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar
title_full_unstemmed Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar
title_short Tragic Downfall: A Literary Significance of Macbeth and Julius Caesar
title_sort tragic downfall a literary significance of macbeth and julius caesar
topic Macbeth
Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare,
Error of Judgement
Teaching Literature
url https://jurnal.uin-antasari.ac.id/index.php/let/article/view/14616
work_keys_str_mv AT mariejotessragos tragicdownfallaliterarysignificanceofmacbethandjuliuscaesar
AT cynictenedero tragicdownfallaliterarysignificanceofmacbethandjuliuscaesar