William Shakespeare, one of the most inspiring authors, playwrights and Englishmen to ever walk the earth. During the 1600s he wrote two major plays. “Shakespeare was prolific, with recordings of his first plays beginning to appear in 1594, from which time he produced about two per year until around 1611” (McDorment). They share things that are similar but they also disagree with each other quite a bit. . What we can really talk about are the two main characters in both stories. These two stories are Macbeth and Tempest. The two main characters are Macbeth and Prospero. Three things can be compared to these two; they are both protagonists, they have to do with betrayal and the tragic loss of something. First of all, to start with these two characters from two great plays, they are both great protagonists in their own way. Macbeth is a different type of main character. He doesn't necessarily play the hero of the story. But we focus on his choices, his destinies and his faults. This is why readers love it so much and why normal people identify with this story. Because Macbeth has his faults, lots of them, just like the normal human being. He is a great protagonist, during his lifetime. According to many, “Macbeth is his own worst enemy”. (Newton) Prospero, of Tempest, is a very powerful duke, magician, and speech-giver. He's actually a very powerful magician, but does he always use his power for good? This point can be debated for hours. Prospero is basically the definition of a good main character in my eyes. He and Macbeth have some similarities and some differences. They both hold positions of power. They both die tragically. Except that one can be bad and the other good. But which is which? "...... middle of paper ...... its in the room itself. Here's a good question to ponder for a while: "Is ambition acceptable in any context, or are we all supposed to let fate and chance lead us?" » (Muller)Works CitedJones, Stephen. "Storm." Shakespeare Navigators. Np, and Web. January 13, 2014. .McDorment, Teddy. "More information on: William Shakespeare." BBC. NP, 2002. Web. January 13, 2014. .Muller, Thomas. “Famous Quotes”. Shakespeare Online. Np, and Web. January 13, 2014. .Murdoch, Rupert. “To win, you must first lose.” Weebly. Np, and Web. January 13, 2014. .Newton, John. “Character Role Analysis”. Shmoop. Np, and Web. January 13. 2014. .