Tragic Hero Flaws

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The Tragic Hero: Fated by Their Flaws

In many pieces of literature throughout history the theme of tragedy has played a large role. One of the most well known types of tragedy is the downfall of a specific character in written works, known as the tragic hero. Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrate prime cases of the tragic heroes, how one dangerous flaw can over take a person leading to their ultimate demise and what that shows us about fate and free will. A tragic hero is a character in a story that possess certain attributes, according to Aristotle who was the first to define the qualities of a tragic hero suggested that they must evoke a sense of pity or fear stating ‘the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity.’(Aristotle). The main characteristic of the tragic hero are; a flaw or judgement error, a reversal of fortune, excessive pride and …show more content…
Captain Ahab and Macbeth possess most if not all the characteristics of a tragic hero. When Macbeth is

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