Who Is The Protagonist In The Agamemnon

Aristotelian vs. Modern Perception of the Protagonist Affinity toward a character is often skewed by one’s own personalities and beliefs, such as the view of characterization within Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. In order to properly assess the protagonist within this play, first the thoughts of Aristotelian theory of tragic heroes will be overviewed, and their involvement in plot development. Next, this theory, and a specific main character approach by Aristotle, will then be applied to The Agamemnon, determining who the tragic hero is according to Aristotle. Finally, the modern interpretation of the protagonist of The Agamemnon will be inspected, comparing its clashing components to Aristotle’s original Poetics definition of the tragic hero, and a possible different character as the protagonist. A modern audience is often more open to interpretation, where alternatives are more apt to be …show more content…
He is also able to drive the plot as a result of his actions, creating a reaction following by support characters. This combination creates a tragic hero that the audience relates to, feeling pity and fear, which according to Aristotle, “this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation” (Aristotle XIII). This clashes however, with the modern perception of the leading character. Through modern interstation, we see that Clytaemnestra is the clear protagonist of The Agamemnon. She possesses the more significant involvement in the play, as well as character development. In addition, a modern audience is more perceptive to sympathize with a female role, seeing her rise to power, from a “lowly woman” to queen of the city, and then the inevitable downfall as a result of her actions. This is the definition of the tragic hero, and we can clearly note today, that Clytaemenstra is the protagonist of The