Tragic Hero Essay

The concept of a "tragic hero" is nothing new; it has been in use from as early as 335 BCE, when it was introduced into Greek theatre as a character element in tragic plays. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, first documented such a character in his book Poetics, defining a tragic hero as "a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake" (Else 38). Thus, it…

Can a murderer be a hero? Many would argue no, but such a response can be both incomplete and close-minded. While a character such as Brutus, from within Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, can very easily be judged as being evil due to a superficial deconstruction of his actions, his true character is found only upon deeper analysis. Brutus does suffer from what appears to be an objective lack of morality; however, further analysis of his motives, his internal conflicts, and…

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…

Oedipus was a tragic hero that much is clear, though he had a noble heart and always wanted to do what was right. He was just wanted a normal life, free from any prophecy he was told and tried running away from the inevitable and in the end it still didn't work out to his favor. That proves that you can't do anything to escape fate, he just learned that the hard way. In the book, Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, Oedipus is the new king of Thebes after someone murdered the king before,…

A Tragic Hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a character with a flaw that will eventually lead to his or her destruction. In Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” the main character Okonkwo deals with white Christian men coming into his community and changing everything he knows about life, just when he thinks things are coming back to normal, things fall apart. Throughout the book Okonkwo is considered a Tragic hero because of his importance in the community and also his because of his errors in…

A tragic hero is a character who makes a decision leading to their downfall. A tragic hero play follows the life of this hero. In a tragic hero play, there are three plot points that the tragic hero goes through. These include the character possessing a flaw, the character having their fortune change from helpful to harmful, and the audience understanding the hero. An example of this style of writing is Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. This play follows the character named Oedipus, the tragic…

Creon: The Tragic Hero Over time we as humans have categorized heroes as courageous, selfless, and dedicated. However, a tragic hero is defined by different qualities. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as, “a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction” (Tragic Hero as Defined By Aristotle). In Sophocles play, Antigone, Creon makes a judgment error, that leads to a punishment worse than he deserved. When considering Aristotle’s definition of a…

of who the actual tragic hero is has been discussed for quite some time. It is very unlikely for there to be more than one tragic character in a Greek tragedy. Creon, the other main character in the play has some of the traits that make up a tragic character but not enough to make him the main one. Antigone on the other hand embodies all of the features that are necessary to be a tragic hero. There are four main qualities which are essential of the tragic character. The tragic hero must be…

“a man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Aristotle defines tragic hero as someone who has tragic flaw that would lead to his downfall. “Oedipus The King” is a well-known greek tragedy written by Sophocles. The protagonist of the play, Oedipus, is a perfect example of an Aristotelian tragic hero because his hamartia ultimately becomes the cause of his downfall as he tries to escape from his fate and unravel the truth. Like most greek hero, Oedipus’ major…

Shakespeare’s Othello has been seen not as an ordinary victim or villain, but is a combination of both presented as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. (tragic-hero) throughout the play Othello is characterized as a strong-willed man who often trusts the wrong people which in turn leads to his demise. Othello begins the play as a good man with good values, who is a trusted solider and a loving,…