Tragic Hero

play of The Oedipus Cycle written play famous playwright Sophocles, the tragic play Antigone’s main character, King Creon of Thebes, is a perfect example of a tragic hero and a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the duration of the play, Creon had many good intentions for his people, he also had a heart for those that he loved, and because of that his moral ambiguity, his character plays a significant role to the tragic play as a whole. Without his recognition of his fatal flaw pride,,…

two sons, Biff and Happy. In the novel Death of a Salesman, author Arthur Miller portrays Willy Loman as a tragic hero through examples of his fate affecting the welfare of a number of people and his downfall caused by excessive pride, proving that a perfect hero is nonexistent. Even though Willy Loman bears the arduous responsibility of being the head provider,…

According to Aristotle, a characteristic of a tragic hero is anagnorisis. The hero realizes too late that his actions are unjust and that the misfortune was brought by himself. In Sophocles’ Antigone, both Antigone and Creon meet a tragic end as the result of their actions. However, the tragic hero of this play is Creon because he does not know that his actions will bring him such fate until the end, while Antigone is fully aware of the consequence of her action from the very beginning. Creon…

the reason that the play continues its popularity with each theater-going generation. In any case, Antigone is a great example of the play style of the ancient Greeks. It follows the aforementioned Three Unities (time, action, location), it has a tragic hero, and provokes catharsis. The story is about, simply, of the daughter of Oedipus (see Oedipus Rex for his story) Antigone and what befalls her. The story starts out with Antigone returning from burying her brother Polyneices who has died in a…

of tragedy entertaining because of the way the hero/heroine reacts under pressure. For example in Arthur Miller's tragedy 'A View from the Bridge' - Eddie is under pressure when two immigrants come and live with him, and his main flaw is jealousy. To begin with, A Streetcar Named Desire is considered as a tragedy because it has a tragic heroine. Each tragic hero or heroine has the potential to do, they are characterised as being the perfect hero except for his/her flaws, they are in…

Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero is loose, having very vague boundaries. Punishment exceeding the crime is such an example with that having several meanings. Although Aristotle wrote that tragic hero’s punishments exceed the crime, Keller’s punishment exceeded the crime by effectively throwing away everything he held dear. Joe Keller was a good father, good husband, had a good paying job, and he was socially accepted. Even if his demise was caused by his own hands, he was still…

called dénouement, where the final strands of the plot are explained and resolved (McManus). After Romeo and Juliet’s death, Friar Lawrence explains their tragic situation and this information resolves the animosity between the families (5.3. 302-311). In summary, the three archetypal structure components in Romeo and Juliet interweave to create a tragic plot and support Aristotle’s…

Sophocles’ Antigone and Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” shows that hubris may lead to a tragic flaw. Sophocles’ uses of plot structure shows “Pride comes before the fall”. In the exposition of “Antigone” set in Ancient Greece the tragic hero Antigone is introduced when Antigone is introduced. Tension…

We Admire Hamlet As Much For His Weaknesses as for his Flaws Hamlet is composed of an amalgamation of both strength and weakness, and this is evident throughout ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’, by William Shakespeare. At heart, the titular Hamlet is a noble, selfless and clever young man; but as the play progresses, his emotional volatility, and inability to act swiftly, contort this perfect image. This essay discusses the good man that is Hamlet, the evolution of his flaws, and why,…

Tragic heroes are courageous and take pride in their name, but have a lapse of judgement that leads to their own self-destruction. The Crucible by Arthur Miller shows how immoral the Salem witch trials are, and how every person is for themselves no matter the cost. Everyone is solely focused on self-preservation and the only character who stays true to his beliefs is John Proctor. He is an honest, prideful man with one fatal flaw that eventually leads to his life falling apart. A person’s…