Tragic Hero

A tragic flaw is a secret characteristic, most of the time a weakness, that bring tragedy towards the character. In Much Ado About Nothing, written by William Shakespeare, a specific tragic flaw commonly occurs in the actions of Don John towards Don Pedro, Claudio, Hero, Borachio, and Leonato. Don John’s fatal flaw is his envy towards his brother, Don Pedro, which leads to chaos within others lives. To begin, Don John had created a specific conflicts due to his envious spirit. For example, he…

"Death of a Salesman" is a description of a modern tragic hero Willy, who has more than thirty years’ selling experience, blind estimates his ability; fantasy through merchandising to gain fame and not the reality of a better future. The reason for its destruction was unaware, until his death thought will be able to achieve success. Willy did not succeed, so it can only destruction. Willie always thought that he should be successful, but he did not understand the society and himself. He also…

gives her brother a proper burial, and is caught. When Creon sends her away in prison, she has already committed suicide. In the play, both Creon and Antigone have many tragic flaws,…

As defined by Aristotle, hamartia is the tragic flaw that leads to a character’s downfall. Oedipus, the tragic hero of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, is a man whose hamartia is that he is not self-aware; he believes that he is the birth son of Polybus and Merope. Then, as the king of Thebes, he wants to bring King Laius’ murderer to justice without realizing he is searching for himself. Lastly, after answering the Sphinx's riddle and saving the citizens of Thebes, he marries the Theban queen, Jocasta,…

revenge, and paranoia. Hamlet seeks desire for the ghost of his father who was murdered by his own brother Claudius who then went on to marry his mother Gertrude. His plight causes him great inner turmoil and he descends into madness. Only after several tragic losses including the life of his mother, his friends, and his love Ophelia does Hamlet succeed in murdering Claudius and his revenge is achieved. In Agamemnon despite the name the protagonist appears to be Clytemnestra the wife of an…

huntsman the queen Ravenna wants to be in power of the whole community and everybody has to listen, obey and honor her just like Creon in the play Antigone is stubborn and wants everybody to honor and never go against him. The play Antigone is a tragic play with emotion and death. In the beginning the two brothers of Antigone fought each other for the throne. Creon became king and said that one of the brothers was not to be buried. Antigone the sister of the two brothers did not accept that…

leaves the little change he has when he walks a drunk Marmeladov home. It is the dichotomy that Raskolnikov is willing to commit murder, yet is also willing to do whatever it takes to help someone who needs it that makes him such an interesting tragic hero. Ultimately, what becomes his downfall that leads him to prison is his conscience and the extreme guilt he feels after following through with his…

The Tragic Tale of Brutus Do the ends really justify the means? Can clearly evil methods be used to achieve goals that can be considered just? Does the person working towards the justice they want become evil while working for their cause? A tragic hero can cause his downfall by seeking a just cause by using unjust methods to accomplish it. People used to regard these tragic heroes as great people, but after their downfall, their whole life falls with as well. In Shakespeare’s tragic play,…

around 429 B.C.E., was a Greek tragedy focused on the fall of the Theban King Oedipus. He was considered a strong, brave, and seemingly intelligent king by the ancient people of Thebes. Although this tragic hero had a multitude of good qualities, Oedipus had quite a few negative traits that led to his tragic end. His imperfections were such that they caused his inner blindness. They ultimately led to the demise of his family and of himself. The two flaws that most impacted his fall from glory,…

judgement of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is certainly not inaccurate but, these two protagonists have a more complex background to their personality and actions that cannot be simply justified as a ‘fiend like queen’ and this ‘dead butcher’. Macbeth is a tragic hero, once the ‘milk of human kindness’ but then corrupted by his own lust and ambition. His eventual corruption was also due to outside influences such as the Witches and Lady Macbeth. Malcolm’s judgement of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth also…