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Recommended: The ideal tragic hero
A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy story. He is the main theme.
He is the source behind the main issues of the plot and some major points maybe cleared by observing his actions and nature. The tragic hero is always larger than life, a person of action whose decisions determine the fate of others. He is a man who is superior then the average person, a character of noble stature and greatness. Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he is not perfect. Otherwise, the audience would be unable to identify with him and his tragedy. His imperfection is what invokes pity and fear in the audience. Another characteristic of a tragic hero is the fact that he is trigger by some error of judgment or character flaw. The character flaw,also known as a tragic flaw, is inborn to the person and can mirror his background. This flaw contributes to the hero's lack of perfection and it is what leads him to the tragic ending.
The one thing a tragic hero cannot be is a common man. The tragic hero should be superior then the average person. Is character is of noble stature and greatness. He must occupy a "high" status position but must also embody nobility and virtue as part of his innate character. A noble person is one who chooses to act nobly. Tragic characters are those who take life seriously and seek worthwhile goals. In Oedipus's case, he is superior by his social status he is the king of Thebes. Oedipus is also superior in his skills. Oedipus shows himself to be a thinker, good with unraveling mysteries. He was the only man capable of solving the Sphinx's riddle. His intelligence is what makes him great. However, it is also, what makes him tragic. His problem-solver mind leads him on as he works through the mystery of...
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...o can be found in the definition of what tragic and hero means. A tragic event is disastrous, dreadful or fateful. A tragic story or play has a serious theme usually results in death or defeat. A hero is a man who displays courage or noble qualities yet he is imperfect and suffers from a flaw in this character. The tragic hero is devoted to his goals in an extreme way, he demonstrated courage, stubbornness and pride which is to a greater degree then the average man. The tragic flaw is the most important definition of the hero and the events that occurs is a reflection of that flaw. A tragic hero represents human experience in its extreme. His characteristics are human characteristics, his ambitions and goals are human and represent many people. The tragic hero is capable of great suffering. He represents humankind by representing a fundamental aspect of human nature.
A tragic hero is an individual who possesses a fatal flaw in their character that will bring about their own destruction or suffering. Aristotle believed that “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. (Aristotle #1)” This Ancient Greek philosopher also believed that each tragic hero has four characteristics. The first of these characteristics is that a tragic hero is born with either wisdom or high integrity, and in some cases both.
What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is typically defined as a character in a literary work who has a lot of pride and makes a judgment error that leads to their ultimate demise. The downfall usually has to do with their pride.
A tragic flaw, a fatal flaw, hamartia, a personality defect -- people can call it what they like, but ultimately, a tragic flaw is a personal fault in a character that leads to his downfall. The person who has the tragic flaw is known as the tragic hero. However, there are several more components that make up a such an individual. One idea is that tragic heroes in a story are usually dynamic; they change at least once throughout the narrative. An example of a tragic hero is King Creon in the play Antigone, but real people can be regarded as tragic heroes as well. Like Creon, in the play Antigone by Sophocles, Drew Barrymore should be considered a tragic hero because both have high status, noble qualities, and a tragic flaw. They recognize their flaws and suffer the consequences.
A tragic hero is a person of noble birth or potentially heroic qualities. The role of a tragic hero is common in many of Shakespeare's plays such as Macbeth. The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. A tragic hero often has a noble background. This person is predominantly good, but suffers a terrible fate falling out due to glitches in their personality. The tragic hero has a monstrous downfall, brought out by their fatal flaw. Macbeth is named a tragic hero because he learns through suffering, he is isolated, and he exhibits personal courage in his acceptance of death.
A tragic hero can be defined as literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. A well known novel in American Literature is The Great Gatsby which displays an example of a tragic hero. The author of the book, F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrayed an example of a tragic hero through the main character of the novel named Jay Gatsby. In the book Gatsby tries to accomplish the American Dream by gaining wealth and doing everything in his power to be with the love his life Daisy Buchanan. His whimsical ways granted him wealth and allowed him to be in the arms of his lover Daisy but, it also leads him to death. Jay Gatsby can be considered a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw and because his misfortune was not wholly deserved.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
Tragic heroes are composed of the following characteristics: nobleness/wisdom by birth, a tragic flaw, reversal of fortune by the tragic flaw, and anagnorisis. Being excessively honorable can be a person’s tragic flaw. In Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, Brutus is shown to be a tragic hero. Born a nobleman, Brutus was Caesar’s close friend. However, he betrayed and murdered Caesar, which eventually led to Brutus’s death. Ultimately, Brutus’s tragic flaw was his honor and his demise was his death.
In the world today people consider a hero to be someone like Superman or Spider-Man. In the dictionary a hero is considered or defined as a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. Though a hero is thought to be free of mistakes they all have tragic flaws like everyone else. A tragic flaw is explained by Aristotle’s definition, which says that: a tragic hero as a character of great reputation and prosperity whose misfortune is not due to depravity or vice, for the hero is a virtuous man or woman but to an error in judgment resulting from a tragic flaw. Sometimes this flaw is an excess of virtue. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare people are arguing over who is the perfect tragic hero Julius Caesar or Marcus Brutus. They both fit the criteria of a tragic hero, but Marcus Brutus proves to be the better and more fit of the two.
A tragic hero is defined as a person of high social rank, who has a tragic flaw or flaws that lead to their downfall. These heroes’ downfalls are usually either complete ruin or death. Tragic heroes face their downfall with courage and dignity. While many characters in Julius Caesar could fit these conditions, the person who fits the role of a tragic hero the best is Marcus Brutus. Brutus develops into a tragic hero throughout the play, and this is shown though his qualifications of a tragic hero, his high status, his tragic flaws, and his courage in the face of his death.
A hero/ heroine is described as the principal male/ female character in a literary or dramatic work or the central figure in an event, period, or movement. The classic tragic hero was defined by Aristotle in the fourth century as, “someone who is highly renowned and prosperous” (LATWP, 639), suggesting that there is a “natural right ordering and proportion of traits within the human being that if violated, produces calamity” (LATWP, 639). The book goes on to define classical tragedy as one that “involves the inevitable destruction of a noble person by means of character flaw, usually a disproportionate measure of a specific human attribute such as pride, jealousy or indecision” (LATWP, 639).
A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is
A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe.
A tragic hero is someone born into a noble lifestyle, destined for greatness, but is tested by fate through great destruction and suffering. In the book Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, this concept is well demonstrated in the main characters uprising. When Macbeth chooses the wrong path, he is led by his ambition to his destruction. The presence of an active flaw, the struggle to eliminate it when too late and the path to demise it created are all reasons Macbeth’s story is tragic. As a result, Macbeth’s tragic flaw of ambition led him to become a tragic hero.
A tragic hero can be defined by several different factors; the hero usually has a major flaw that prevents him from seeing the truth that lies in front of him, which contributes to the character’s peripeteia due to mistaken judgement. This mistake then leads to achieving anagnorisis, usually at the end of the play, but is too late to change anything, and results in death.
The concept of tragic hero is very important in the construction of tragedy. It is the main cause of pity and fear. The tragic hero is a character between the two extremes; he is neither virtuous nor evil. At the same time, this character is better than the ordinary men or audience, he has some good qualities. Moreover, as a tragic hero, he is moving from happiness to misery by his downfall at the end. In fact, this downfall is caused by an error or a flaw in his character not by a vice or depravity. Another feature in the tragic hero is that he has good reputation and he is a man of prosperity. It can be said that Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has all the previous mentioned characteristics and the whole play is a classical application of this concept.