Tragic Heroes

556 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The journey of a hero

The tragic hero is a type of character that many people know. It is a type of character many have seen in films or plays throughout history. Many students in high school will read plays and watch movies with tragic heroes. But many of these high schoolers may never learn what a tragic hero is. Comparing and contrasting tragic heroes such as Dimmesdale to Frome, and Chillingworth to Hamlet along with the definition of a tragic hero will aid in revealing the true nature of tragic heroes as a whole. A tragic hero has been defined by different people. Aristotle believed the hero in the tragedy should be able to stir up fear or pity in the audience. Aristotle also believed the fortunes of the hero should change from good to bad. A tragic hero will generally have some sort of a flaw. They will also struggle with the idea of whether or not it is fate or free will that controls their destiny. Some tragic heroes have believed a God or gods determined their dismal fate, others have believed the choices they made of their own will decided their fate. Sometimes, at the end, the tragic hero will...

Show More
Related

  • John Proctor Tragic Hero Quotes

    263 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gladiator Tragic Hero Essay

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to being a tragic hero the character has to have the qualities of being a tragic hero. A tragic hero is where the main character of a tragedy whose fatal flaw leads to his or her destruction. Either the character was born into society as a great man or a slave, they may have carry

    Read More

  • Kennedy Is an American Tragic Hero

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    What makes a hero a tragic hero? According to the Greek play write Aristotle, a hero must possess certain character traits in order to be tragic. Aristotle’s rules are still used today when labeling a hero tragic or not tragic. Jack Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the United States is a tragic hero, because he possess four of the six traits a tragic hero must possess. This will be proven through the use of credible sources and explanation of these four traits.

    Read More

  • Romeo A Tragic Hero Essay

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    What do you define a tragic hero as? In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is seen as tragic hero by Aristotle’s tragic hero characteristics. The six tragic hero characteristics are having noble greatness, being imperfect, having a downfall that is partially their own fault, their misfortune is not wholly deserved, fall is not pure loss, and some good has come from the hero’s death. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is a tragic hero because he has noble stature or greatness, his downfall is partially his fault, and some good has come from his death.

    Read More

  • Characteristics Of Mccandless As A Tragic Hero

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Tragic Hero

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Blanche Dubois, the Tragic Hero in Tennessee Williamʼs A Streetcar Named Desire

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy, which usually involves the notion that such a hero makes an error in his or her actions that leads to his or her downfall. Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire would be a perfect example of a tragic hero. She invokes pity as a tragic hero, revealing in the end that her innocence is ethereal and is easily destroyed by the harsh, but real, world. Throughout the play, Blanche attempts to persuade people that she is a pure, elegant lady; however, this is merely a facade. Beneath her illusions of social snobbery and sexual propriety, Blanche is an insecure individual. She carries many problems from drinking all the way to sex addictions. All of these flaws only multiply throughout the story, and in the end she is left alone.

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf as Tragic Hero

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his need for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s tragic flaw is his need to be remembered. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, Beowulf also has a tragic flaw, excessive pride and the search for fame, which ultimately leads to his demise.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Tragic Hero Quotes

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Achilles: a Tragic Hero

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his classic work "Poetics" Aristotle provided a model of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is more admirable than the average person. This results in the tragic hero being admired by the audience. For the audience to accept a tragic ending as just, it is crucial that the tragic hero be responsible for their undoing. At the same time though, they must remain admired and respected. This is achieved by the tragic hero having a fatal flaw that leads to their undoing. One of literature's examples of the tragic hero is Achilles from Homer's The Iliad. However, Achilles is different from the classic tragic hero in one major way - his story does not end tragically. Unlike the usual tragic hero, Achilles is able to change, reverse his downfall, and actually prove himself as a true hero.

    Read More

  • Winston Smith: A Tragic Hero

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    A tragic hero can be described as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Research Paper

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    In one of Sophocles’s plays, Oedipus proves to be the tragic hero in Oedipus the King, a play about a powerful king whose life begins to fall apart when he learns more about his past. Oedipus learns his from the Gods that he will murder his father and marry his mother, this causes him to run away from his family in hopes of escaping this horrible prophecy. Although while doing so, he kills several men, solves a riddle for the town of thebes, and marries the queen, making himself king. Aristotle believes that a tragic hero is someone that is neither good nor bad but possesses a poor quality that will cause their downfall and while they may not be the best character, the audience feels pity for them while worrying about their own destiny.

    Read More

  • Tragic Heroes, Joe and Chris Keller, Portrayed in All My Sons

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    A tragic hero is a character in literary works with noble character and heroic qualities in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for a downfall. I decided to write on tragic hero since the story of Oedipus Tyrannus portrays Oedipus as a protagonist whose actions leads to his downfall. In tragic hero, the character makes an error related to judgment that sets up destruction and the ultimate destruction. A tragic hero is, therefore, a person respectable in the society occupies a higher status in the society and is often liked upon by the community to find solutions to the existing problems. The tragic hero earns respect and reputation due to their action, but the fear of failure and pride leads to judgmental errors that set up downfall.

    Read More

  • Modern Day Tragic Heroes

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heroes play a big role in modern day literature. Some of the heroes that are very relatable to the people of contemporary society. There are two types of heroes, epic and tragic. There are many aspects involved in writing these different stories. Both epic and tragic heroes relate to contemporary society.

    Read More

More about Tragic Heroes

Open Document