What defines a tragic hero? First, to have a tragic hero, one must have a tragedy. To have a tragedy there must be a shift in fortune resulting in a fall from a lofty position that evokes fear or pity in the reader. The hero in question is defined by inherent virtue, a character flaw, and a recognition of their character flaw. In Agamemnon, the only two characters with any weight or backstory are Agamemnon, the returning war hero, and Clytemnestra, the dutiful spouse. So which of these two, if any, are the play’s tragic hero? In the play Agamemnon, by Aeschylus, Clytemnestra, not Agamemnon, is the play’s tragic hero.
Yet before the tragic hero can be established, the tragedy must be established. The situation leading to the first of the Orestia’s plays was most certainly tragic. Helen ran off with Paris, a shift in fortune neither Agamemnon nor Clytemnestra could have changed. A line that had been drawn in the sand was crossed, and set off a chain reaction that ripped apart the house of Atreus. The actions of Helen and Paris triggered a war that was launched with the slaughter of Iphigenia by Agamemnon’s own hand. The actions of others caused the fall of the house of Atreus that evoked fear and pity in the reader. So who is the tragic hero?
Agamemnon “had the heart/to sacrifice his daughter,/to bless the war that avenged a woman’s loss/a bridal rite that sped the men-of-war” (Aeschylus 110). Agamemnon was put between a rock and a hard place; no one could deny this. He had to either kill his firstborn child and risk the wrath of the furies, or abandon his promises to his fellow sovereigns, risking the wrath of the Olympians. Agamemnon made the impossible choice and killed his daughter. One could make the argument that he was jus...
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... husband, she would’ve had to abdicate her throne, something she wasn’t ready to do. Instead, she took a man, Aegisthus, and used him to maintain her position as queen. Without a man by her side, she would’ve had to pass the throne down to Orestes. So rather than give up her last vestige of power, she gets in bed (literally and figuratively) with a rather obnoxious man. From her actions, one can conclude Clytemnestra knew what a handicap her vagina was
Agamemnon was a bad person. He took war prizes, disrespected people’s property, and elevated himself to the level of a god. Clytemnestra was good person. Taking her gender out of the equation, she was a good ruler, spouse and parental figure. Clytemnestra recognized her flaw of womanhood, Agamemnon never realized his selfishness, not even in death. In conclusion, Clytemnestra was the tragic hero, not her better half.
Odysseus and Agamemnon are heroes who fought side by side to take down the city of Troy during the Trojan War. In Homer’s The Odyssey, why is Agamemnon slaughtered when he arrives home while Odysseus returns to find his loved ones still waiting for him? The reasons for the heroes’ differing fates are the nature of their homecoming and the loyalty of their wives.
The tragic hero, according to Aristotle, must be essentially good and be of high or noble birth. The misfortune that precedes their downfall must evoke compassion and pity. The tragic hero must experience a peripeteia. Two of the most famous Greek tragic heroes (heroines) were Medea and Clytemnestra. They share characteristics Aristotle deemed essential for the heroic character in a tragedy. They are both of high rank. Medea is a princess and a sorceress, and Clytemnestra was the de facto ruler of Argos in Agamemnon’s absence. Their tales initially evoked sympathy, but hamartia and hubris were instrumental in each woman's downfall. Both suffer significant peripety as victims of their overly passionate natures.
...omer’s idea of savages taken from The Odyssey include people such as the Laestragonians who devour men routinely, without conscious thought for morality or consequence and men like the suitors who have committed crimes against xenia. Up until the sacrifice of Iphigeneia where she reaches her breaking point, Clytemnestra has not outrageously offended the gods, ruthlessly harassed members of other households, or acted thoughtlessly in any way, and even after this pivotal event, she carries out her plans with an impressive amount of mental assiduity. Throughout the Agamemnon, the chorus is unfair and imprecise when they accuse her of madness and savagery; she is not insane or barbaric but instead quite logical and mindful. These are qualities that at the very least deserve respect from an audience that can resist the biased judgements from the chorus of Argive elders.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am here today to argue the title of tragic hero in the play Antigone by Sophocles. I would like to start off by saying that it will be extremely difficult for me to have the passion that I usually have because of my client. My client's ruthless leadership disgusts me in the worst way. But I will still stand in front of you, the jury, and defend my client. As I said before I am here to argue the title of tragic hero in the play Antigone. I could see that some of you are dazzled by the word "tragic hero". No need to worry for I will enlighten you. The great Aristotle was one of the first men who defined a tragic hero. His definition is not a rule for what tragedy should be, but it is a description of what he believed tragedy was. According to Aristotle a tragic hero must have these qualities to qualify as one. A tragic hero is neither good nor bad. Along with being neutral in his stance, a tragic hero must also be born into royalty. A tragic hero could never be of the common folk. In addition to this a tragic hero must suffer a large fall from good grace. By this he means that a fall that brings him "down to earth". A tragic hero also has some type of flaw. Whether it is a character flaw such as pride and ego or the character must make an error of judgment or a mistake. With the tragic flaw the character must also recognize the flaw that they have made. In other words, they have to be enlightened. The audience is then supposed to feel pity and fear for the tragic hero because of his tumultuous journey. The tragic hero also is supposed to inspire catharsis in the audience.
The most complex and compelling character in the three plays is Clytaemnestra. Clytaemnestra is consumed with thoughts of revenge. She seeks vengeance on Agamemnon for the loss of their daughter, Iphigeneia whose life was forfeited in order to appease the goddess Artemis so that Agamemnon's troops would be allowed passage to the Trojan shore. Clytaemnestra displays more intelligence than any other character in The Oresteia in the way she manipulates the events leading up to Agamemnon's execution in the play "Agamemnon." Her scheming ways and clever word play make her intimidating in the eyes of the people of Argos. She is looked upon with revulsion because of the manly way she acts. The chorus leader states in line 35 "spoken like a man, my lady, loyal, full of self-command." (Aeschylus 116). Odysseus of the quick wits was held in high esteem for such craftiness, yet intelligence and wit, while exulted in a man, are threatening characteristics in a woman. In the kingdom, Clytaemnestra has been having an open affair with Aegisthus. The chorus, who acts as the voice of the common man, and therefore the voice of morality, condemn her for this affair even though it is common practice for men in ancient Greece to have many extramarital affairs themselves. In this way Aeschylus condones the double-standards thrust upon the...
In areas where Clytemnestra contrasts Agamemnon (she is strong and demanding and he is arrogant and complacent), Electra strengthens and adds authority to Orestes (encourages him to fulfill the plot against Clytemnestra and Aegisthus). Electra merely provides information for Orestes while Clytemnestra is the brains behind her operation and does her own dirty work. These two women, one bore the other, became such different people. Clytemnestra had this thirst for power hurting any and every one in her way. Meanwhile Electra wanted justice for all who had been harmed by her mother’s selfish ways. Electra helped to accomplish the will of Apollo who took action through Orestes and her own agenda was finished by Orestes as he murdered Clytemnestra and Aegisthus to avenge Agamemnon’s unjust murder.Clytemnestra and Electra are opposite characters who are related but have no similarities. These two women accomplish their own agendas, each leading to their own individual success stories. Unfortunately for one death was imminent but her plan to reign as queen was fulfilled and she needed very little help along the way. The strength that comes from Clytemnestra is uncharacteristic of the times but showed the reader that even in times of timidity for women it was acceptable to a certain degree to be successful and that getting a man’s job done was something women were capable of doing. Electra’s reserved attitude and presence comes from a more accurate portrayal of the Greek Hellenic woman. She obeys her father and she respects and loves her family, most of all she is loyal to justice. These two characters are very different and represent very different eras of women, Clytemnestra a more feministic, outgoing, and care free woman; whereas Electra is quiet, dutiful, and outspoken. They have different views
Clytemnestra, the Queen of Argos, is lacking the power to prevent her daughter being used as a sacrificial lamb to the gods. The misery she felt when her husband, Agamemnon, sacrificed their daughter was immense. So immense that it led her to murder, for she thought that Agamemnon “thought no more of it than killing a beast” in order to conquer a city and “sacrificed his own child, our daughter, the agony I laboured into love” (Aeschylus, 162, 1440-1443). The intense emotions of agony and hatred that Clytemnestra feels for her deceased daughter, in a way, gives her the motive to cause her to do the things she did. However, in Cassandra’s case, she accepts the situation that she is given. Cassandra knows she’s going to soon die, but doesn’t fight against it because she knows that her “time has come” and that there’s “little to gain from flight” (Aeschylus 156). Rather than acting out in anger or unwisely, Cassandra merely says a few words more, a mournful funeral rite for her. Aegisthus, the usurper of Agamemnon's throne, is fueled by his rage towards Agamemnon and his father, Atreus, to obtain revenge for his family. The fury he feels towards Atrus for driving his father, Thyestes, out of the house and luring him back only to give him a “feast of his children’s flesh” and make him eat it unknowingly, “serves it to Thyestes throned on high. He picks at the flesh he cannot recognize,
Over time, history has given society many to whom we call true heroes. There are many reasons these heroes have been looked up to such as: bravery, dedication, confidence, and inspiration. However, a tragic hero requires a few different qualities. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a “member of royalty,” someone who “must fall from tremendous good fortune,” and someone who creates pity for him or herself (“Connections: A Theory” 2000). In Greek drama, Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea both contain several possible tragic heroes including Medea, Jason, and Creon. More specifically, in Antigone Creon exemplifies the qualities of a tragic hero best due to his prominent power as king of Thebes, the way he holds strong to his stubborn pride, and the sympathy felt for him in his tragic downfall.
In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon there are many different opinions about what kind of king and commander Agamemnon was. Some argued that he was good, while others dispute that his motives were wrong. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, gained a strong hatred for him, after he sacrificed his own daughter so he could go to war. Many believe that this was not necessary and could have been overcome. The chorus seems to agree with this to an extent, and feels that Agamemnon could have prayed and requested that he not sacrifice his daughter.
In the play Antigone, the debate over who is the real tragic hero is and the controversy of Greek ideals in the Antigone continues on to this day. Who is the tragic hero in Antigone? Is it Antigone herself or is it Creon the ruler of Thebes? The belief that Antigone is, is a strong one. Still there are people who think Creon is the tragic hero. Antigone is widely thought as the tragic her. The play is named after her. In addition, she is the antagonist in it. Many people usually associate the antagonist, the good guy as a tragic hero. Look at much television shows, especially cartoons, the good person usually wins. Then there are those who might think Creon was the tragic hero because the gods were against him, and that he truly loved his country. There are five criteria or standards you must meet first in order to be a tragic hero. First, you must be a person of high character or status. The character must not be too overwhelmingly evil or good. Then they must be brought from happiness to misery. Then brought from happiness to misery. Second, the hero enacts a harmartia, "wrong act." This either may be a flaw in judgment or an error. Third, the hero experiences a perpateia, reversal of fortune. This is the tragic downfall or plot twist in the story. Fourth, the hero recognizes his or her responsibility. Fifth, the story ends with a catastrophe. The catastrophe either may be an emotional event, this even may be a death.
This action causes a great deal of rage in Clytemnestra. One could very well understand why she would act this way. Clytemnestra see’s the killing of her daughter as just being killed for her husband’s gain. She also feels that he could have chosen a different virgin to sacrifice. One the other hand, if one looks at Agamemnon’s problem they could be otherwise. Agamemnon was the general of his army and the leader that his men looked up to. So when the profit came to him saying I will give you wind for a virgin sacrifice he took it as sacrificing someone close to him. He thought along the lines that he was asked for a reason to be the one doing the actual sacrifice. So Agamemnon chooses his daughter the virgin and sacrificed her with good judgment for what was best for the army. The issue is that Clytemnestra does not see it this way and that is what causes the future events that make us to question her innocence.
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.
Agamemnon kills his daughter, Iphigenia, for power and respect. This power is more important to him than his daughter, thus he sacrifices Iphigenia instead of stepping back and letting someone else lead the armies to battle. The Chorus emphasizes this when they recall his words before he sacrifices Iphigenia “However he did not shrink from slaying a victim daughter in aid of war raged” (Aeschylus 20). He is more worried about losing respect than his own daughter. His lust after power and respect made him insensitive to fair judgement. He tries to justify himself by saying there is no other way but to sacrifice her. He does anything to fulfill the public’s desires to gain him their praise, up to and
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.
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.