Essays on Tragic Hero

King Lear and Dr. Faustus as Tragic Heroes             Aristotle defines a tragic hero or tragic character as someone who experiences a “change of fortune . . . from good to bad. It should come about not as the result of vice, but of some great error or frailty . . .” (Aristotle).  Both Faustus…

Gangsters as Tragic Heroes in American FilmIntroductionVarious films with themes that touches on gangster lives are mostly met with mixed reactions by the audience. The main characters of such movies on which the themes of the films are created may sometimes be elements of both despise and admiration. Through their actions which no doubts are…

The story of Coriolanus is a very unique Tragedy, for instance unlike other Shakespeare tragidies where the plays are littered with deaths; in Coriolanus, Coriolanus is the only character to die. This is not the only reason, I believe, that separates Coriolanus from all of Shakespeare’s other tragidies: Coriolanus is the most unique tragic hero,…

A subject of debate in Sophocles play Antigone is which character complies with the characteristics of a tragic hero. The qualities that constitute a tragic hero are, in no particular order, having a high social position, not being overly good or bad, isolation, being tenacious in their actions, arousing pity in the audience, a revelatory…

The novel Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe introduces an interesting character named Okonkwo. Okonkwo lived a life full of contradiction. His main goal in life was to never give up until he was successful and achieved everything he wanted, but then he ended up committing suicide in the end. Okonkwo can be thought…

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, we discover thatMacbeth is a tragic hero. Macbeth is very ambitious, courageous,and a moral coward: all these things lead to his tragic death atthe end of the play. At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare defines Macbeth as ahero very clearly. From the courages in defense of Scotland…

Othello, the eponymous hero with a fatal flaw in Shakespeare’s play, falls from grace through circumstances engineered by the class manipulator, Iago, arguably his most trusted aide. Whilst he fits the prerequisite for a tragic hero in Shakespearian tragedy, the dynamics of the deceit in which Othello finds himself entwined reveal a flaw closer to…

Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literary theory titled Poetics. In it, he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose, and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries now. The following is a summary of his basic ideas regarding…

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. According to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a…

Tragic heroes have certain requirements they need to fulfill in order to be considered a tragic hero. For example, they need to have stature or greatness, but also have a tragic flaw that leads to a tragic mistake. In the tragedy Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon does not want people to bury a traitor named Polyneices,…