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Aristotle studied literary theory in his book, Poetics, and in this study he defined and provided ideas about the concept of tragedy. Tragedy for Aristotle is defined as, "an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is complete in itself; in other words, the story must be realistic and narrow in focus." He characterized a "good tragedy" if it brings about a feeling of "fear and/or pity" in it viewers. Aristotle also conceived his own concept of the "hero of tragedy" or tragic hero. He enumerated several ideas on the different characteristics that identify tragic heroes. These characteristics will be discussed later in the body of the paper. An example of a tragic story is William Shakespeare's tragic play, Hamlet. Hamlet, the primary character in the story, is considered a "tragic hero" because he possesses the qualities that Aristotle identifies as the characteristics of a tragic hero. The following discussion below will discuss in detail the different qualities Hamlet has that identify him as a tragic hero.
The first characteristic Aristotle...
However, though the tragic hero has many desirable qualities, he must have a "weakness" in character, and this weakness is called a "tragic flaw" or hamartia (although it is preferred that this term be called a "tragic error"). This is one quality that Hamlet has. He is the heir to the throne of Old Hamlet, King of Denmark. But his status in the society does not make him immune to the weaknesses that are inherent in every individual. Although he is of noble stature, Hamlet do not recognize himself as worthy of his title and position, saying that he is "[n]o more like my father / Than I to Hercules" (I, ii, 152-3). In this statement, Hamlet shows his lack of self-confidence to recognize himself as a person worthy to be Denmark's king someday. Another flaw in character that he has is his indecisiveness, which resulted to inaction when he found out that Claudius was the murderer of his father. Although he already confirmed Claudius' guilt, he…
Tragic Hero begins with an examination of Oedipus Rex. But, while he is the archetype of this particular literary character, Hamlet is, perhaps, the most well developed and psychologically complex of tragic heroes. For the Greeks, all things in life are preordained, which is what makes for the tragedy of Oedipus - his attempt to make his own destiny. Over the course of time, however, while the form of
Othello has used military service to prove he is not a savage to white leaders, but his reliance upon the counsel of military officers and his over-valuing of military decision-making and life makes him descend into savagery. This is true even before Iago has begun to try to manipulate his mind. After marrying Desdemona, Othello's first thoughts are of war: "The tyrant custom, most grave senators,/Hath made the flinty
Oedipus the King: A Tragic Hero In the Bedford Introduction to Drama, Lee Jacobus writes, "Greek Tragedy focused on a person of noble birth who in some cases had risen to a great height and then fell precipitately." The modern critic, Kenneth Burke expands on this. He developed a pattern for these tragedies. Burke believes that that the tragic hero goes through three developmental stages, the first is purpose, the second
Thesis Statement Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragic hero according to the definition of Aristotle. First, he is a man of noble stature. Second, he is good—but not perfect—and his fall is directly attributable to his own guilty actions. Third, his fall is tragic—the combination of his greatness and his own responsibility in causing his own fall. Fourth, the misfortune Othello suffers is enormous and due to the fact that he himself
As Northrop Frye states, tragic heroes are “the inevitable conductors of the power about them...instruments as well as victims.” Tragic heroes experience great pain and suffering themselves, through which the audience members can contemplate their own faults. More than that, tragic heroes can bring about the destruction of others including those they love. Examples from classical literature like Oedipus and Hamlet provide obvious examples of how tragic heroes cause the
Bradley describes this by saying that "Othello's nature is all of one piece... Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood" (Bradley 188). This shows how Othello goes to the extremes, especially relating to his emotions. Bradley also says that "He is