Preview

A.C Bradley's Definition of Tragic Hero

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
342 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A.C Bradley's Definition of Tragic Hero
A.C Bradley's Definition of Tragic Hero

A famous Shakespearean scholar, Andrew Cecil Bradley, who was born in England, in 1851, wrote a book called The Shakespearean Tragedy (1904). This book is recognized as a classic Shakespearean criticism, which presents a psychological analysis of Shakespeare's characters. The Article, The Shakespearean Tragic Hero (p.687-691) explains Bradley's definition of tragedy and tragic hero.

According to Bradley, the tragic hero must be of a person of high degree or of public importance with exceptional nature, which raises person, in some respect much above the average level of humanity. This trait will acts as double-edged sword as it is his greatness but also his fatality. The fatal trait, joining with hero's tragic flaw or flawed act, brings catastrophe; that is, his downfall and ultimately his death. The tragic hero must be good or admirable, or at least recognized by person's high degree or greatness; so we may be vividly conscious of the possibilities of human nature.

Tragedy builds, as hero endures calamity and faces fate. The hero's fate is determined by the existence of moral order. Therefore, to restore the mortal order in a tragic world, one must go through struggle between good and evil. According to Bradley, the tragic hero with Shakespeare is generally good and therefore at once wins sympathy in his error; but the hero's imperfection or defects are considered evil and they contribute to the conflict and catastrophe. When the evil in him masters the good and has its way, it destroys other people and ultimately destroys him. The pity and fear, which are stirred by the tragic story, unites with profound sense of sadness and mystery gives impression of waste, and this impression of waste makes us realize the worth of that is wasted.

Thus, Bradley ends with the conclusion, that the inexplicable fact or appearance of a world travailing for perfection, which brings birth to glorious goods and evil that is only able to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Authors aim to relate, sympathise, or evoke any emotion from their readers. William Shakespeare achieves this goal through his use of Aristotle’s tragic hero who evokes sympathy for the character and forces the reader to evaluate certain traits in themselves. Tragic heroes possess a tragic flaw or downfall that leads to their death. Shakespeare uses the characteristics of Aristotle’s tragic hero to create a character that readers connect to and, despite their flaw, sympathize with. The fate of tragic heroes end in their death due to their own mistake or character flaw.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The tragic hero is an exceptional being capable of greatness. He often sets himself up as equal to superior to the cosmic powers, or at least he seems himself as an extraordinary man. This hero has a flaw. The hero falls from a high place of stature and pride. The tragic hero is in some way responsible for their fall and ultimately realizes their flaw too late before they are punished. Macbeth and Richard M. Nixon are tragic hero’s for these reasons.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many different definitions of a tragic hero. Aristotle claimed "The tragic hero evokes our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly evil but a mixture of both. The tragic hero evokes our pity because he is not evil and his misfortune is greater than he deserves, and he evokes our fear because we realize we are fallible and could make the same error." (www.killdevilhill.com) Another definition describes an archetypal tragic hero as having six distinct characteristics. They are "Noble stature, tragic flaw, free choice, punishment exceeding crime, increased awareness, (the ability to) produce catharsis in the audience". (www.kysu.edu) In The Crucible by Arthur Miller John Proctor is by definition a tragic hero.…

    • 620 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Let us start with a simple question. What is a tragic hero? According to Arthur Miller in Tragedy and the Common Man, he says that all tragic heroes have one thing in common, "[a] tragic flaw," (paragraph 6). This tragic flaw is the thing that brings down the status of being a hero to a tragic hero.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a man of noble and high status, whose admirable qualities and basic goodness are undermined by a fatal flaw, which ultimately leads to their own downfall. Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King both show an excellent example of tragic heroes as both protagonists experience a downfall from a high status due to their fatal flaws. In Hamlet this flaw can be seen in Hamlet as he becomes determined to find his father’s killer. He becomes oblivious to what is going on around him. Oedipus is so determined to find out the truth of who the murderer of the previous king is, such that he is blinded to the truth of what he has done. As seen in their mental stability, their treatment of women and their reversal…

    • 241 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The term “tragic hero” was first introduced by Aristotle, Greek philosopher and playwright, around 2,400 years ago. A tragic hero is defined as, “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat(dictionary.com).” To first be identified as a tragic hero one must be virtuous or noble but have a character flaw and/or make a bad decision. This decision or trait will lead to a run of misfortune which the hero knows that he is to blame. Despite this the hero will remain to have a high opinion of himself. This will eventually lead to a downfall that is considered greatly deserved. Throughout all this, the hero must remain to have morals no better or worse than any average person. This allows the…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Tragic hero can best be defined as a significant person who has a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall, which he faces with dignity and courage. Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is a great example of a tragic hero. He is a romantic dreamer who wishes to fulfill his ideal by amassing wealth in hopes of impressing and eventually winning the heart of the love of his life, Daisy. Gatsby's tragic flaw lies in his inability to see that the real and the ideal cannot coexist.…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Antigone essay

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Do you know what a tragic hero is? A tragic hero is usually a person with several qualities. Qualities such as being royal or usually noble and that have a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall. The downfall also leads to a unhappy ending. Antigone is an example of a tragic hero because of her excessive pride, her royalty her being well known and well liked also her tragic flaw leads to an unhappy ending.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Sophocles' Antigone, the tragic hero is a woman that believes in her heart far stronger than that of her leader's rule: Antigone. A tragic hero is the character in a tragedy that experiences a downfall because of some kind of flaw. This flaw is referred to as the tragic flaw. In order for a character to be considered as a tragic hero, they must possess 4 important characteristics: First, they must experience a reversal of fortune due to an error in the hero's judgment.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a great character in a dramatic tragedy that is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. A tragic hero is someone coming from great nobility; they must exemplify their nobility as a part of the character. Throughout the play the tragic hero is someone who isn’t perfect, they aren’t easy to recognize, and they share the same characteristics as you and I. The tragic hero’s downfall is usually their own fault; they usually cause the tragedy by a fault in judgment, or a fatal flaw.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet As A Tragic Hero

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet is often described as a hero. There are 6 criterion for a Shakespeare play to be considered a tragedy; the hero is a man of outstanding quality, the hero has a tragic flaw, the hero’s downfall is a result of his own choice, the audience has a “sad sense of wasted human potential”, the hero has an increase in awareness and a gain in self knowledge, and the audience experiences a cycle of good and bad emotions towards mankind. Hamlet is a great example of a tragic hero, one of his greatest attributes is also his biggest downfall.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many people and characters who can be considered tragic heroes. For example, in William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the main character shows many qualities of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is any character that seems heroic at first, but has a tragic flaw and makes a serious error in judgment, ultimately leading to their downfall. In this play, a valiant soldier named Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become King of Scotland. He is spurred by his ambition to kill the current king, Duncan, causing him to become the new king. However, he soon leads himself to his downfall and ends up dying. For these reasons, Macbeth has qualities of a tragic hero. He is born of a noble birth and incorporates many admirable qualities. As well as this, Macbeth contains a tragic flaw - his ambition. He is responsible for his own fate, controlling and acting in ways to change it. He is even doomed to make a serious error in judgment in the play. Later, he realizes he has made an irreversible mistake, and thus falls from…

    • 1577 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Willy Tragic Hero

    • 1532 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The tragic hero in the classical world is a "mixture of good and bad characteristics", who is "usually a person of importance who is undone by some personal flaw" (Pucci, 56). He has a "tragic flaw", that is the cause of his downfall. Without the "distinct moment of epiphany", and "compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (Pucci, 57), the tragic ending is the consequence of a hero. Traditionally, the tragic hero is a king or queen, someone who has the respect of a whole country. Willy can be seen as a modern tragic hero. He is a good man who tries to take care of the family, but his faulty personality, the financial struggles, and his inability are substantial flaws that contribute to his failure and tragic end. His problem is that he completely accepts the values of his society that he judges himself by standards rooted in social myths, such as the myth of a perfect, money-making salesman. He has a series of ups and downs which is close to the tragic figure. He is an aging salesman who sells nothing, and repeatedly borrows money from Charley to pay for household installments. It is hard to tell if Willy finally learns his lesson. He seems to be unable to face the miserable reality of life. If there is such a lack of insight, it will be strikingly similar to traits of the tragic…

    • 1532 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tragedy in literature involves unnecessary and avoidable pain and suffering. A tragic hero is a flawed character who, because of circumstances, suffers a fall from grace as a result of an irreversible and serious error. Shakespeare explores these elements in the main character of King Lear. In the play, the old King resigns from his position which leads to dramatic and violent consequences. Due to Lear’s hubris, his poor sense of judgement, and his deep sufferings, King Lear is an effective example of a classical tragic hero.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tragic heroes are very different from the heros that we know today. The way that the heros were classified was they had to have five qualities, Aristotle is the person who made these “heroic guidelines”. They must be of noble birth, have a fatal flaw (or achilles heel), a peripeteia (reversal of fortune), they must have an understanding of their mistake, and finally a fate greater than they deserved.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays