Oedipus; The Tragic Hero In the Fourth Century BC‚ a famous philosopher named Aristotle wrote about the qualities that a tragic hero must possess. Ever since that time‚ there have been many examples of tragic heroes in literature. None of those characters‚ however‚ display the tragic hero traits quite as well as Oedipus‚ the main character from the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is‚ without a doubt‚ the absolute quintessence of a tragic hero. His example shines as clear as a sunny summer
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A tragic hero is a character who in spite of a basic goodness and authority‚ has a tragic flaw‚ and because of this fault is destined to fail. A true tragic hero or heroine recognizes his or her flaw/s‚ but typically not until it is too late to stop to downward spiral. A few examples of tragic heroes and heroines are from the many works of Shakespear. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller‚ Willy Loman‚ the tragic hero‚ has so many flaws that end up in suicide before he has a chance to resolve them
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English 10: Period 5 20 March 2012 Tragic Hero Within the tragic play Antigone‚ by Sophocles‚ there is a dichotomy between the two main characters: Antigone and Creon. Throughout the play Antigone and Creon both portray a tragic hero; however‚ Antigone illustrates more qualities of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is one who fails to attain happiness and whose failures excites pity‚ has a great integrity of character‚ and is nether extremely benevolent nor malevolent. These are all qualities Antigone
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having the characteristics and traits of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who hold holds power and prestige from the start‚ and eventually comes to a downfall leading to a tragic death. Okonkwo can be defined as a tragic hero because he was of success since age 18‚ and then after a while his fear of becoming like his father eventually took over him‚ ending in a suppressing death‚ in which he hangs himself. Okonkwo didn’t seem to be a tragic hero at the beginning‚ but once he kills Ikemefuna
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play closely it is clear to see that‚ rather than being an innately evil character‚ Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero‚ doomed by fate from the start to descend into the madness which he did. Had it not been for his hamartia and his interaction with the witches and his wife then the play would have had a very different ending. Like every tragic hero in literature Macbeth suffered from a tragic flaw‚ or a hamartia. In his case‚ his flaw was his vaulting ambition‚ combined with a lust for power. Macbeth
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Faust as a Tragic Hero In the story of Faust‚ written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‚ Faust is whirled into an adventure of sin and deceit. The further Faust follows the devil the closer he comes to his own demise‚ taking down with him the innocent Gretchen. As Faust goes on he embodies the characteristics of a tragic hero in a sense that he is borderline good and evil‚ constantly battling his conscience. The one major flaw that initiates his self-destruction is the fact that he feels he is extremely
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Brutus is a tragic hero because he was able to put Rome first. A tragic hero is fated to his or her own suffering or death. Tragic heroes are somewhat fated to doom by the Gods or some other force. By Brutus’s love of
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Beowulf‚ the Tragic Hero In the epic poem “Beowulf” the protagonist‚ Beowulf‚ portrays a tragic hero in a variety of ways. Although Beowulf was not a perfect being‚ he embraces many characteristics of a tragic hero. Beowulf’s ego put him into many difficult situations. For example the battles he fought against Grendel‚ Grendels Mother‚ and the dragon. Other then his enormous ego along with his cockiness that put him into bad situations‚ he also embraced the characteristics of a great leader that
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Macbeth-Tragic Hero The main character‚ Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. At the beginning of the play‚ Shakespeare defines Macbeth as a hero very clearly to the reader. However‚ as the play progresses‚ Shakespeare gradually indicates that Macbeth is a tragic hero. There are many factors that contribute to Macbeth¡¦s degeneration. First‚ Macbeth is shown to be a man of exceptional nature as well as high position. However‚ he errs in listening and trusting too much
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Fall Apart: Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart‚ Okonkwo is a tragic hero. Okonkwo meets all of the required criteria of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition. A tragic hero must have a flaw or error of judgment‚ reversal of fortune‚ recognition that the reversal was the result of his own actions‚ excessive pride‚ and fate greater than deserved. Okonkwo is a hard working leader and committed member of the Ibo community whose tragic flaw is his great fear
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