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The Tragic Hero
Aristotle (famous Greek philosopher) distinguishes between tragedy which
depicts people of high or noble character, and comedy which imitates those of low
character. Aristotle was not talking about social or political distinctions. For him
character is determined not by birth but by moral choice. A noble person is one who
chooses to act nobly. Tragic characters are those who take life seriously and seek
worthwhile goals, while comic characters are "good-for-nothings" who waste their lives
in trivial pursuits. The one thing a tragic character/hero cannot be is common. The tragic
character/hero is always larger than life, a person of action whose decisions determine the
fate of others and seems to shake the world itself.
The hero of tragedy is not perfect, however. To witness a completely virtuous
person fall from fortune to disaster would provoke moral outrage at such an injustice.
Likewise, the downfall of a villainous person is seen as appropriate punishment and does
not arouse pity or fear. The best type of tragic hero, according to Aristotle, exists
"between these extremes . . . a person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor one
who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs
through some miscalculation or confusion.”
The basic difference Aristotle draws between tragedy and other genres, such as
comedy and the epic, is the "tragic pleasure of pity and fear" the audience feels while
watching a tragedy. In order for the tragic hero to arouse these feelings in the audience,
he cannot be either all good or all evil but must be someone the audience can identify
with; however, if he is superior in some way(s), the tragic pleasure is intensified. His
disastrous end results from a mistaken action, which in turn arises from a tragic flaw or
from a tragic error in judgment. Often the tragic flaw is hubris, an excessive pride that
causes the hero to ignore a divine warning or to break a moral law. It has been suggested
that because the tragic hero's suffering is greater than his offense, the audience feels pity;
because the audience members perceive that they could behave similarly, they feel pity.
It should be noted that the hero's downfall is his own fault as a result of his own
free choice, but his misfortune is not wholly deserved. Usually his death is seen as a
waste of human potential. His death usually is not a pure loss, because it results in greater
knowledge and awareness.
1. List 5 characteristics of a tragic hero/protagonist.
2. What is the main difference between a tragic hero and a comic character?
(complete sentences)
3. What is the ultimate effect that a tragic hero has upon the audience? Why?
(complete sentences)
4. Is the tragic hero culpable for his actions? Why or why not (complete sentences)
5. Using the information that you have gathered about what a tragic hero is,
describe a character from a movie or a book that you think shares these same
qualities (3 complete sentences)