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Higgins/Wood
English II
Macbeth
Aristotle’s Characteristics of a Tragic Hero
1. High birth. Typically, a tragic hero is a character of royal or noble origins. Aristotle would
say that this is an essential characteristic for a tragic hero because watching the downfall of a
powerful character arouses pity and fear in the audience.
2. Not totally good or totally evil. The tragic hero has both positive and negative character
traits. A completely evil character cannot be a tragic hero—as he would have no noble cause for
which to fight and the audience would never sympathize with his downfall. A character who is
totally good also cannot be a tragic hero, because a character like this would be absent flaws that
would bring about his downfall.
3. Belief in his own freedom. The hero makes choices when faced with dilemmas and he has the
faith and courage to accept the outcomes of his decisions. Sometimes a hero may use his free
will to attempt to change his fate.
4. Nemesis. This is the fate that the tragic hero cannot escape.
5. A supreme pride (hubris). The pride is a reflection or arrogance or self-righteousness. This
pride results in the hero feeling superior to other human beings and identifying with the gods.
This pride, however, gives the hero a unique power and dignity.
6. Capacity for suffering. He suffers because he believes in what he is doing, and because he
feels both guilt and lack of guilt about what he is doing. He justifies his actions yet is not entirely
convinced they are just. He has the strength to endure his suffering, and he has no fear of death.
7. A sense of commitment. Once the forces of the conflict are set into motion, the hero is totally
committed to his cause. There is an inevitability about his situation that carries him forward. He
can stop the inevitability by changing his decision, but he doesn’t because his dedication causes
him to assert the freedom to let the process follow its own direction.
8. Vigorous protest. The tragic hero objects with vehemence, logic, and pain against the
situation in which he finds himself. He does not accept his fate meekly. He cries out against the
gods, against his own weakness, against the world, and against the forces that placed him in
jeopardy.
9. Anagnorisis/catharsis. The hero has an “ah hah” moment when he recognizes the error of his
ways and gains new insight or understanding that he did not have at the outset of the tragedy.
The events the hero must suffer help bring about this new awareness.
10. Transfiguration. The suffering of the tragic hero changes him and he learns from his agony.
He begins to see more clearly his place in the universe and the greatness that is human potential.