Aristotle s The Tragic Hero - 1561 Words

In Poetics, Aristotle claims four requirements for the tragic hero. The hero must be good. The hero must have appropriate quality of his or her gender and class. The hero must be true to life. Lastly, the hero must be consistent. These four characteristics are present in many tragic heroes. However, there are so many different authors with different interpretations of the tragic hero, that to define the tragic hero with merely four traits is not plausible. Aristotle defines the tragic hero in a way too simple manner. Aristotle’s statement that â€Å"It (tragic hero) must be good.† is not very definitive. â€Å"Good† is a subjective term. All characters have different point of views and their interpretation of the term â€Å"good† varies accordingly. For example in The Oresteia, Clytaemnestra and Orestes are both tragic heroes, and yet their understanding of â€Å"good† conflicts each other. In Agamemnon, Clytaemnestra murders her husband, who is also the father of Orestes. In doing so, she justifies herself saying â€Å"By the child’s Rights I brought to birth by Ruin, by Fury†¦ Here he lies. He brutalized me. The darling of all the golden girls who spread the gates of Troy.† (Agamemnon, 1459-1466) In her understanding, the murder of Agamemnon was a righteous punishment for the murder of Iphigeneia. On the other hand, in Orestes’ point of view, his mother is a detestable murderer that he must kill in order to avenge his father’s death. While confronting his mother, Orestes says â€Å"I want to butcherShow MoreRelatedAristotle s theory of the Tragic Hero1888 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿Aristotle’s theory of the Tragic Hero: â€Å"A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall† Tragic hero’s who fit under Aristotle’s depiction are known as ‘Aristotelian Tragic Hero’s’ and possess five specific characteristics; 1) A flaw or error of judgment (also known as ‘hamartia’ which is a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine) 2) A reversal of fortune due to the error of judgment (also known as ‘peripeteia’, which is a sudden reversal of fortuneRead MoreOedipus And Aristotle s Definition Of A Tragic Hero1466 Words   |  6 Pagesrefutes Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Thesis Statement: Oedipus is the personification of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to maintain and keep his virtue and wisdom, despite his shortcomings and situation in life. 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Long L26269572 ENGL 102 Professor Givens March 2, 2015 Turabian Sophocles is one of the great ancient Greek tragedians in the history of drama. In the play â€Å"Oedipus the King,† Oedipus is an excellent example of fate happening to a tragic hero. In addition, this play has all the elements of tragedy; human weakness, powerless, suffering, and one not having control of his own destiny. As a result, â€Å"Oedipus the King†Read More Euripedes Medea versus Aristotlean Poetics Essay1570 Words   |  7 PagesAristotle, a philosopher, scientist, spiritualist and passionate critic of the arts, spent many years studying human nature and its relevance to the stage. His rules of tragedy in fact made a deep imprint on the writing of tragic works, while he influenced the structure of theatre, with his analysis of human nature. 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We also see in the dictionary that a serious drama that involves a hero’s downfall and an unhappy ending can also be classified as a tragedy. Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, provides a more comprehensive defini tion of tragedy based on drama in a play. Kennedy Gioia gives us, Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy that says â€Å"is an imitation of action of high importance, complete and of some