Tragic Heroes Essay, Research Paper

The Tragic Hero In literature, there are many different manners that can be used to convey a narrative to the reader. One of these manners is Tragedy. When an writer writes a calamity, he has to do the readers feelings sympathetic to the thoughts or secret plan that he is seting Forth. S. H Butcher right points out that & # 8220 ; Tragedy, harmonizing to definition, acts on the feelings, non on the will & # 8221 ; ( 269 ) . Because this is so the writer must play on the readers feelings in order to make a good crafted calamity that will been seen as a great literary work. The writer of a calamity must make the feelings of commiseration and fright. This is to do the reader experience the impact of the calamity that occurs in the narrative. The writer creates commiseration so that the reader will get down to open up their feelings to the topic at manus. Aristotle defines commiseration as: The sort of hurting we feel at the sight of a fatal or painful immorality which happens to one who does non merit it, an evil which we might anticipate to bechance ourselves or one of those close to us. Clearly, to experience commiseration a individual must believe that he himself, or person belonging to him, is apt to suffer.. ( Aristotle xxiii ) So this is the experiencing the writer must do the audience experience when composing a calamity. Fear is the other constituent of composing a good calamity. The reader needs to see fright coupled with commiseration in order to acquire the complete affect of the play that is presented to them. As Butcher explains, commiseration transforms into fright when the object is so closely related to the reader that the agony seems to be the agony of the reader himself ( 256 ) . This merely means the when person reads a calamity that individual must experience that agony is his besides. Therefore, in general, the writer must do the reader feel commiseration or understanding for the people in the calamity and they must besides experience the state of affairs is their quandary besides. There are a twosome of ways that the writer can carry through the fulfilment of these demands, but the 1 that will be discussed is the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a outstanding character in the narrative that possesses certain qualities that cause the character to hold a enormous autumn in the narrative. Aristotle feels that a character in a calamity has to hold a figure of needed personal properties in order to be considered as a tragic hero. First, the character must be of high societal position like a male monarch, prince, or some other high superior figure in the narrative. Second, the character must non be & # 8221 ; outstanding in righteousness, or in evil and frailty ( 269 ) . To set in simple footings the character must non be perfect nor should they be evil. Following, the character should posses some great tragic flaw, through which he should fall by ( 269 ) . A tragic flaw is either a moral failing or a error in opinion. Last, Aristotle feels that the stoping of the calamity can non be a happy it must be one that fills the reader with & # 8220 ; the bang of fright or tragic awe & # 8221 ; ( Butcher 311 ) . Aristotle is right in his definition of a tragic hero. The observations that he has made about the personal traits that are needed to be a tragic hero are wholly accurate and each of these qualities has a intent in being portion of the characters personality. By doing the character a individual that has a outstanding place in society the reverberations of the characters hamartia is felt by more than merely the character himself, but besides many other people in the drama. This map besides causes the reader to get down to believe about how of import this character is and if it can go on to a individual of high position so it could go on to person like me. The following trait is that the character should non be perfect, nor should he be evil. This is of import because it connects the reader to the character in the sense that even though the character is high in societal position the character is still merely a regular individual like them. Traveling on, the character must hold in his personality some great tragic flaw. It is my considered sentiment that a tragic flaw is more of an mistake of opinion, instead than a moral failing. So that when a tragic hero is given his destiny it is instead a consequence of something that he has decided earlier in narrative and non some type of penalty that is being handed out in effect to a moral failing. The last thing that must be completed by the writer to hold created a tragic hero is the tragic stoping. In the terminal of a tragic play, the tragic hero must endure some tragic event at the manus of his tragic flaw. This is true because if the character holds true to the definition of a tragic hero he will non bring forth the feeling that the character is a sufferer, who is mourned and seen by the people adoringly, but will instead make full the reader with a feeling of fright and tragic awe ( Butcher 311 ) . These are the qualities that must be possessed by a character in order to be referred to as a tragic hero. There are many illustrations of characters that could be classified as a tragic hero. There are two characters in peculiar that have been examined and discussed. The names of these to characters are Oedipus from Sophocles & # 8217 ; s Oedipus Rex and Othello from Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s Othello. Both of these characters are first-class specimens of what a tragic is and what they should be. Both of the characters had a outstanding place within the topographic point that they lived and the people all loved both Othello and Oedipus. The places that were held were non the same exact things though, but none the less these work forces both had really high offices in the authorities and were in great standing with the people of the society. The position in society in both Oedipus and Othello was high, but was the merchandise of wholly different actions. The people that are associated with Oedipus hold him in high respect and the regard that they have for him is huge. The people besides feel that they owe him a debt that they can non pay because as the priest remarks to Oedipus, & # 8220 ; You saved us from the Sphinx, that flinty vocalist, and the testimonial We paid to her so long ; & # 8221 ; ( Abcarian and Klotz 167 ) . This act by Oedipus caused the people to seek to refund the debt by doing him the male monarch. The people of Venice likewise feel that they owe Othello a debt of gratitude because what he has done for the metropolis in times of war and for this they made Othello the taking general of their city state. So there are two chief differences between the position of Oedipus and the position of Othello. First, Oedipus is the male monarch of his state or the swayer of it. Whereas, Othello was the caput general in the ground forces, this made him a retainer of the authorities instead than the caput of one. The other difference between the two is that Oedipus used his head to acquire where he ended up and Othello used his body/physical strength to acquire the place that he

held.

The tragic flaw that is possessed by each of these work forces was merely similar in the regard that both of the tragic flaw were determinations. These mistakes in opinion are both determinations that Oedipus and Othello make and these judgement mistakes are the beginning of all of the jobs that would continue to follow after the determination is made. Oedipus decided, when he recovered from being thrown off as a kid, to come to the metropolis and on the manner he ends up acquiring in a battle with these work forces inside a chariot. He ends up killing these work forces. This is the cause of everything that would come to follow in the narrative. Because of this act, he ends up acquiring married to his ain female parent. This determination besides causes him to hold illicit kids with his female parent. The determination caused Oedipus to kill his ain male parent, who was one of the work forces on the route. Finally, the determination causes him to finally travel brainsick and maim himself when he finds out what he has done. All of these things happened to Oedipus because of a determination that he made before the narrative started and it is mentioned throughout the narrative. Othello made a different pick. His pick was made during the narrative and it led to some tragic terminations. Othello chose to merely listen to Iago on the topic of Cassio, his lieutenant, and desdemona, his married woman, being active in extra-marital wooing. This pick caused Othello to kill his married woman, a secret plan to kill Cassio, Cassio being maimed, Emilia, Iago & # 8217 ; s married woman, to decease, and Othello to kill himself. These effects all came approximately because Othello did non face his married woman and Cassio, but instead he believed everything that he was told by Iago. Both of these state of affairss could hold been avoided if merely the Oedipus had non decided to kill the work forces that passed on the route while he was on his manner to the metropolis. Othello could hold besides avoided his destiny if he had chosen to believe moderately and travel to his married woman and his lieutenant and face them with what he had supposed to be true.The character of both Oedipus and Othello had terrible defects in them to do them, as Aristotle said, & # 8221 ; in between the other two: a adult male who is non outstanding in righteousness, or in wicked cape and frailty ( Aristotle 24 ) . These defects in their character do the reader to be able to place with them. The two characters portion no similarity in their character traits and their defects are merely as different. Oedipus has the job of being to arrogant and he feels that he is wholly responsible for when he is now and no 1 else helped him achieve the place that his is in. This trait can be seen in the quotation mark from Oedipus himself in the gap act when the provincials are outside with a job. Oedipus says: My kids, coevalss of the life in the line of Kadmos, nursed at his ancient fireplace: Why have you strewn yourselves before these communion tables In invocation, with your boughs and Garlands? The breaths of incense rises from the metropolis With a sound of supplication and plaint. Children, I would non hold you speak through couriers, And hence I have come myself to hear you- I, Oedipus, who bear the celebrated name ( Abcarian and Klotz 166-67 ) . The repeat of the word I and myself show his haughtiness, but he besides claims to be a descendant to the laminitis of Thebes, Kadmos. He naming his ain name celebrated besides shows this defect. Othello on the other manus suffers from insecurity. Othello is non from Venice and is non comfy with this. He is surprised when Iago tells him that the married womans of Venice frequently cheat on their hubbies and merely maintain rather ( Abcarian and Klotz 1086 ) . He is besides insecure because he is a warrior and non a lover he even states & # 8221 ; small of this great universe can talk, more than pertains to efforts of grilling and conflict & # 8221 ; ( Abcarian and Klotz 1086 ) . This proves that he even admits to non cognizing little more than war, which is why he is insecure. The last ground that Othello is non unafraid with himself is because non merely is he an foreigner, a warrior, but he is besides black. These combined facts make Othello insecure and unfastened to severe jealously. The combination of the natural defects that both Oedipus and Othello possessed and the tragic flaw that was made by these work forces caused and concatenation of effects with tragic results. These results can be seen as the mistake of the character himself or they can be blamed on destiny and that these decisions were some kind of opinion for a moral failing possessed by the tragic hero. Because of the belief that the tragic flaw is an mistake in opinion, that I prefer to believe, the result is about wholly the mistake of the tragic character. Oedipus has a distorted terminal to his narrative. Because he kills some people Oedipus ends up going male monarch of Thebes, get marrieding his ain female parent, holding kids with her, killing his male parent ( as he finds out ) , and traveling brainsick and jabing out his eyes out by himself with the pins of his female parent who committed self-destruction because of all of this. This set of fortunes would non hold come about if Oedipus had non killed the work forces on the route on his manner to Thebes. This result was some godly edict for his penalty, but instead a state of affairs that he created because he made an mistake in opinion or error. Othello besides made a atrocious error in opinion when he allow his insecurity return over his head. Alternatively he allow the defects and insecurities that he had ruin the lives of everyone around him. The pick that he made caused Cassio to be maimed, him to perpetrate slaying, his married woman to decease, his decease, and the decease of Iago & # 8217 ; s married woman. All of this hurting and decease was caused by the determination that Othello made. His pick was to listen to Iago & # 8217 ; s vindictive advice alternatively of facing Desdemona and his lieutenant, Cassio, approximately holding an matter. So once more more tragic personal businesss go on because of a hapless pick in determination devising by a tragic character. The destiny that he suffered was wholly Othello & # 8217 ; s ain mistake because of an mistake in his pick. In decision, Othello and Oedipus are perfect illustrations of tragic characters because they have every quality that is required to be one. They were of high societal position, they were non wholly perfect, nor were they wholly evil, they had a tragic flaw that caused their destiny, and both of the terminations were non happy 1s. These are the qualities that are held by tragic hero & # 8217 ; s and the tragic flaw is non a moral failing it is an mistake in opinion by the character, which is clearly shown in both of these work forces & # 8217 ; s tragic results.

Abcarian, Richard, and Marvin Klotz. Literature: reading and composing the human experience. 7th erectile dysfunction. New York: St. Martin & # 8217 ; s Press, 1998. Aristotle. & # 8220 ; Poetics. & # 8221 ; Aristotle on Poetry and Style. Trans. G.M.A Grube. Capital of indiana: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958. Butcher, S.H, erectile dysfunction. Aristotle & # 8217 ; s Theory of Poetry and Fine Art. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1951.