A Tragic Hero

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What Makes A Tragic Hero?

Aristotle defined tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself." It incorporates "incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions."

The tragic hero will most effectively evoke both our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly evil but a combination of both. It is also important to not that Aristotle believed that while comedy is dark, because it laughs at human folly, tragedy represents human greatness, as the moment of catharsis shows man fighting against a superior force, despite knowing that ultimately they are doomed.

Hamartia, the Greek word for error or failure, used by Aristotle in his Poetics (4th century BCE) to designate the false step that leads the protagonist in a tragedy to his or her downfall. The term has often been translated as ‘tragic flaw’, but this misleadingly confines the cause of the reversal of fortunes to some personal defect of character, whereas Aristotle's emphasis was rather upon the protagonist's action, which could be brought about by misjudgment, ignorance, or some other cause.

William Shakespeare’s “Othello” may be an example of a play about a tragic hero. Othello was a good soldier whose acts of bravery led him to advance in rank. They also earned him the love of a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, he was also a jealous man. Therefore, he was susceptible to the innuendo and malicious manipulation of the envious Iago, who suggested his beautiful wife Desdemona was having an affair. Because of his inherent insecurity, Othello was not able to overcome his fears and began to doubt his wife, even though she was a pure and decent woman. In the end, his jealousy became so great that he killed her and then himself.

Thus, we can see as Othello was a good human being and also a brave person. His flaw of paranoia leads him to a tragic end. So, we can consider this flaw as his hamartia and Othello as a tragic hero. The defect of a character makes it a tragic hero. As hamartia turns a play into a tragedy, it’s the core of a tragedy.