The Tragic Hero



The Tragedy and its Tragic Hero

What a Tragedy?

The notion of a tragedy is credited to Greek philosopher, Aristotle. It is defined as a serious drama which is focused on the life of a distinguished and often noble character, such as a king. Typically a conflict develops between the protagonist, the noble character, and some superior force. Destiny or other circumstances beyond the protagonist’s control overtake the tragic hero, resulting is some self-discovery or moral revelation. The conclusion of the drama comes when the conflict is brought to a sorrowful and disastrous end, often but not always the tragic hero’s death, and a valuable lesson has been imposed on the audience.

“A man cannot become a hero until

he can see the root of his own downfall.”

Aristotle

Important Characteristics of a Tragedy and its Hero

In order to thoroughly understand a tragedy, it is important to be aware of several characteristics of this genre. The following are a list of important terms associate with a tragedy.

Tragic hero

• The protagonist of the tragedy

• Privileged or of noble birth; often a king or leader

• Doomed or cursed from the beginning

• Takes no responsibility for his tragic flaw

Hamartia

• From the Greek hamartenein meaning “to err”

• A defect or short coming of the tragic hero; a weakness

• Causes the tragic hero’s demise

Tragic flaw

• Another term for hamartia

Demise

• The downfall or failure of the tragic hero caused by his tragic flaw or hamartia

• The tragic hero’s demise is due to his own choices

Reversal of fortune

• Another term for demise

• The ruin and suffering a tragic hero experiences when he is made the opposite of what he was

• For example, a king turned beggar; strong made weak

Catharsis

• The emotional cleansing or realization that an audience experiences

• Inspires the audience to realize a moral lesson

• Inspired by the intense fear and pity for the tragic hero that a tragedy suggests to the audience

The Tragedy and its Tragic Hero

Character Analysis

DIRECTIONS: Decide if Oedipus fits the definition of “tragic hero”. In order to make your final decision, make sure you are able to answer “yes” to all of the questions below. Provide specific examples from the text to support your claim.

Character: Oedipus

• Is he the protagonist of the tragedy? YES NO

o Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Is he privileged or of noble birth? YES NO

o Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Is he doomed or cursed from the beginning? YES NO

o Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Does he deny responsibility for his tragic flaw? YES NO

o Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Does the character face a reversal of fortune? YES NO

o Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Would the tragic hero’s experience cause the audience experience a catharsis? YES NO

o Evidence: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Tragedy and its Tragic Hero

Follow up Activity

Tragic heroes are not limited to literature. Many fictional tragic heroes have been created for movies and TV shows. Additionally, many real people exemplify qualities of the tragic hero.

DIRECTIONS: Locate an example of a tragic hero outside of literature. For example, you may choose a person from a movie or TV show, a singer, or famous leader. You will have to analyze the character traits of the person you choose, and you will not be able to just “Google” the term “tragic hero”. This activity requires some work on your part. Once you have decided upon a good choice for a tragic hero, provide evidence to support your claim in one of the following formats:

• An essay that provides a thorough explanation with specific evidence. Make and prove your claim that this person fits the definition of a tragic hero. Your essay should be typed or neatly written in ink and double spaced. You must provide a list of sources.

• An annotated timeline of the person’s life. Include events from birth to the present or from birth to death. For each event, provide a brief explanation to support your claim that this person is a tragic hero. You must provide a list of sources.

• An original poster depicting events from the person’s life. Each characteristic must be represented with an appropriate visual. For each visual, provide a brief caption that explains the relevance of the picture. You must provide a list of sources.

**A note about sources: For each source, including pictures, provide the title and author of the document. Also, please indicate if the source is a book, website, magazine, etc.

GRADING:

• Final draft quality…………………………………………………………25 points

o Typed or written neatly in blue or black ink

o Neat and organized with evidence of effort

o Your name and date present in the appropriate place

• Specific evidence …………………………………………………………75 points

o Of noble birth

o Of a doomed or cursed beginning (may be excluded if all other evidence is present)

o Of a lack of responsibility for his/her tragic flaw

o Of a defect or short coming that causes the tragic hero’s demise

o Of ruin and suffering a tragic hero experiences from his/her downfall

o Of a moral lesson to be learned by others

• PLEASE NOTE:

o Projects should exhibit final draft quality and effort

o No project will be accepted without a list of references

Tragic Hero Project

Grading Rubric

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _____________________

Project: _________________________________________________________________________

Criteria Points Possible Points Earned

Final draft quality……………………………25 points __________

Typed or written neatly in blue or black ink

Neat and organized with evidence of effort

Your name and date present in the appropriate place

Specific evidence ……………………………75 points __________

Of noble or famed birth

Of a doomed or cursed beginning

(may be excluded if all other evidence is present)

Of a lack of responsibility for his/her tragic flaw

Of a defect or short coming that causes the tragic hero’s demise

Of ruin and suffering the tragic hero experiences from his/her downfall

Of a moral lesson to be learned by others

PLEASE NOTE:

No project will be accepted without a list of references

Tragic Hero Project

Grading Rubric

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _____________________

Project: __________________________________________________________________________

Criteria Points Possible Points Earned

Final draft quality……………………………25 points __________

Typed or written neatly in blue or black ink

Neat and organized with evidence of effort

Your name and date present in the appropriate place

Specific evidence ……………………………75 points __________

Of noble or famed birth

Of a doomed or cursed beginning

(may be excluded if all other evidence is present)

Of a lack of responsibility for his/her tragic flaw

Of a defect or short coming that causes the tragic hero’s demise

Of ruin and suffering the tragic hero experiences from his/her downfall

Of a moral lesson to be learned by others

PLEASE NOTE:

No project will be accepted without a list of references

Tragic Hero Project

Grading Rubric

Name: _____________________________________ Date: ______________ Class: __________

Project: __________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE NOTE: No project will be accepted without two references

Criteria Points Possible Points Earned

Final draft quality……………………………25 points __________

Project includes / has:

_____ Typed or written neatly in blue or black ink

_____ Neat and organized with evidence of effort

_____ Your name and date present in the appropriate place

Specific evidence ……………………………50 points ___________

Project includes specific evidence of:

_____ Of noble or famed birth

_____ Of a doomed or cursed beginning

(may be excluded if all other evidence is present)

_____ Of a lack of responsibility for his/her tragic flaw

_____ Of a defect or short coming that causes the tragic hero’s demise

_____ Of ruin and suffering the tragic hero experiences from his/her downfall

_____ Of a moral lesson to be learned by others

References …………………………………..25 points ___________

Project reference #1 includes:

_____ Title: __________________________________________________

_____ Author: ________________________________________________

_____ Website: _______________________________________________

_____ Date accessed: __________________________________________

_____ Publisher: ______________________________________________

_____ Date of publication: ______________________________________

Project reference #2 includes:

_____ Title: __________________________________________________

_____ Author: ________________________________________________

_____ Website: _______________________________________________

_____ Date accessed: __________________________________________

_____ Publisher: ______________________________________________

_____ Date of publication: ______________________________________

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Total Points

Total Points

Total Points

(test grade)

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