A Tragedy Makes A Hero

He believed that his law was above the gods’ and in doing so ruined himself. In the last verses of the play, Creon seeks death and states that “Fate has brought all my pride to a thought of dust.” Comparing these two characters, there are many similarities. Both characters are victims of tragic events that ultimately lead to their undoing. However, there can only be one tragic hero in this story. Another description of Aristotle’s tragic hero is one that pits a hero “between two extremes.” (Ohio) This definition allows us to more clearly determine who is the actual protagonist of this story.

A tragic story has its own occur of events. The main factors that always end a tragedy is through conspiracies, love, or hatred. In the story Antigone written by Sophocles, it demonstrates a tragedy filled with consequences to the characters. Antigone shows similarities to Aristotle’s paradigm because of the plot, characterization, and actions that were pursued throughout this story. In Aristotle’s Poetics, he puts his view of how a tragedy should be portrayed to make the concept of it more understandable towards the audience.

The point is not to denounce Oedipus’ role as a tragic hero, but to denounce his role as the only tragic character. First, defining the term “tragic hero” would be beneficial in determining Jocasta’s status. Tragedy is “a drama representing an important event generally having a fatal issue; a fatal and mournful event; a murderous or bloody deed” ("Tragedy"). The definition of hero is “the person who has the principle share in some exploit” ("Hero"). Stanley Garden’s internet page Tragic Hero defines tragic hero as the following: “In a tragic play, the tragic hero usually does some fearful deed which ultimately destroys him.

This reason these plays are called tragedies. They depict a sad ending that could easily been avoided. In conclusion, a tragedy can be defined as a work of art, with the downfall of an otherwise heroic figure. Heros in these tragedies are commonly articulate and an pay a the main role of the pay, but they display at least one significant weakness which will ultimately overcome the other virtues of the hero. The conventions of a tragedy are a common theme throughout all of shakespeare's plays with a theme of death, sadness, and tragedy to be seen as a work of art.

The Norton Anthology: World Masterpieces. Ed. Lawall. & Mack. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999.

Death brought eternity The story of Romeo and Juliet had many tragic, yet meaningful events that somewhat constructed what we know today as, “The tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet.” In fact, all of those ‘tragic yet meaningful events’ are all the deaths of Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo, and Juliet. All of the tragic, meaningful events show what theme the story portrays. Romeo and Juliet itself is a well-known so called ‘love’ play/story, but when you really ‘dig deeper’ into it you will soon come to realize that it is more of a death play than a love play. Romeo and Juliet could be considered more of a death play than a love play because, majority of the events that happened were violent and the violence resulted in death; the only two people who showed ‘love’ throughout the story was Romeo and Juliet. It is clearly shown that death brought nothing but sorrow, sadness, and problems to Romeo and Juliet from beginning to end.

This was illustrated when Achilles challenged Hector to a battle to the death, and Hector accepted although he knew he would be defeated. Sophocles, one of the most celebrated playwrights in Greek history, played a large role in instilling the value of fate into Greek life. Sigmund Freud talked about "the Oedipus complex" in his book, The Interpretation of Dreams, saying: Oedipus Rex is what is known as the tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in contrast between the supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which…the deeply moved spectator should learn from this tragedy is submission to the divine will and realization of his own impotence.

Later, while confronting her husband after the separation, Medea even reveals that she is plotting against him. "…That this marriage-day/ Will end with marriage lost, loathing and horror left," proving her rage. And, not only does she seek revenge on her ex-husband, but on Creon, the king, and his daughter. Eventually, with the help of her children, she manages to kill the princess by means of a poisoned robe and crown. Creon dies by merely touching his sick daughter's body.

The catharsis is a main element of this type of tragedy. The two families were able to apologize to each other at the end of the play and a healthy balance replaces the tragic emotions. A tragedy consists of many different elements, but certain types of tragedies have defined elements. To finish, Romeo and Juliet is a classic Aristotelian tragedy because of the tragic flaws, tragic emotions, and an unforgettable catharsis.

In most dramatic plays, tragedy usually strikes the protagonist of the play and leads him, or her, to experience devastating losses. While tragic instances can be avoided, there are other instances where one’s fate and future is out of the protagonist’s control. In Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles and first performed around 249 BC, Oedipus cannot escape his destiny and even though he tries to overcome and circumvent prophecy, he finds out that supernatural forces will get what they want in the end. Oedipus meets the criteria of a tragic hero set forth by Aristotle and his fate within the play demonstrates that one does not always have free will in their lives. Traditionally, in Greek drama, tragedy is meant to reaffirm the concept that life is worth living and that people are in constant opposition with the universe.