Willy Loman as Tragic Hero of Death of a Salesman

He states that “ the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing – his sense of personal dignity” (3). The common man, Willy Loman, is believed by Miller to be the subject of his modern tragedy. In short, Miller has recreated the Aristotelian tragic figure with a modern twist. The connotation of a tragic hero, according to Aristotle, was in character’s fall that could have been avoided due to the “inadequate” knowledge. Miller, on the other hand, took a challenge to demonstrate tragic plays for the common people to relate.

The play “Oedipus Rex” was written by an ancient Greek playwright named Sophocles. Sophocles is known for his compelling tragedies and well-rounded characters. The protagonist of Sophocles’ play “Oedipus Rex” is an honorable man however, chooses to lead a life of arrogance and pride known as hubris. This hubris is what ultimately causes Oedipus to unknowingly cause his own tragic demise. Oedipus fulfills the prerequisites set by Aristotle for a tragic hero.

It is my personal opinion that Brutus,as he is portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is a tragic hero by this definition. I came to this conclusion due to the fact that Brutus shares many similarities with other tragic heroes in literature such as Oedipus, Hamlet, and Ralph from Lord of the Flies. All four characters share the two critical traits that are needed to be tragic heroes: a tragic flaw that eventually leads to a tragic downfall. The tragic hero was defined by Aristotle, yet the “invention” of the tragic hero goes to Sophocles. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus, made the tragic hero.

This truly does make him a tragic hero. Willy Loman is a tragic figure in the play Death of a Salesman. Willy faces a superior source in the play and puts his life on the line for his beliefs and the beliefs of others. He meets the requirements of Miller’s article for a tragic hero. Death of a Salesman also meets Miller’s requirements for a tragic play because of Willy’s role in the novel along with the other standards that Miller sets for a tragedy.

Elements that Make a Tragic Hero in Shakespeare's Works In all of Shakespeare's tragedies, the hero must suffer and in some if not most cases, die. What makes a tragic hero? One has to be a man of high estate: a king, a prince or an officer of some high rank. It was common practice for Shakespeare to tell of his tragic hero through the voices of others around his hero. This way we can understand his conflicts, his struggles, and flaws.

Aristotle also enlightens certain characteristics that determine a tragic hero. Using Oedipus as an ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be an important or influential man who commits an error in judgment, and who must then suffer the consequences of his actions. The tragic hero must learn a lesson from his errors in judgment, his tragic flaw, and become an example to the audience of what happens when great men fall from their arrogant social or political positions. According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is complete in it; in other words, the story must be realistic and narrow in focus. A good tragedy will evoke pity and fear in its viewers, causing the viewers to experience a feeling of catharsis.

Das Brütus: A Tragic Hero In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Brutus is the quintessence of a tragic hero. Webster’s Dictionary defines tragic hero as “Any person, especially a man, admired for courage, nobility etc. … in a serious play with an unhappy ending” (277-626). This verbatim definition, however, is useless in an analytical essay. The idea of a tragic hero comes from Aristotle, who thought a tragic hero involved a character of high standing suffering a downfall caused by one or two character flaws.

Narcissistic Oedipus – Tragic Hero In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self.

A tragedy, as described by the Webster’s dictionary is, “A play, movie, etc., that is serious and has a sad ending, such as the death of the main character”. Similarly, tragic heroes are the main characters who make a judgment error that leads to their own destruction. “Macbeth” which is written by the legendary writer, William Shakespeare, is a true example of a “tragedy”. From the beginning of the play, Macbeth is shown as the great general who has gained much respect from his king and people. However, as a description of the tragic hero by Aristotle, “Hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in him.” Throughout the play, Macbeth performs extreme actions and paves his own path to his death.

Oedipus is endowed mostly all tragic characteristics that qualify him for a model tragic hero. He is the son of the queen Iokaste and King Laios, whi... ... middle of paper ... ...milarly, if we take Oedipus' downfall as fated, the tragic value of the play will be enriched since the Catharsis will be intensified. Catharsis means the evocation of two elements in the spectators: pity and fear. A natural audience has more pity for a man whose tragic end is to a great extent fateful rather than for a man whose bad deeds bring about his downfall. Intensifying pity means a Catharsis with a stronger effect and naturally a bonus for the success of the play since achieving Catharsis is a major purpose of any tragedy.