most tragic hero

A tragic hero is defined as someone in a high position who possesses a flaw in character that brings about his/her downfall. Macbeth, Oedipus and Okonkwo were all tragic heroes because the were all popular and high people in their communities but had a flaw in their characters that brought about their downfall. Although Macbeth, Oedipus and Okonkwo were all tragic heroes, Macbeth was the most tragic hero. This is because he had the opportunity to change his fate.

Macbeth was a hero in Scotland because he was a warrior who helped his country win a battle. Macbeth was liked by everyone in Scotland. He was praised for his courage and bravery in the battle. He was appreciated by the king. The king then made him the Thane of Cowdor, which tells us he was a hero in Scotland. Before Macbeth became the Thane of Cowdor, he was approached by three witches, who told him he would become the Thane of Cowdor, Thane of Glamis and later King of Scotland. When the first prophecy told by the witches came true, this went to his head and began doing everything to make the other prophecies come true. Lady Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth also contributed to the downfall of Macbeth. She kept telling him to do things and if he didn't want to do it, she would call him not man enough and try and test his manhood. Macbeth’s tragic downfall was caused by four things. The first was him believing in the three witches prophecies. If Macbeth did not believe in the evil sisters prophecies he probably wouldn’t have had a downfall. When the three witches say, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”, this gives Macbeth the idea that whatever he does, even t...

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...a Greek king who married his mother and killed his father. Oedipus did not have many reasons for his downfall except for his excessive pride and arrogance. Oedipus’ path was already predetermined by the gods but his excessive pride changed his path and it led to his downfall. Oedipus shows his excessive pride when he tries to outsmart the gods when they told him that he would marry his mother and kill his father. In a conversation with Tiresias, the blind prophet, Oedipus says, “You’ve lost your power, stone-blind,stone-deaf senses, eyes blind as stone”. (line 423). The irony here is that even though Tiresias may be blind, he is telling the truth and it’s Oedipus who was acting blind. Macbeth had a little bit of pride but not as great as Okonkwo or Oedipus. Okonkwo had a lot of pride. He wanted things to go his way but he did not have a lot of pride as Oedipus did.