traglear Tragic Hero in King Lear

1593 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social influences on hamlet

The definition of tragedy in Webster’s dictionary is, "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity." However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive. Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but in fact, it refers to a series of steps that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death. Lear, the main character in King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the play meets all the requirements of a tragedy. In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic hero, he must be in a high status on the social chain and the hero also possesses a tragic flaw that initiates the tragedy. The fall of the hero is not felt by him alone but creates a chain reaction that affects everyone around him. The hero should experience suffering and calamity gradually so that it may contrast his happier times. Finally, the audience must also pity the tragic hero.

Lear, the king of England would be the tragic hero because he held the highest position in the social chain at the very beginning of the play. His social position gave him pride as he remarked himself as "Jupiter" and "Apollo". Lear out of pride and anger has banished Cordelia and Kent and divided his Kingdom in halves to Goneril and Regan. Lear's hamartia which is his obstinate pride and anger overrides his judgment, thus, prevents him to see the true faces of people. As in Act One, although Cordelia said "nothing", she really means everything she loves to his father. However, Lear only believe...

... middle of paper ...

...d you can sink to the very bottom just as fast as Lear fell from the top of the chain to the lowest.

In Shakespeare's tragic play King Lear, Lear the main character demonstrated all the necessary requirements of being a tragic hero. His high social status nourishes his hamartia which is hubris, and the tragedy is initiated by the banishment of Kent and Cordelia. Lear's pride not only altered his live alone, instead, it affected everyone around him down to the bottom of the social chain. Moreover, the realization of his true quality, pains and sufferings eventually leads to his tragic death which the most obvious element in a tragedy. Because Lear fulfills the "formula" of Shakespearean Tragedy, he could be firmly proven as tragic hero in the play.

Show More
Related

  • Barrier Beaches of Long Island, NY

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...cials to ban or greatly curtail vehicular and sometimes pedestrian traffic on parts of beaches where Plovers are nesting. Fire Island National Seashore has been identified as one of six crucial Plover nesting sites. In some cases beach officials have had to ban kite flying from nest areas because the Plover mistakes the kites for a predator. While the kite is in the air the birds will not leave the nest for food, subsequently plovers have starved to death. The plover is just one example of how beach officials have to balance the recreational and ecological resources of the barrier beach (Appleton & Sharp 35-38).

    Read More

  • Bulimia Nervosa Case Study

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ever since 1979, the world became introduced to a different type of anorexia disorder called bulimia nervosa by Gerald Russell. In the similar attempt to lose weight like anorexia, bulimia nervosa is characterized by having episodes of binge eating, followed by intense efforts to avoid gaining weight. Some of the methods to avoid gaining the weight can be to induce self-vomiting, and consuming laxatives or diuretics. As a result of Russell studying theses eating disorders, he discovered that approximately 1/100 women in Western societies were affected in 1990 (Palmer, 2014). Ever since bulimia nervosa became a known eating disorder, more people have been able to effectively be diagnosed with it, and more useful information about the disorder

    Read More

  • Anorexia And Bulimia Essay

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anorexia is an obsessive desire to control ones bodily appearance. It often starts with the refusal to obtain a healthy body weight. “This disorder is associated with under nutrition of varying severity with resulting secondary endocrine and metabolic changes and disruptions of bodily functions” (Kontic et al. 2013). An Anorexic person has a distorted view of themselves which can lead to devastating measures of self-starvation due to an immense fear of weight gain. In the same way, an individual suffering with Bulimia has a fear of weight gain, but goes about their technique in a different manner. Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating or, consuming a large amount of food in a short time followed by guilt. This guilt is the leading factor to the purging stage where the individual will rid themselves of the physical and emotional discomfort. The ridding stage can invo...

    Read More

  • Semaphore Beach Case Study

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    Government of South Australia, 2005. Adelaide's Living Beaches. A Strategy for 2005 - 2025, December, pp. 5-27.

    Read More

  • Niqua

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    When people hear the word “hero” they usually don’t think about the word “tragic”. A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a tragedy, destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Aristotle also thought about the ideas of a tragic hero. William Shakespeare proves this through his character Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo’s family is of high status and virtuous. Romeo’s punishments exceed his crimes and his tragedies arouse many “unhealthy emotions of fear and pity. Romeo’s actions prove he is a tragic hero. The story of Romeo and Juliet entices the reader as the tragedy proceeds through the scenes.

    Read More

  • Tragedy Essay

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    A tragedy, in literary terms, is defined as a literary work in which a great person suffers extreme sorrow, or is destroyed as a result of a character flaw or a conflict with an overpowering force, often through no fault of their own. William Shakespeare is known as one of the greatest play writers in the world. Many of his tragedies exemplify this common theme: some things in life seem destined to happen, regardless of the path we take. Three of his most famous tragedies, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet, illustrate this theme.

    Read More

  • Analyzing King Lear's Tragic Flaws

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Lear is a play about a tragic hero, by the name of King Lear, whose flaws get the best of him. A tragic hero must possess three qualities. The first is they must have power, in other words, a leader. King Lear has the highest rank of any leader. He is a king. The next quality is they must have a tragic flaw, and King Lear has several of those. Finally, they must experience a downfall. Lear's realization of his mistakes is more than a downfall. It is a tragedy. Lear is a tragic hero because he has those three qualities. His flaws are his arrogance, his ignorance, and his misjudgments, each contributing to the other.

    Read More

  • Justification of Death in Hamlet

    2588 Words  | 6 Pages

    Beginning with the Greeks, tragedy has been an essential form of entertainment. Although it has changed slightly over time due to different religious and social values, it is still written and performed to this day. Perhaps the most well known tragedy of all time is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is perhaps the epitome of all tragedy. Not only does the tragic hero Hamlet meet his demise, but all the main characters in the play at some point due to some flaw in their character, or some fatal decision, also meet the same fate. It is because of their character flaw and/or their fatal decision at some time during the play that their death can be justified.

    Read More

  • macbeth

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Shakespearean tragic hero may be defined as “an exceptional being of high degree” who contributes to his own degeneration and illustrates a personality flaw. The character of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is in all ways the perfect example of a tragic hero. His greatness and bravery in battle for his country ultimately leads him to be a great thane and eventually a powerful king, making his actions have a significant impact on a country. Macbeth’s ambition on becoming a king leads to an obsession to remain in his current position. His ambition comes to a point where he falls to the temptation of evil which leads to Macbeth’s inevitable downfall. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a brave man whose performance in Scotland’s battle is celebrated.

    Read More

  • Bulimia Nervosa Essay

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to the topic of Bulimia Nervosa, most of us will agree that it is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed. Where this agreement usually ends however, is on the question what the cause of bulimia is. Whereas some convince that it’s the media is the cause others maintain that the cause is emotional problems. My own view on the cause of bulimia is American culture, major changes in life, and emotional health.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Hamlet as a Tragic Hero

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    Webster’s dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.”  A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences such a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and related actions.  The character of Hamlet, therefore, is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.

    Read More

  • The Tragic Hero in William Shakespeare´s Othello

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tragic heroes tend to have very pre-determined paths; usually making the most virtuous of characters destined to suffer. The hamartia or ‘tragic flaw’ is the typical reason the hero falls. Shakespeare was noted to be one of the best writers of tragedies, one of his most prominent to be Othello. In Othello, we find a number of tragic flaws two including pride and ambition. In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, pride and ambition are used to identify the outcomes for the main characters in the play when seeing the resolution of the play, perceiving those who survive and those who don’t, and considering each character’s role in the turn of events.

    Read More

  • Anorexia and Bulimia - A Threat to Society

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a society that discriminates against people, particularly women, who do not look slender, many people find they cannot - or think they cannot - meet society's standards through normal, healthy eating habits and often fall victim to eating disorders. Bulimia Nervosa, an example of an eating disorder that is characterized by a cycle of binge eating and purging, has become very common in our society. Although it generally affects women, men too are now coming to clinics with this kind of disease. This is not a new disorder. It can be brought on by a complex interplay of factors, which may include emotional, and personality disorders, family pressures, a possible genetic or biologic susceptibility, and a culture in which there is an overabundance of food and an obsession with thinness. Common signs of this problem are pre-occupation with the body, a need for control and perfection, difficult interpersonal relationships, and a low self-esteem. It seems that irrespective of the initial triggers, bulimia can become a rigid pattern, which is difficult to change. The purpose of this paper is to reason out why bulimia is detrimental to our society. It focuses on its bad effect to the health of an individual and to the society. Perhaps you do not have this kind of eating disorder but you are definitely affected by it.

    Read More

  • macbeth as a tragic hero

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.

    Read More

  • Book Review Of King Lear

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    Learn from Cordelia’s kind and honest but not her obstinate and crude ，especially her silence, and you’ll find there are not so many tragedies around us. Always it

    Read More

More about traglear Tragic Hero in King Lear

Open Document