Tragic Hero

Sam Rapine
 Tragic Hero
• A hero (following the
traditional
definition) whose
human flaws lead
him/her to an
unfortunate and
sometimes ironic
downfall.
• The tragic element
tends to come
about thanks to an
unfortunate
misunderstanding
generally out of
the hero’s control
Statue Head
 <http://historicalfact .com/~es/britishmus
 Tragic Hero (cont’d)
• Popularized for the sake of a more
engrossing story—a character that
would evoke strong emotional
reactions from the audience
• Must begin in relative prosperity or
respectful standing to make the fall
that much more impactful
•
 Character

• The character must act

accordingly with its
role in real life, lest it
not be believable
– Additionally, this
must be achieved
to an extent to
avoid causing the
audience
unnecessary
confusion.
• Simultaneously the
character should be
larger than life to Oedipus Rex
<http://www.suburbanmatron .com/2009/12/santa-
oedipus-rex.html>
 Catharsis
• Considered a
"thorough
purging or
cleansing" in the
Greek definition
• In dramatic terms,
this relates to a
mass emotional
purging in which
feelings such as
Holding a Heavy Heart
joy, sorrow, or
<http://tivate.com/pictures /picture-
template-pic-2> anger are put
 Catharsis (cont’d)
• Ties in with the Greek concept of
stoicism, which entailed that
extremes of any emotion led to
destructive failure of judgment.
• Theater developed, in part, as a form
of expunging these emotions in a
safe way

 Catharsis’ Effect in Tragedy
• As a method of cleansing, catharsis
was meant for the audience to
remove themselves of emotional
excess to better live their lives in
balance
• This often required the writing of the
tragedy to cater to these points

 Works cited
• Aristotle. The Poetics. Microsoft Word file.
• Baltzly, Dirk, “Stoicism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy (Winter 2009 Edition), Edward N.
Zalta (ed.), URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2009/entri
es/stoicism/>.
• Statue Head. 2005. Photograph. The British
Museum, London. Historicalfact.com. Web.
http://historicalfact.com/~es/britishmuseum/.
• Holding a Heavy Heart. Photograph. Tivate. Web.
<http://tivate.com/pictures/picture-template-
pic-2>.
• Oedipus Rex. Photograph. Suburbanmatron.com.
Web.
<http://www.suburbanmatron.com/2009/12/san