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Tragic hero, Fallen Hero

A Definition

A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy. The modern use of the term usually involves the notion that
such a hero makes an error in his actions that leads to his or her downfall. Usually, the hero's misfortune is not
brought about "by vice and depravity but by some error of judgment." In Aristotle's Poetics it is imperative that
the tragic hero be noble. Later tragedians deviated from this tradition: the more prone the tragic hero was to
vice, the less noble and the less tragic the tragic hero happened to be.

Tragic heroes appear in the dramatic works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Marlowe, Shakespeare,
Webster, Achebe, Marston, Corneille, Racine, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Strindberg, and many other writers.

Common traits of Tragic or Fallen Heroes

 The flaw is, most frequently Hubris.
 The hero discovers that his downfall is a result of his own actions, not by things happening to him.
 The hero sees and understands his doom, and that his fate was revealed by his own actions.
 The hero's downfall is understood to arouse pity and fear that leads to an epiphany and a catharsis (for
hero and audience). It is not necessary by the Aristotelian standard that the downfall or suffering be
death/total ruin, as in the myth of Hercules, who ultimately ascends to Mount Olympus and
immortality.
 Since at least the time of William Shakespeare, however, the flaw of a tragic hero has generally been
regarded to necessarily result in his death, or a fate worse than death. The Shakespearean tragic hero
dies at some point in the story; one example is the eponymous protagonist of the play Macbeth.
 Shakespeare's characters show that tragic heroes are neither fully good nor fully evil.
 A tragic hero is often of noble birth, or rises to noble standing (King Arthur, Okonkwo, the main
character in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart).
 The hero learns something from his/her mistake.
 The hero is faced with a serious decision.
 The suffering of the hero is meaningful, because although the suffering is a result of the hero's own
volition, it is not wholly deserved and may be cruelly disproportionate.
 There may sometimes be supernatural involvement (in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Caesar is warned
of his death via Calpurnia's vision and Brutus is warned of his impending death by the ghost of
Caesar).
 The archetypal hero of classical tragedies is, almost universally, male. Later tragedies (like
Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra) introduced the female tragic hero. Portrayals of female tragic
heroes are notable because they are rare.

Famous tragic heroes

Macbeth Satan from Paradise Hercules
Albus Dumbledore Lost Medea
Othello Hamlet Willy Loman
Anakin Skywalker Richard III Okonkwo
King Lear John Proctor Electra
Oedipus Brutus Antigone
Severus Snape Doctor Faustus James "Sawyer" Ford
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Name: ___________________________ Date Due: June 12

"A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Aristotle

Assignment: Write an essay that focuses on the following: Compare the character of Okonkwo in Things
Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe OR John Proctor in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller to the character of
Macbeth in the tragic play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Explain how the characters are tragic heroes
and provide examples to support your answer. Why do you think the authors chose to make these characters
the focus of their work? What positive qualities can we take away from the characters? What can we learn
from their mistakes?

Learning Targets
 I can explain theme in a text and analyze how literary devices contribute to a text’s theme.
 I can identify a tragic flaw in a tragic hero and analyze how it leads to his downfall.
 I can write a well-developed essay that includes a thesis statement, clear topic sentences followed by
specific evidence to support a claim, an analysis of the evidence, and commentary that demonstrates a
thorough understanding of the thesis.
 I can incorporate transitions to connect ideas, and use a variety of sentence structures avoiding
fragments and run-on sentences, demonstrating mainstream English grammar, usage, and mechanics.
 I can uses MLA format for in-text documentation and Works Cited.

Criteria:
 Correctly identifies a tragic flaw for the characters chosen
 Analyzes the tragic flaw and explains how it caused the characters’ downfall
 Explains a theme created by the tragic hero’s life and death
 Includes a clear thesis statement
 Uses logical organizational pattern in the essay
 Provides specific evidence (direct quotations) to support claims
 Analyzes evidence
 Explains how evidence supports claim
 Includes transitions among paragraphs
 Uses a variety of sentence structures
 Demonstrates proper paragraph format (CLAIM/EVIDENCE/ANALYSIS/COMMENTARY)
 Includes in-text documentation, MLA Header, and a Works Cited page
 Uses mainstream conventional grammar, usage, and mechanics throughout the essay

Please note that although I am not providing a required number of paragraphs, or word count, this is
considered a culminating essay for your Junior year, and should demonstrate your ability to write a well
thought out, final paper.
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RUBRIC
Criteria Demonstrates Exceptional Demonstrates Effort Demonstrates Little to
Effort No Effort
CONTENT
Correctly identifies the Tragic flaw is thoroughly Tragic flaw is identified Tragic flaw is incorrectly
tragic flaw of the identified identified, if at all
characters

Analyzes the effect of Analysis of tragic flaw is The effect of the tragic Analysis of the tragic flaw
the tragic flaw on the thorough and insightful flaw is analyzed is misguided or incomplete
characters effectively
Explanation of tragic Shows clear relationship Shows relationship Tries but is unable to show
flaw between the flaw and the between the tragic flaws relationship between the
downfall of the character and the characters’s tragic flaw and the
downfall character’s downfall
Identification and Theme is clearly identified and Theme is identified and Theme is not identified and
explanation of theme thoroughly explained thoroughly explained /or not sufficiently
created by tragic heroes explained if at all
FORMAT
Thesis Statement Clear and gives focus to the Evident Missing or unclear
essay
Organization Demonstrates a logical pattern Demonstrates a pattern of Demonstrates little to no
of organization throughout the organization throughout organization-transitions
essay using transitions to the essay- paragraphs are missing, body paragraphs
connect ideas and following clear. not well-developed.
conventions of well-developed
paragraph.
Evidence Every body paragraph includes Ever body paragraph Quotations /details missing
two or more quotations/details includes evidence that is or unclear.
from the text that are intricately included logically in the
weaved into to the sentences. body paragraph
Syntax Excellent variety of sentence Some variety of sentence Little sentence variety,
structures. structure, few if any includes fragments and
fragments or run-ons. run-ons.
MLA All quotations/detail are All quotations are Some or all quotations are
correctly documented with in- documented - a few minor undocumented or MLA
text documentation & Works flaws in format format is incorrect
Cited
Conventions/Mechanics No distracting errors in A few minor errors in Errors in mainstream
grammar, usage & mechanics grammar, usage, and grammar, usage, and
mechanics mechanics are numerous
and distracting

Comments:

SCORE:_______________
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STUDENT WRITING EXAMPLE:

"A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall."-Aristotle, Poetics. Aristotle
in this quote makes an excellent point that even to this day is used to define tragic heroes in modern movies
and plays. And in the Shakespearian play, Othello, Othello is most certainly portrayed as a tragic hero
according to Aristotle. However, some argue that Othello is in fact not a tragic hero, which is puzzling to me
but it does have a valid point that can easily be found and explored.
In the opening of the play, Shakespeare gives us a “sneak peak” of Othello and what is to come regarding
his personality and in conjunction helps the audience decide if Othello is a tragic hero. This is shown by a
multitude of things, the biggest one being Othello’s long speech beginning with “Most potent, grave, and
reverend signiors”. The speech truly highlights Othello’s personality and also shows that he is very noble,
which is a very important part of his character, and goes hand in hand with his tendency to meet things head
on and his respectfulness. We also find out that Othello has a very high position in his environment, which
is a trait that most tragic heroes have.
Another reason Othello would be considered a tragic hero is that he has a “Hamartia”, or tragic flaw.
Othello’s tragic flaw is that he is naïve, which is the reason he is simply too trusting. This is shown by a few
things, such as him referring to Iago as “Honest Iago” repeatedly, “the Moor is of a free and open nature”,
and “that thinks honest that would seem to be so”. His trusting nature leads to his downfall, therefore his
being naïve and as a result of, his trusting nature leads to his eventual death and loss of everything that
mattered to him- his wife, position, and life. This character flaw is mostly of free will, which also points to
him being a tragic hero.
Othello is not a perfect person like he seems to be. Aristotle states that the tragic hero should be relatable
to normal people, and as the audience digs deeper, than can find Othello very relatable. Othello displays a
lack of self-esteem mostly caused by his outsider status and his being a Moor. He also radiates extreme
emotions of jealously, which in one’s life one must deal with. Also he is old, which makes him feel that
Desdemona might want someone younger, which plays a part in his jealously later on.
A third reason Othello might be considered a tragic hero is that his downfall was a result of his tragic
flaw. He trusted Iago too much, and that led to him seeing his love of Desdemona through Iago’s eyes
instead of his own. This leads to him seeing Desdemona has a harlot of sorts and him imagining that she is
cheating on him with Cassio. However, some may argue that it is not in fact his character flaw that causes
his downfall, but it is his jealously that is his downfall. Now this is true in a sense, but the jealously is only
caused by him being as naïve as he is. On a grander scale, it is clear that it was Othello being naïve that
caused his downfall and not his jealously.
Othello’s misfortune and death clearly is not deserved by Othello. Sadly in society greed and only caring
for oneself has taken over and crushed any sense of openness and trustfulness that some might have of
others. But there is still a small amount of people that are trusting, but they are susceptible to fates similar to
Othello’s as some people truly do not care about what happens to their fellow human beings, as long as they
gain something from this (note, when saying this I am not implying Iago in the latter category, as he
seemingly gained nothing from destroying Othello and others).
Othello’s fall is not a pure loss. The final trait of a tragic hero, it is perhaps the most important. Human
life should be valued and in any loss of life it can be deemed successful if, as a society, we can learn
something from it and improve our future generation’s lives because of it. Othello’s death was one such
case. We gain an increase in awareness and self-knowledge due to Othello’s death. Right before he died,
Othello said “one that lov’d not wisely but too well”. This shows that Othello realizes what happened to him
before he died, and along with his final speech, we can learn something from Othello’s death.
In conclusion, Othello is absolutely a tragic hero. His tragic flaw is that he is naïve, which leads to his
downfall and also makes his death not a pure loss. He is not perfect, which is an important part of a true
tragic hero. Because he is a Moor, an outsider, and old, he lacks self-esteem that makes him relatable to a
vast majority of society. Also he is very jealous, which also makes him relatable.
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