TRAGEDY &
TRAGIC HEROS
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TRAGEDY
O …presents courageous individuals who
O confront powerful forces within or outside
themselves with a dignity that reveals the
breadth and depth of the human spirit in the
face of failure, defeat, and even death.
O The action of a tragedy is focused on a difficult
time in the hero’s life when decisions or actions
cause chaos and
O only through the protagonist’s fall can the world
of the tragedy be righted again.
ARISTOTLE’S DEFINITION
O “An imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and
of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with
each kind of artful ornament, the several kinds begin
found in separate parts of the play, in the form of action,
not of narration; through pity and fear effecting the
proper purgation of these and similar emotions.”
TRAGEDY
O The purpose of a tragedy is to engender
catharsis in the audience by their
experience of emotions for the major
character and his/her situation and errors.
O Thus, by viewing the play, the audience is
purged of these negative emotions.
O Catharsis= “the purging of the emotions or
relieving of emotional tensions, especially
through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or
music” (“catharsis” dictionary.com)
TRAGEDY
 Serious action
 Tragic Hero-Hero must be great but human
 Dramatic but in poetic language
 Use of:
 images
 symbols
 stock characters
 irony,
 archetypes
STUDY OF TRAGEDY
O Look for characteristics of tragedy
O Consider elements and the definition of
tragedy
O Think about staging the play. (separate power
point overview)
O Apply what you know about drama,
tragedies, and comedies
Tragic Hero
What is it?
QUICK WRITE
O “A man cannot become a hero until he can
see the root of his own downfall.”
-Aristotle
What does this mean?
Do you agree with it?
Tragic Hero- definition
O A tragic hero is the main character in a
tragedy who makes an error in his or her
actions that leads to his or her downfall (a
catastrophe).
CHARACTERISTICS OF A
TRAGIC HERO
O Great person, extraordinary, usually noble
O
O
O
O
O
birth
Mythic significance
Fate of state
Fall is result of a flaw (tragic flaw) or
misunderstanding or underestimation
Encounter with failure allows hero to display
greatness
Fall results in reversal of fortune
Characteristics
O The hero is sometimes led to his downfall due to a tragic
O
O
O
O
flaw (often “hubris”- excessive pride.)
The hero usually (but not always) struggles with an
antagonist (enemy-real or abstract) with whom he fights
to the death for what he believes in.
The hero discovers his fate by 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
horror in the reader/audience.
continued
O The hero is physically or spiritually wounded
by his experiences, often (but not always)
resulting in his death.
O The hero is often a king or leader of men, so
that his people experience his fall with him.
This could also include a leader of a family.
O The hero is faced with a serious decision.
O Through the development of the plot, a
hero's mistakes, rather than his
quintessential goodness or evil, lead to his
tragic downfall.
TRAGIC FLAWS
O 7 Deadly sins-
O BRAINSTORM
O Pride (hubris)
O Specific examples of
O Envy
the 7 deadly sins
O Additional examples
of “flaws”
O How could a Super
Hero be a “tragic
hero”?
O Gluttony
O Lust
O Anger
O Sloth
O Greed
Anakin Skywalker from “Star
Wars: Clone Wars”
O The whole time we're watching Star
Wars: Clone Wars in theaters and on
television, we know that Anakin
Skywalker is destined for a horrendous
end. “Skywalker” exemplifies the basic
definition: the person who has everything,
and then loses it all.
And…
O Jeff Brundle in The Fly
O Madmax in the film Madmax
O Wolverine in X Men
O William Wallace in Braveheart
BRAINSTORM
O As many tragic heroes as you can
identify
O Literature
O Movies
O TV Shows
O Real Life