Is Brutus the hero or villain of the play? To be precise, the question is not if Brutus was good or bad but rather is the place hero or villain better for him. It’s a mixed opinion but the majority of people will have to agree the Brutus is indeed the tragic hero of the play. Sure Mark Antony is the first obvious answer but Brutus has done things that even though might be unforgivable, if people were to closely examine his actions more carefully then indeed, Brutus is the hero of the play and this can be proven. Brutus is a loving character that over the play is well known by everybody and his love and caring trait is known through the following quote: “O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts; / and that which would appear offence in us, / his countenance, like richest alchemy, / will change to virtue and to worthiness.” (I, iii; 157-160) In this scene, Caska wants Brutus to be in the conspiracy as he complements him because Brutus was well known and definitely a great leader.
At the end of every tragic play, the audience must feel pity or remorse for the deceased hero. This is also known as catharsis, which means purging of emotions. However these negative emotions are washed away because the tragic hero's death is an example of the axiom of true Puritan values. John Proctor, a character in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, is a classic tragic hero because he contains all the elements of a tragic hero such as hamartia, peripeteia, catharsis, and despite not being born into nobility, he possesses many noble characteristics. In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, John Proctor's fatal flaw was his overwhelming hubris that made him eventually succumb to his death.
The hero must have a reversal of fortune brought by the hero’s tragic flaw although the downfall will not be a complete loss. Near the end of the play the hero will gain some sort of self-knowledge or have a sense of realisation in which the audience will somewhat feel satisfied. In order to have a tragedy, as Aristotle said, feeling Catharsis (feeling sympathy and making a link with the character) is also very important as this helps us cleanse our emotions through the ending. An example to demonstrate what Aristotle’s definition of a ‘tragic hero’ is Othello. In the beginning of the Othello, we feel an immediate connection with him as we distinguish that he is an honourable man and also very noble.
For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth was a king whose flaw was his vengeful nature, which led him to lose everything he had, including his life. In Julius Caesar, also written by William Shakespeare, the hero Brutus was a good man of high position whose flaw was being too trusting, and this led to his inevitable death as well. Nora, the protagonist in Ibsen's A Doll's House, does not fit into the role of a tragic hero. She didn’t have the “tragic flaw” the main characters of tragedies are supposed to have. The only real “flaw” that provided a weakness or limitation to her was the fact that she was born a woman.
Aristotle’s Criteria for Finding Nemo Aristotle’s criteria for a literary tragedy and Finding Nemo are a modern example that doesn’t agree with his definition. I’m going to see if the children classic Finding Nemo meets Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy. Aristotle’s definition for a tragic hero is a man who is noble, who makes a mistake (usually pride) who suffers and accepts his own downfall. The play “Oedipus” by doesn’t fit Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy because he doesn’t have a tragic flaw he has a virtue. His virtue is compassion because he loved his parent too much so he ran away from them.
The audience is caused to fear Othello's transformation into the ''green-eyed'' monster, then pity him when he claims his title in blood. The most significant flaw that Othello possesses is jealousy, however, he was not moved to it immediately. “She has deceived her father and may thee.” Iago says to him in Act 1, Scene 3. This was an attempt to convince Othello that Desdemona has or could commit adultery since she has already proved to be capable of going against her father's will with their marriage. However, Othello informs Iago that he is not a jealous man.
Othello: A Tragic Hero Othello is the epitome of a tragic hero. He starts out as a rather respectable and rational General, but was eventually consumed by jealousy and anger. A tragic hero must start out high in power and have tragic flaws that lead him to ultimately a tragedy. Othello’s tragic flaw is that he is easily manipulated, leading him to trust the wrong people. The play begins by showing the readers that Othello is a noble General.
Aristotle’s play “Oedipus the King” centers on King Oedipus, a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition. When defining the tragic hero, Aristotle lists several conditions including: the hero is of noble stature, the hero’s punishment isn’t completely his/her fault, and the hero usually becomes wiser after his/her fall occurs. The story of Oedipus would certainly satisfy all of these conditions. The most important condition however, is that the hero, while not always fully responsible for the misfortunes that befall him/her, usually have a character flaw that is partly responsible for their downfall. Aristotle refers to this as “hamartia,” which is translated to “tragic flaw.” This begs the question: What is Oedipus’s tragic flaw?
Tragic heroes are, generally, the main character of a tragedy. Tragic heroes often error in their own actions and judgments of others leading them to their ultimate downfall, which commonly ends in their own death. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as, “a man of noble stature. He is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him” (Aristotle). In order to be a tragic hero, the audience must be able to understand the character, and to feel pity and fear for him.
A tragedy is a story of a person’s demise brought on them by the specific flaws in their character. The “Tragedy of Othello” by William Shakespeare tells a story of deceit and revenge. Othello, the central figure of the play, is a man noble to his country and people. He is an amazing character, a tragic hero, who has befallen to undeserved misfortune and folly. While it may seem, that the tragedy of Othello was caused by the evil villain Iago, I believe that he was not the only one to blame.