Marcus Brutus is of noble standing which adds to his appeal as a tragic hero. At one point Cassius says "'Brutus' and 'Caesar.' What is so special about the name 'Caesar'........... yours sounds as good." ( ) This indicates that Brutus is held in the same esteem as Julius Caesar. Most tragic heroes are of high standing because they are easily recognizable.
His comedy is so great that he is able to transcend normal societal rules; Elizabethan England was an incredibly hierarchal society in which absolute respect ought to be shown to those in power, and yet although he is a servant, the Fool’s humorous nature seems to exempt him from the expectation of respectfulness. The Fool is not present after Act 3, and his absence removes the comic relief of the play and plunges it into more serious,
Aeschylus (Greek tragic dramatist, 525BC-456BC) said, “For this is tyranny’s disease, to trust no friends”. This is exactly what Julius Caesar should have done; not trusted his friends. In Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, it is often debated who deserves the role of the tragic hero is this tragedy. Caesar’s tragic flaws do lead to his death, but Brutus is the obvious tragic hero. Although Brutus has the characteristics of a great man such as; nobility, idealism and honesty, what makes him the tragic hero of Julius Caesar is his unassuming sincerity and trust.
What do other characters, besides Othello think of him? Othello was one of William Shakespeare's greatest plays ever written, and arguably one of the greatest stories ever told. While having many parallels to Romeo and Juliet, another of Shakespeare's great writings, they couldn't be further apart in terms of characters. One character in particular , Iago who is the antagonist of the story plays a very important , sinister role in the lives of Othello and Desdemona. Iago who many people perceived to be an honest man when it couldn't be further from the truth and in Othello's cased it proved to be a deadly mistake for trusting him.
Oedipus Rex as an Example of Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Liberty University Engl102-B21 LUO “Oedipus the King”, or “Oedipus Rex” is a good example of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle in his work “The Poetics”. Sophocles meets the three basic rules for creating a character that is no better than anyone else, falls into misfortune and comes from nobility or money. Oedipus Rex as an Example of Aristotle’s Tragic Hero The tragic hero as defined by Aristotle should be “neither distinguished for excellence and virtue.” (Aristotle, 1968) In other words he is just a man, as any other, who is not distinguished or pitiful. The tragic hero should be common and recognizable to all who see the play. The tragic hero has to fall in misfortune “but not though vise or baseness but through either a blunder or flaw in character.” (Mullens, 1938) The hero cannot be one who is of good fortune and falls into misfortune or one who is evil falling into good fortune.
Last of all, the tragic hero must redeem himself despite his flaw and eventually create sympathy for the character. Macbeth is presented at the start of the play as a noble man, one full of all the good qualities a man could desire - bravery, strength, loyalty, manliness and health. In Act 1 Scene 2, Macbeth is talked of as a heroic warrior that "brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution". Many other characters in the play also see Macbeth as a honourable man, with the King acknowledging this with comments such as "O valiant cousin, worthy Gentleman". Indeed, if Macbeth did not display these characteristics, then the title of Thane of Cawdor would not have been bestowed upon him in the first place.
Of course MAAN follows Shakespeare’s traditional comedy structure but modern critics have their own agenda that a comedy, being such a complex genre, should conform to. Since the time of the ancient Greeks critics have struggled to define it, Plato described it as a series of events you would ‘blush to practice yourself’. Susan Snyder who writes for the Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Company, states that - ‘Comedy involves men of middling estate, its perils are small scale, its outcomes peaceful’. This is an excellent summary for the majority of Shakespeare’s plays; however it is not necessarily accurate in relation to MAAN. It is true to say that a comedy involves ‘men of a middling estate’, in MAAN the protagonists share the company of the Prince Don Pedro, and are socially superior to the watchmen such as Dogberry and Verges.
How is Othello Portrayed in Act Two – Noble or a Credulous Fool? Tragedy may be defined as a serious play in which the protagonist passes through stages of misfortune leading to a final catastrophic demise. A measure of the success of a tragic hero is unmitigated catharsis perhaps because it is a genre which holds a mirror to what is desired by society. In the play ‘Othello’ (1603), the tragic hero consists of Aristotelian qualities. Othello is in many ways is presented in Act Two as noble hero, but at the same time he can be foolish.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is one of those underserving individuals that somehow has gained admiration and applause in the world’s society. No doubt, Odysseus has heroic traits, but instead he uses them for selfish gain; ultimately causing him to prevail as a negative role model. He possesses overwhelming charisma and wit, which woven with outstanding hubris, transforms his character from a possible great Ithacan king and veteran into nothing more than an unadmirable figure of a man. Some of the most memorable and questioned escapades in the Odyssey are Odysseus’ romantic endeavors. Indisputably, these rendezvous are a result of Odysseus’ unparalleled charisma.
Nobility in the Play: Julius Caesar rough In the play, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare develops the general topic of nobility into the concept of True Nobility VS False Nobility. The concept of True Nobility VS False Nobility is the differentiating between earned-nobility and inherited-nobility. Earned-nobility is the selfless respect held by others for one's self due to their previous actions and deeds, while inherited-nobility is the selfish sense of superiority held by one's self, given to them by their status as the rich and powerful. Shakespeare comments on how True Nobility can not be disputed while False Nobility seldom holds basis to the claim of actual nobility. In this play, Shakespeare contrasts between the True and False noble qualities found in the characters in the play.