Aristotle and the Tragic Hero

Aristotle and the Tragic Hero

The traditional hero stresses courage and nobility as essential traits of heroism. He lived by a code of honor and valued certain things as more important than others, so that he is willing to take risks and endure hardships for their sake. He is often a leader and protector of a community. The fact that the hero not only performs great deeds but performs them out of worthy principles renders his deed even more admirable. On the other hand, the Greek tragic hero is best defined by Aristotle with his theory of tragedy in Poetics. He claims,

“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody” (Golden,Chapter 6).

The traditional hero, in essence, is a character that is cherished and applauded while the tragic hero serves as a model of a hero who undergoes some revelation but experiences a change in fortune which ultimately lead to his/her downfall. Aristotle’s view on tragedy is a direct reflection of society’s view of the hero. Why was it important to have tragic heroes? Through Aristolte’s insightful knowledge and understanding of this character we can learn a lot about the Greek society and their relationship with heroes. Aristotle was such a highly respected man that his awareness of the tragic hero was a common guide used by the majority of the Greek society. Therefore, his interpretations soon began to influence the people of his time and his definitions are still prominent to this day.

Who is the tragic hero? Aristotle distinguished common characteristics found in the tragic hero. He believed moral choice determined character, not birth. Tragic characters are those who take life seriously and seek worthwhile goals, while comic characters are "good-for-nothings" who waste their lives in trivial pursuits (Else 77). The tragic protagonist is always a person of whose decisions determine their own fate as well as those of others. He must hold an important position, must be doomed from the start, but bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw, must be imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in him, must have discovered his fate by his own actions, not by things happening to him. He must understand his downfall and his story should arouse fear and empathy through his physical or spiritual wounds. Most importantly, he must possess hamartia or a “tragic flaw”.

Whether Aristotle regards the “flaw” as intellectual or moral has been hotly discussed. It may cover both senses. The hero must not deserve his misfortune, but he must cause it by making a fatal mistake, an error of judgement, which may well involve some imperfection of character but not such as to make us regard him as “morally responsible” for the disasters although they are nevertheless the consequences of the flaw in him, and his wrong decision at a crisis is the inevitable outcome of his character (Poetics, 6).

This inevitable outcome, which Aristotle highlights, is best portrayed in The Iliad. Achilles was the ideal symbol of a glorious warrior and he achieved this level of greatness by choosing the way of the sword rather than an uneventful life at home. He also mentioned that all men, whether brave or cowardly, meet the same death in the end. Achilles was motivated to become the mightiest man in the Achaen Army. He truly possessed the unquenchable thirst for glory. Achilles was provoked to achieve prominence