William Shakespeare 's King Lear

Shakespeare’s King Lear is a tragic about an aging King of Britain and his three daughters. When it comes time to divide his kingdom, he puts his daughters through a test to prove how much they love him. The two older daughters, Goneril and Regan, give King Lear flattering answers and therefore receive great amounts of finer land. The third and youngest daughter, Cordilia, says that she has no words to describe how much she loves her father. King Lear becomes enraged with Cordilia and disowns her and gives her no land. The rest of the play tells the story of how the two older daughters become corrupt and get greedy. King Leer is thrown out of his own house by his daughters and begins his

Shakespeare's play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a powerful example of a tragedy and it’s main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. Othello also matches Aristotle's ideas of tragic hero because our Othello realizes the error of his ways, causing us to feel sympathy for him. If we carefully examine the third scene in the third act, we can see how Othello fits into Aristotle's definition of tragic hero. This passage reveals how much Othello has deteriorated as far as his ability to reason

The tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and greatest tragedy, presents his genius as a playwright and includes many numbers of themes and literary techniques. In all tragedies, the main character, called a tragic hero, suffers and usually dies at the end. Prince Hamlet is a model example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Every tragedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero must own many good traits, but has a flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. If not for this tragic flaw, the hero would be able to survive at the end of the play. A tragic hero must have free will and also have the characteristics of being brave and noble. In addition, the audience must feel some sympathy for the tragic hero.

The idea of heroism is one often associated with virtue, courage and valour. Within Othello, Shakespeare questions the meaning behind heroism and admirability in the context of a Venetian society, in which the play is set. Through the tragic descent of Othello’s composure and his actions, the audience is left to wonder whether or not his virtue and presentation as an admirable general and hero, actually exists. Act 1 of the play presents Othello's decisions and behaviour as the epitome of virtue and valour, showing him as a high statured character - the definition of a tragic hero in Aristotelian methods, as it demands a character of greatness to suffer the greatest downfall. Although not necessarily presented as high born, he is deemed to

Throughout my study of “Othello”, I have learnt of the many aspects of Othello’s character. He is noble and strong, yet he has many insecurities and is recognised for trusting others too easily. This causes him to obtain the famous title of ‘tragic hero’. According to Greek philosopher Aristotle there are certain characteristics of a tragic hero. These include a noble birth, a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall, a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s tragic flaw, his actions results in an increase of self-awareness and the audience must feel pity or fear for the character.

For several centuries, tragedy is one of the many popular genres of literature. In every tragedy, there is a tragic hero who makes an error that leads to their own downfall. William Shakespeare is known to have written many tragedies, which includes Julius Caesar. Due to the many downfalls of numerous characters during the play, it consequently led to arguments about who the tragic hero is. Some critics argued that Julius Caesar, who the play is named after, is the tragic hero while others reason that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, through the analysis of two essays “Julius Caesar- A Tragic Hero” and Toby Le’s “The Tragic Hero of Julius Caesar”, it became evident that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero of the play because he demonstrates several characteristics: a tragic dilemma, tragic flaw, downfall, and an epiphany. Considering the main points explained in both of these essays, I am also persuaded that Brutus’s character best fits the standards of a tragic hero.

Characters within a Greek tragedy should follow a basic set of guidelines in order to fit the premise of Aristotle’s poetics. The characters presented to the viewer should “be consistent, good, likeable, and of high status and reputation, but do not need to perfect” (Connelly).

Macbeth, the tragic hero in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, suffers from the fatal flaws of insecurity and indecision, allowing him to easily be manipulated, which causes the audience to feel sympathetic toward him. After Macbeth has heard the prophecy from the three witches and he has been named thane of Cawdor, he is led to a strong internal conflict: “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair… / Shakes so my single state of man that function / is smother’d in surmise” (I.iii.144-151). Macbeth’s questioning of his goodness shows his insecurity, and because he questions it, he over thinks it, causing him to make critical errors. These choices arouse the audience’s pity and terror because pity is felt for the position he was seemingly forced into and terror is endured for the actions Macbeth might take. After many events have occurred, Macbeth returns to the witches to find out more about the prophecy, because he is insecure in his position: “Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? / But yet I’ll make assurance double sure. / And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live” (IV.i.88-90). Once again, Macbeth’s insecurity leads him to asking questions he shouldn’t be asking, questioning his choices, and depending on the witches, allowing them to easily manipulate him. Catharsis is evoked in the audience because they think about their personal lives and if anything in manipulating them, which connects them to the plot and causes an

A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

William Shakespeare presents us with a prominent example of a tragic hero in his play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Because they experience misfortune and loss, tragic heroes fall from a high status to a low, pitiful existence. This fall is brought about through mistakes and flaws in their own character. Brutus is one of the tragic heroes appearing in this work of literature. He begins as a popular senator in Rome’s democracy who plots to overthrow is superior. Because of the murder of Caesar he begins a journey to a downfall of his own creation. His poor judgment and mistakes, tragic loss of wife and home, and lack of reaching goals, lead to enlightenment and ultimately his tragic death.

William Shakespeare is famous for the tragic plays that he wrote throughout his lifetime. Students study some of his best known tragic works like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and King Lear. These tragic plays revolve around a character whose life is influential and heroic, known as the tragic hero. The tragic hero is always a noble member of a royal family, who possesses a tragic flaw which leads to his untimely death and the death of other characters around him, both innocent and guilty. Often times, the tragic hero is a character whose flaw is exaggerated, for as a man of great heroism, his vices must be equally great. Throughout the play, readers sympathize with the character recognizing their own weakness as the character himself realizes his flaw and tries to right all of the wrong that has been done. This is true

King Lear is frequently regarded as one of Shakespeare’s masterpieces, and its tragic scope touches almost all facets of the human condition: from the familial tensions between parents and children to the immoral desires of power, from the follies of pride to the false projections of glory. However, one theme rings true throughout the play, and that very theme is boundless suffering, accentuated by the gruesome depictions of suffering our protagonists experience . There is no natural (nor “poetic”) justice depicted in this pre-Judeo-Christian world Shakespeare presents, as the relatively virtuous individuals (Kent, Gloucester, and Cordelia) in this

As defined by Aristotle, A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. In the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet is the tragic hero. Prince Hamlet can even be considered a quintessential tragic hero due to how closely he relates to Aristotle’s definition. Initially he has noble motives which were to avenge his father’s death but by the end, his flaws and bad decisions lead him to his death. The fact that Prince Hamlet’s best trait is also his downfall makes him one of the most tragic heroes in Shakespeare’s work. In these ways and more, Prince Hamlet fulfills Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

The opportunity to view both productions of King Lear has appeared twice for me in the past two years. The first time I viewed Trevor Nunn’s 2009 production of King Lear my review would have been based solely on my ability to understand the dialogue and my appreciation of the acting of Ian McKellen. Two years later I have a better understanding of the actual play and while I still enjoy the 2009 production the 1982 production directed by Jonathan Miller presents the words of William Shakespeare in a more accurate and period specific manor.

     The play, “King Lear” by William Shakespeare, starts with noblemen Kent and Gloucester having a conversation and the audience finds out that Gloucester has two sons. Edgar who is his heir, and Edmund his unimportant son. This info. leads to the mini-plot. Then, Lear enters to say that he is going to end his life’s tasks and problems. He then points to the map, he tells the people there that he will split his land into three parts. They are going to be given to his three daughters. The two oldest, Goneril and Regan, tell their father that their love for him goes beyond expectations. The youngest one, Cordelia, tells him that she loves him, but only as she should love her father. He is then