A tragic hero is a character who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice and depravity, but by some error or frailty This is a quote by Aristotle. This quote means a tragic hero isnt well known for being fair, but isnt brought down by being bad and unfair, they are brought down by their own flaws. This is true because some tragic heros arent fair at all but dont get punished for it. They get punished by their own flaws. Two examples of these tragic heroess come from Antigone by Sophocles, and also The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
A tragic hero from Antigone is Creon. Creon is very stubborn. Creon says it will be illegal to bury Polynices. Antigone, Polynices sister, buries him. Creon, the king, punishes Antigone because what Polynices did was not right and he didnt deserve to be buried. Antigone was confined to a tomb, in this tomb, she took her own life. Haimon, Creons son, didnt like this because he was Antigones Cousin and fiance. Haimon killed himself. Eurydice, Creons wife, heard how it was Creons fault that their son is dead, so she killed herself. Now Creon is all alone. He ended up like this because of his stubborn attitude. He was to stubborn to bury Polynices, and it caused this chain of events, proving he is a tragic hero.
Another tragic hero is Julius Caesar from The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar is a tragic hero because he is stubborn, and thinks he is untouchable because he is so popular. Brutus, Juliuss close friend, was talked into stopping Julius Caesar from gaining absolute power. Cassius, the man who convinced Brutus to stop Caesar, was gathering more conspirators so they could assassinate Caesar. Julius Caesars wife gave him a warning about some bad happening, and so did the fortuneteller, and so did the people who sacrifice animals. Caesar didnt listen and went to the Capitol with Brutus and the conspirators. Julius was killed there. Julius Caesar was killed by not listening the warnings because he is stubborn and thinks he is too famous to be hurt. This proves he is a tragic hero.
Tragic heroes dont die just because they are good or bad, they die because of a flaw. In a lot of stories, tragic heroes die because of pride and stubbornness. In real life there are many people who die because of their flaws. So you could say we are all tragic heroes.
