Grecian literature was rich in play and tragic heroes. The chief regulations for specifying the existent tragic hero were summarized and aggressively distinguished by Aristotle ; he worked out six of import features for the true tragic hero: tragic flaw. hubris. anagnorisis. peripetia. Nemesis and katharsis ; tragic flaw – a serious error. which is the chief ground of ruin of the hero. this error is frequently made because of hubris – utmost pride. after the ruin the hero learns a lesson or makes a find – this is defined by the impression anagnorisis. reversal of luck is called peripetia. Nemesis – means some fortunes. which the hero could non avoid. practically his destiny. Aristotle. 13 ) .
The last one – katharsis – denotes the feeling of fright and commiseration experienced by the audience ; in shuting this should be a individual who is “between these extremes. . . a individual who is neither perfect in virtuousness and justness. nor one who falls into bad luck through frailty and corruption. but instead. one who succumbs through some miscalculation” ( Aristotle. 18 ) . Guided by the above-named instructions we are traveling to analyse two celebrated dramas: Sophocles’s Oedipus the male monarch and Shakespeare’s Othello. viz. their chief heroes. Both Oedipus and Othello are tragic heroes.
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They both show marks of hubris. yet they have admirable qualities that have raised them to the place they have. In fact. their very strengths are besides their failings. Most critics consider Oedipus the perfect illustration of tragic hero. Indeed if to measure the correspondence of Oedipus to the features of Aristotle he meets all the parametric quantities. His aristocracy is out of inquiry. as he was born in a royal household. although raised by adoptive parents. who were besides the King and Queen of Corinth. and eventually. when he managed to work out the conundrum of Sphinx. he got the rule over the metropolis.
Shakespeare’s Othello is besides a tragic hero and besides corresponds to the Aristotle’s features. Othello. every bit good as Oedipus. had to come through pride. fatal error and suicide. Othello is a baronial adult male and an outstanding military leader. But in world his illustriousness was combined with his failing: on the one manus he was courageous and intelligent. on the other manus he was slightly inactive and fell under the influence and allowed Iago manipulate him.
Oedipus’s hubris could be seen in his desire to turn out to his metropolis that he was able to work out the enigma and salvage the citizens from the pestilence. Besides he was instead self -assured. which can be confirmed by his ain words in the gap lines of the prologue. when he states “Here I am myself–you all know me. the universe knows my celebrity: I am Oedipus. ” ( Sophocles. 11 ) . Oedipus had every ground to believe that he was a outstanding personality and he wanted to back up his high position for his subsidiaries. in this manner his strength out of the blue for him turned into his weak side.
Hamartia of Oedipus is really of import and sophisticated. His tragic flows rooted from his deficiency of cognition about his true individuality. but he could non be responsible for his flow as he was non able to alter anything with his actions. In fact. Oedipus didn’t make any errors. he suffered the effects of person else’s old error in the yesteryear. Actually the peripetea is closely related to tragic flaw of Oedipus. as the bad luck followed the hero from his really birth.
Othello’s tragic flaw or ruin. when she killed his darling married woman. was the consequence of his hubris – he was so much afraid that his pride could be hurt in instance of Desdemona’s infidelity that he didn’t even halt to believe whether all the Iago’s statements were right or non – “Thy honestness and love doth mince this matter… My friend. thy hubby. honest. honest Iago” ( Shakespeare. 8 ) . Furthermore he preferred to swear Iago alternatively of listening to his married woman.
In this instance such virtuousness as trust turned out to hold a destructing force for the hero. In contrast to Oedipus Othello could avoid his tragic flow. if merely his reaction to the words of Iago were different. Catharsis of the audience is characterized by really profound emotions and feelings of sympathy towards Oedipus. when he alternatively of perpetrating self-destruction. take awful anguishs for himself. When Oedipus realized what had happened to him in world. he said: “Oh. oh. so everything has come out true.
Light. I shall non look on you Again. I have been born where I should non be born. I have been married where I should non get married. I have killed whom I should non kill ; now all is clear” ( Sophocles. 32 ) . Bing blind he belonged neither to this word nor to the other word. therefore his agony was non finished even at the terminal of the drama. No uncertainty. that the audience experienced sympathy and commiseration for Othello after his slaying. The realisation of his atrocious title hurt Othello profoundly. but as distinguishable from Oedipus he chose self-destruction.
Overall. both heroes – Othello and Oedipus – could be referred to as classical illustrations of Aristotle’s tragic hero. They are both really strong and outstanding personalities. baronial and just ; after acquiring their high places they nevertheless developed such characteristics as stubbornness. confidence. power. Both of them took incorrect determinations and became the victims of their fatal errors. which eventually transformed their strengths into their weak points and led to tragic finals.
