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Tragic Hero Essay

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Tragic Hero Essay
To be a tragic hero, the heroes must be inherently good people who have good intentions. In addition to their changes in fortune, tragic heroes must, in the end, recognize their own responsibility for their behavior and accept their fate with dignity. In Sophocles, Antigone there are two types of tragic heroes a traditional tragic hero and a sophoclean tragic hero. Traditional Greek tragic heroes have four main qualities: Arete, a type of excellence, Hubris, an excessive degree of pride, Ate, imprudence of blind recklessness and Nemesis, disastrous retribution. A Sophoclean hero is one who is rigid and whose courageous loyalty to a particular principle invites a disastrous fate. Antigone presents both types of greek heroes in one dramatic situation, which is that Creon is the traditional Greek tragic hero, and Antigone is the sophoclean tragic hero. Creon-king/uncle of antigone
- traditional tragic hero
-antagonist

Isthmenin-antigone sister
-alter ego
-antigones foil

antigone-protagonist
- doppelganger to isthmeni
-sophoclean tragic hero

dianisus- tragic drama;
-celebrate every time reborn during spring

tiricius- blind prophet

haemon- son/ creons foil
-antigone fiance

polynecisi and atiaclies- 2 brothers atilicley-- polynecis- left unburied -antigone buries him

chorus- voice of people/ deliver lyric odes

3 themes- 1st depiction of western literature individual v.s. state
2n role in society
3rd family relations and responsibilities

traditional tragic hero personality- arete excellence hubris- tragic flaw ate- blind nemesis sophoclean tragic her- rigid unbending stiff unbending

allusion- reference from a well known place thing to a sake for comparison

catastrophe- final tragic event in a tragedy

FOIL- character opposite qualities of protagonist which highlight their qualities
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