Macbeth as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare ’s plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories‚ genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608‚ including Hamlet‚ King Lear‚ Othello‚ and Macbeth‚ considered some of the finest
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Is Hamlet’s distress understandable? Why does he fail to act until too late? Is his inaction due to a tragic flaw? Until relatively recently‚ critics tended to assume that the causes of tragic misfortune resided in some moral defect of the protagonist. Aristotle’s term hamartia (derived from “fault‚” “failure‚” guilt” but literally meaning to “miss the mark”) was often translated as “tragic flaw‚” leading critics to seek the chink in the hero’s armour (such as pride or ambition) which leads to
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Antigone: Not the Tragic Hero Sophocles‚ a great tragedian‚ was the one who gave Greek tragedies their traditional form. An important part of traditional Greek tragedies is the presence of a tragic hero. All tragic heroes should have the characteristics of rank‚ a tragic flaw‚ a downfall‚ and a recognition of mistakes. The seemingly tragic hero is Antigone. She wants to bury her brother Polyneices even though this would be going against Creon‚ who is her uncle and the king. When Antigone buries
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The Old Man and the Sea In the novel “The Old Man and the Sea” the main character‚ Santiago is a tragic hero with a tragic flaw. His hubris ultimately leads him to triumph for a few reasons. Santiago’s hubris helps him to develop into a passionate‚ optimistic and determined individual‚ this is what ultimately helps lead him to his triumph. Santiago was not only proud but he was also very passionate in fishing. This is evident in his statement‚ “I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does
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mad‚ or have a loved one taken away from him. However‚ one Greek hero existed whose story did not end with tragedy: Odysseus. Homer’s The Odyssey is unique among all other Greek myths in that it is the only story in which the hero does not meet a tragic end; why is this so? From his words to his actions and from his companions to the way he handles certain situations‚ Odysseus is vastly different from all other mythical Greek heroes‚ a uniquity which leads to his story’s eventual cheerful ending
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Booker T. Washington VS. WEB DuBois In the days when segregation was not uncommon‚ there were two men that played a huge part in the fight for equality in the United States. Booker T. Washington and WEB DuBois were great leaders‚ who supporterted civil rights‚ yet also disagreed on various issues related to reconstruction‚ poverty‚ racism‚ and discrimination. Both Washington and DuBois worked on reforming education as well as eliminating discrimination towards Blacks‚ but their strategies of
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"A Streetcar Named Desire works as a drama because of the conflicts between Stanley and Blanche." Discuss. The themes of A streetcar Named Desire are mainly built on conflict‚ the conflicts between men and women‚ the conflicts of race‚ class and attitude to life‚ and these are especially embodied in Stanley and Blanche. Even in Blanche’s own mind there are conflicts of truth and lies‚ reality and illusion‚ and by the end of the play‚ most of these conflicts have been resolved. At the beginning
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Introduction Death of a Salesman reveals the story of an American man confronting failure in a success-driven society and shows the tragic path which eventually leads to his suicide. Willy Loman believes in what he considers the promise of the American Dream wholeheartedly‚ which is based on the Declaration of Independence stated by Thomas Jefferson in 1776: "We believe that all men are born with these inalienable rights - life‚ liberty and the pursuit of happiness."(Malone‚ 28) However‚ Willy
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Hamlet The Tragic Hero The playwright William Shakespeare reveals a tragic hero in his greatest tragedy "Hamlet". This hero is the young prince Hamlet. He fulfills all of Aristotle’s requirements for a tragic hero. Three key events in the play demonstrate these requirements: First‚ when Hamlet does not murder Claudius at his first opportunity after being asked by his father’s ghost‚ Secondly‚ his confrontation with Ophelia regarding her returning his gifts‚ and lastly his reaction to Claudius’s
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Greek tragedy would not be complete with out a tragic hero. Sophocles wrote Antigone with a specific character in mind for this part. Based on Aristotle’s definition‚ Creon is the tragic hero of Antigone. Creon fits Aristotle’s tragic hero traits as a significant person who is faced with difficult decisions. Creon is significant because he is king. This makes him both renowned and prosperous. Creon is not completely good nor completely bad; he is somewhere in-between‚ as humans are. The audience
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