• He must be a person of some stature or high position such as a king, general, or nobleman.
  • He must be a good person. He must matter to us and we must see him as a worthwhile person.
  • Because of his position, his actions usually have far-reaching effects.
  • He must possess a character trait or quality which under normal circumstances would be a virtue, but under the special circumstances of the play proves to be a fatal flaw (hamartia- the tragic flaw that leads to his downfall).
  • He usually makes further errors in judgment following his misdeed.
  • Often he has a distorted perception of or is blind to, reality.
  • He suffers both outwardly (isolation, alienation, attacks) and inwardly (tortured conscience).
  • He must elicit both pity and fear from the audience (catharsis).
  • Usually, he recognizes his mistakes in the end.
  • He must die
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Dave
Dave
6 years ago

The character which i think fits all these traits is Macbeth; he has his tragic flaw of ambition, suffers both outwardly with his whole country turning against him, and inwardly with his tortured conscience – ‘o ful of scorpions is my mind’

isabella
isabella
Reply to  Dave
3 years ago

Macbeth doesn’t die

Valarie T.
Valarie T.
Reply to  isabella
3 years ago

Yes, he does; Macduff decapitates him at the end of the play.

Meen Homil
Meen Homil
7 years ago

Could you give some character examples and each of their flaws?

Thomas
Thomas
7 years ago

A tragic hero from Shakespeare would be Julius ceaser

Stefan
Stefan
Reply to  Thomas
7 years ago

II would disagree. I would say Brutus is the Tragic hero, not Caesar. Remember the tragic hero is the main character and he dies at the end, not in the middle. Also, something that wasn’t mentioned is that often the Tragic hero, at least in Shakespeare, takes his own life at the very end.

T. Busela
T. Busela
Reply to  Thomas
5 years ago

Brutus is more fittingg

Maham
Maham
4 months ago

Othello, the main character of play Othello by William Shakespeare can be considered a true tragic hero. As he confirms to all qualities of traflgic hero as well as having the tragic flaw which ultimately leads to his downfall.