Tragic Hero
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
2
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
3
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
4
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
5
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
6
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
• They symbolize the community or the family unit.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
7
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
• They symbolize the community or the family unit.
• The heros’ downfall is caused by their flaws (for example excessive pride).
• The heros fight to the death due to flawed belief system.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
8
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
• They symbolize the community or the family unit.
• The heros’ downfall is caused by their flaws (for example excessive pride).
• The heros fight to the death due to flawed belief system.
• Tragic heros understand they are doomed.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
9
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
• They symbolize the community or the family unit.
• The heros’ downfall is caused by their flaws (for example excessive pride).
• The heros fight to the death due to flawed belief system.
• Tragic heros understand they are doomed.
• The heros’ downfall should arouse pity and/or terror in the reader.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
10
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
• They symbolize the community or the family unit.
• The heros’ downfall is caused by their flaws (for example excessive pride).
• The heros fight to the death due to flawed belief system.
• Tragic heros understand they are doomed.
• The heros’ downfall should arouse pity and/or terror in the reader.
• They learn from their mistakes, but this fact cannot save them from their fate.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
11
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
Great. Good. Flaw. Downfall.
• Heroes are neither 100% good nor 100% evil.
• They are fated to cause grief to individuals or to the community.
• Driven and obsessed with past deeds or by fate.
• The hero is often a king or leader in the community, head of family.
• They symbolize the community or the family unit.
• The heros’ downfall is caused by their flaws (for example excessive pride).
• The heros fight to the death due to flawed belief system.
• Tragic heros understand they are doomed.
• The heros’ downfall should arouse pity and/or terror in the reader.
• They learn from their mistakes, but this fact cannot save them from their fate.
• There may be supernatural involvement.
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
12
King Lear as a Tragic Hero
In addition, Shakespeare includes:
• an apparent internal struggle is shown through a central figure’s soliloquy;
this moments allow a greater connection to the character, even if his or her
actions are opposed to the audience’s values
• often Shakespeare’s heros seek a stronger understanding of their world;
these characters are confused by sudden shifting of power or they develop a
misunderstanding of their fate
• the audience often feels a sense of waste; a tragic hero’s obsession over fate
or his/her attempts to affect history leaves only an atmosphere of misery
and lack of resolution
07.01.13 || English 2322: British Literature: Anglo-Saxon — Mid 18th Century || D. Glen Smith, instructor
13