Student Question

What characteristic does a tragic hero always possess?

Quick answer:

A tragic hero always possesses a flaw or mistake, often termed "hamartia," which leads to their downfall. According to Aristotle, this character is typically a person of high status who undergoes a fall from grace due to a mistake rather than inherent evil. The tragic hero is relatable, faces circumstances partly beyond their control, and experiences a moment of realization or "anagnorisis." Hubris, or excessive pride, is a common flaw in tragic heroes, exemplified by characters like Oedipus.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Arrellbell's answer to this question adheres closely to Aristotle's definition of the tragic hero from his Theory of Poetry and Fine Art (aka Poetics). 

In that treatise, Aristotle defines the tragic hero as being someone who participates in a relatively concise narrative (a drama as opposed to an epic) and who possesses a few essential traits.

This character must be someone the audience can sympathize with - so not a god or a scoundrel.

The tragic hero is "a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake" (Univ. of Ohio).

This character becomes the quintessential tragic hero when he or she is faced with a problem or conflict that has come about through circumstances that were not entirely under his or her control but which he or she may have...

Unlock
This Answer Now

Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.

Get 48 Hours Free Access

contributed to creating. Oedipus is the classic example of the tragic figure, butElectra makes for another fine example.

When Electra's father, King Agamemnon, is killed by her mother, Clytemnestra, a situation is created (parallel to the central scenario of Hamlet) where the King's murder demands justice and that justice is the murder of the Queen. Killing her mother is a moral sin in the Greek tradition, so Electra is beset by a conundrum. Justice can only be done by committing a deeply immoral act.

When Electra and her brother carry out their plan to kill their mother and thereby honor the King and enact justice, they also commit an unforgivable crime. In that action, Electra becomes a tragic hero. 

The realization of her guilt comes as something of a shock to Electra and represents her moment of realization. The hamartia (tragic flaw) of her character may be seen as bearing too great a love for justice, which leads her to the anagnorisis (Aristotle's term for recognition) that is also necessary for a tragedy. Realizing her guilt, Electra is fated to be punished though she only did what she felt she had to do according to the dictates of honor and justice.

So, if Antigone is relatable, beset by a problem outside of her own control, and through her story comes to realize where she went wrong and thus come to "recognize" a truth about herself, she is definitively a tragic figure. 

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

I would add hubris to the list.  It is possible hubris would fit under "the character has a personality trait that leads to his/her downfall."  Hubris is excessive pride.  Two examples include:

Oedipus - ignoring warnings not to travel by the oracle, oversteps his boundaries as a human

Daedalus - created wings for himself and his son, as they were flying, bystanders thought them to be gods because only gods have the ability to fly

Approved by eNotes Editorial