A tragic hero or heroine is a character that possesses a tragic flaw or makes an error in judgment that in some way leads to his or her downfall. This literary archetype is thought to have first been suggested by Aristotle in Poetics circa 335 BC. He termed the tragic flaw "hamartia."

There are plenty of examples of tragic heroes and heroines in literature since the time of Aristotle.

Antigone, the titular character of Sophocles's play is led to her death by her stubbornness and perhaps misplaced loyalty to her brother, Polyneices.

Macbeth's inability to moderate his ambition in Shakespeare's 1606 tragedy leads him to the fatal mistake of regicide as well as a handful of other murders, and he pays for his errors with his life.

In Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible, John Proctor's fatal flaw is his capacity for independent thinking in a society that demands conformity and obedience to authority. His faulty judgment is his impulsive decision to become intimate with Abigail Williams and his underestimation of her fixation on him when he decides to end the affair. He, too, pays with his life.

A tragic hero is a major character in a situation who, usually through no fault of his own, has to "pass through a series of misfortunes leading to the final catastrophe." The hero has all the qualities of any hero, which may include character traits opening him/her up to the circumstances leading to his/her downfall. Often, however, the disastrous outcome is the result of natural or human events beyond the control of the hero or anyone else.

An example of a tragic hero could be Prince Hamlet. He is a strong character with a very strong and clear sense of duty which he is unable to fulfill due to circumstances beyond his control. His insanity is only one complicating factor in the overall story.