Discuss the main characteristics of Aristotle's concept of a tragic hero.
Or Explain the concept of Hamarita.
After speaking about characters in a tragedy in general, Aristotle gives the concept of the ideal tragic hero. He gives various qualities of the ideal tragic hero which may be summarised as follows :
( 1 ) Not an utter villain:
The first quality of the tragic hero is that he should not be an utter villain. This is because the fall of such a person will not arouse feelings of pity and fear which is the main function of tragedy. The fall of such a person is felt to be well deserved.
It will be considered under the requirements of ' justice '. But this is not true to be an Elizabethan tragedy. It has proved that the villains if given the necessary skill and art, can become the tragic heroes. Macbeth can serve as an example of this fact.
( 2 ) Not a saintly or perfectly good man:
Aristotle is of the view that even a perfectly good or saintly man is not suitable to come to hero of a tragedy. This is because his fall shocks and repels as he is on the moral order. His martyrdom is a spiritual victory.
The sense of his moral triumph draws the feeling of pity for the suffering of the character. Similarly, saints are unselfish and prove to be passive and not active. But drama requires a militant and combative hero. Yet in the modern age show and T. S. Eliot have achieved outstanding success with saints as their tragic heroes.
( 3 ) An intermediate person:
The ideal tragic hero neither be too good nor can be too bad. He should be, on the other hand, an intermediate sort of person. The ideal tragic hero is the man who stands midway between the two extremes.
( 4 ) Hamartia:
The tragic hero has a fault in him which brings his misfortune. The fault is called ' Hamartia ' in Greek. The root meaning of the word is missing the mark. He falls not because of the act of some outside agency or vice but because of a miscalculation on his part A. C. Bradley wrongly calls, ' hamartia ' a tragic flaw it is not a moral failing. To Aristotle, it is some error of judgement. Butcher and By water agree with Aristotle.
( 5 ) Eminence:
Another qualification of the ideal. A tragic hero is that he must be a man of experience. He should be a man of reputation and prosperity. He must occupy a position of lofty eminence in society. This is because the Greek tragedy was written about royal families.
Aristotle based his views on Greek drama with which he was familiar. However, modern drama has proved that even a low person can be a tragic hero as well as a prince of royal blood. Hamlet and Lear of Shakespeare are royal personages. But the heroes of Shaw or Galsworthy in our age are very simple persons and yet are successful tragic heroes.
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