We get to know a character through the relationship they have with others

Texts will often show the behavior of a character through interactions with other characters. This is an effective way to help an audience understand the true nature of that given character as it can help give subtle clues to who we’re going to follow. Relationships often show the layers of emotion that is present in that character along side the conflict that presents them as they make decisions. In William Shakespeare’s play ‘King Lear,’ the title character makes chaotic decisions that are driven through his relationship with his three daughters.

Every piece of literature we consume has one factor in common. Influence. Cohesive texts will have a theme that a reader or audience can make mental connections to other texts with. This may be through how this text makes us reflect on ourselves or perhaps the genre in which the text is presented. A tragic hero is an effective character archetype that helps someone engaging with a text relate to the thought presented. Tragic hero’s were originally formalized by Aristotle. He conceptualized this outline for characters that could classify them as tragic. The most accepted tragic heroes would be those who are once great but during their peak, their excessive pride and other fatal flaws leads to a downfall resulting in all their fortune being lost. A tragic hero must also face a fate that is greater than deserved, this is often death or another calamitous situation. The point of having a flawed character who’s demise is inevitable is so audiences can reflect on their own human nature. As humans we are imperfect by nature through these characters we can see ourselves and understand the fault that we contribute to humanity. This realization creates a cathartic experience which helps us deal with our emotional build. Four texts that exemplify the idea of a tragic hero are King Lear, Citizen Kane, Gladiator and Game of Thrones season one. They are all significantly connected through the use of a tragic hero character.

Shakespeare’s King Lear is one literature’s classic texts that wears it’s influences from Greek Poetics on it’s sleeve. The texts shows it’s Greek roots by using Aristotle’s model of a tragic hero on the protagonist ‘Lear.’ Throughout the play we follow the story of an aging King who we know as Lear. Lear makes an executive decision to divide his great kingdom between his three daughters. In an attempt to satisfy his ego he presents his children with a prompt where they must express who loves him the most. Cordelia is truly the most loving and loyal child however she refuses to feed her father the deceitful affection that her sisters present which results in her banishment. Shakespeare intentionally presents the reader with Lear’s hamartia early on so we can swiftly recognize his hamartia. Hamartia is an essential component of the tragic hero archetype because it leaves audiences to reflect on their human nature. We realize that we could be very true that we are just as vulnerable to deceit as Lear is. The tragic hero character is a reflection of ourselves. We contemplate if we are just as blind. Pride is actually a common trait and often it can be confronting for audiences to follow a character like Lear where his pride is so essential to his downfall. It seems that one day he’s on top but through his wrath, through his pride, all the fortune he once encompassed, “A most poor man, made tame to fortune’s blows who, by the art of known and feeling sorrows.” Lear loses everything and it’s only once he’s lost it he understands how he fell so far. At the end of the day, Lear just wants to feel like he’s loved. That’s why when Cordelia refuses to falsely express how much she actually love him, “I love my majesty according to my bond: no more, no less” it’s heartbreaking for Lear to hear. He may be too prideful to realize what true love is, but just like us, he wants to feel loved. That’s what a tragic hero makes us do, reflect. We empathize with Lear and when we realize how similar we are to him, it leads to a heavy cathartic experience.

Shakespeare isn’t the only literature figure to utilize the tragic hero outline. Classic cinema’s ‘Citizen Kane’ is a contemporary interpretation of this tragic blueprint. Orson Welles tells a compelling story that reflects how humans can be lead astray with greed and he critiques the “American Dream” that so many people had became fascinated with. Charles Kane can be connected to Lear through his character structure as both of them posses a hamartia which sends them down an unavoidable spiral resulting in their nemesis. For Kane, aside from his hubris has to battle greed as his greatest vice. He always wants more. Even when he’s successful, he wants more market share in the newspaper industry. Even when he has financial power he desires political status. Even when he has the perfect wife he needs a mistress to satisfy him. That’s why during his rise to the top, he cannot maintain it. His greed causes his downfall. It all crashes. Kane is not too different from Lear, their fatal flaw blinds both of them, “there’s only person who’s going to decide what I’m going to do and that’s me.” Kane is so confident in his abilities to succeed, there’s actually irony in the fact that his personality was a key driver to his success but and even bigger driver to his peripeteia. This is why the “tragedy genre” is such an effective structure to present Citizen Kane, an audience will reflect on how fragile of a characteristic pride really is. It helps put the world into perspective, “you know Mr Bernstein, if I had hadn’t been very rich, I might have been a really great man,” here Kane shows self awareness of his excessive pride which in turn, makes audiences think about how there’s so much more to just recognizing our flaws, if we want a different ending to Kane in our own story we have to act upon our faults. So when we see Kane break down we feel pity because we could see it coming for so long and fear because he’s not too different to us.

With tragedy being such a popular genre of literature it ranges and innovates constantly. It’s first popularization came from Greeks and as discussed in Citizen Kane it was adapted into American media. Another sub-genre to create their own brand of tragic hero are the Roman’s. In the year 2000, Ridley Scott made a cinematic adaptation of a roman tragedy. In the film Gladiator we view the tragic rise and fall of Maximus, a once respected general turned slave. His connection to tragedy is true yet unique in it’s own right. The plot that revolves around him shows a rise in fortune and then a sudden peripatetic which comes as a result of his hubris. Maximus is yet again, a protagonist that falls victim of his own excessive pride. When Maximus has lost everything, he actually begins to have a rise in fortune, “Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. Maximus is driven by this vengeance, he knows that he’s a powerful soldier and general, although this is indeed true, it doesn’t mean that he will succeed. At the beginning of the film he makes his crucial decision which causes this spiral to happen, he chooses to resist Commodus instead of join him. His pride outweighs his intelligence. As Maximus continues on his path to vengeance, his pride drives him more than anything, people around believe in him and he becomes delusional to the fact that he is only just one man. It appears that he believes that he can single-handedly take down the roman government. He lives by what Marcus Aurelius tells him, “Death smiles us all. All a man can do is smile back”, here such an enormous amount of pride is displayed and it makes his failure so inevitable. Maximus helps put the world into perspective through his tragic qualities, even someone as remarkable and honorable as him cannot take on the world, this same characteristic is shown in Citizen Kane, as he believes that he can do everything from business to politics to family but they both can’t juggle everything. Audiences feel a release understanding that we’re so insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. If even Maximus is destined for failure, what does that mean for us?

The final tragic hero that I believe to be connected to the texts presented before is Eddard Stark, who was the protagonist of season one of Game of Thrones. Eddard is obsessed with honor, it comes before anything else in his life. Although Eddard possess high moral qualities, he struggles to see beyond them. He believes that everyone acts upon the same moral high ground as he does. Eddard is offered a position as ‘hand of the king’ due to his strong moral compass, just like Maximus, his great morals and pride take him to a place of achievement. But the refusal to compromise these believes both bring them to their peripeteia. With this new position Eddard falls more victim to his pride, “I am the King’s Hand, I was keeping the peace,” honor has been consumed by pride. Eddard believes with his new found power he is just, no matter the situation. However through his pride, he cannot see past his honor, and he gets falsely accused and thrown in prison. Here he is given the chance to spare himself, he is told he can confess to treason and he will be pardoned, the only condition is that he must give up his pride. This is where Eddard differs from Maximus, he actually accepts this offer, ”  I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Hand of the King. I come before you to confess my treason, in the sight of Gods and men. I betrayed the faith of my King, and the trust of my friend, Robert.” The audience feels a sense of relief as Eddard has set aside his ego and can continue to live. That is until ten seconds later where his head is removed anyway. Catharsis here is so strong as our expectations from a tragic hero are completely subverted. We feel lost. Eddard seemed to have taken all the right step yet his fate is inevitable.

What makes literature so compelling is how we can view such a variety of texts that tell their own unique story, yet upon further inspection share many similarities. In King Lear, Citizen Kane and Game of Thrones, these texts consciously craft their protagonists to follow an outline that makes audiences reflect on themselves. We feels sorry, pity and fear when we understand why our heroes have fallen so far. We fear that we can relate to our protagonists so much. It’s scary to understand that we are not so different. That’s what a tragic hero does. Reflects our nature.

In the film, Gladiator we follow Maximus who is our protagonist. We follow him through his journey from General of an army, to a slave that is treated worse than an animal to his own demise. We begin following Maximus as he leads the Roman army as they storm all the barbarians. This battle is the inciting incident and it helps the audience to become hooked into the action of the movie while simultaneously helping us to understand Maximus as a character. It’s here where we learn him to be a generally ‘good’ character, however because this is a tragedy he is not without flaw. Hubris. This is Maximus’ hamartia, it’s what causes his peripatetic, his reversal of fortune. It’s this defining characteristic that leads to his demise. In medias res we see how how Maximus goes from being the general of an army, to a slave who is worth nothing and we begin to see him rise up again, almost to as great as he once was, then he has his anagnorisis, his recognition. Maximus realizes half way into the story that the empire is greater than him, the society itself is flawed and that no matter what he does, there is nothing he can do to save the day. This helps for a cathartic experience for an audience to indulge in. And that my friends is where we are left with mr gladiator.

In the film gladiator, the story begins in medias res, which means we are introduced to the plot in characters in the middle of the events. This is a deliberate choice made to enhance the effect of tragedy, now why does this have such a potent effect on the audience? Well if this technique is used effectively than we can understand Maximus as a character by how he is acting in this very scene, we don’t need hours of story to tell us that Maximus is honorable and mostly a good character, we can learn this by the way he treats his soldiers and the situation that he in. In the beginning of the film we see Maximus at his best. He is a general in the roman army, he is well liked and respected by his peers and he is considered a fierce warrior. Cinematic techniques reveal this, such as the use of close up camera shots, through out the beginning of the film. We first see Maximus as a brooding figure, he is taking his situation very seriously, as an audience it is very easy to understand the emotions our protagonist. We are given a visual cue when Maximus is sad or upset and that teaches us that he is an empathetic good character.

Yes and no, it is true that Gladiator holds up to Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy. In this story line, we follow one singular plot thread that is explored through a multitude of characters, such as Maximus and Commodus. However, I would not consider this film to be plot driven, the events that occur in this film could only occur because of the characters themselves.

Q: The most important characters are those who challenge us

“I am a man more sinned against than sinning” King Lear wails at his only loyal servant. He’s lost it all, how could a man who had it all, lose it all so swiftly? This is how us, the reader are challenged whilst reading William Shakespeare’s famous tragic play, ‘King Lear.’ Here we see how a role model person such as a king can slip up after being so wrathful, prideful and blind to the truth. This is particularity challenging for an Elizabethan audience because the King is the ‘be end, end all’ power outside of god. It’s confronting to see a figure that you have believed to be so powerful your whole life, all of a sudden be extremely flawed and manipulated. It’s important to be challenged bu a character because it’s a mirror into our reality, it helps us reflect on how society and humans tend to act. King Lear displays this.

The important thing to consider when considering how an Elizabethan audience would interpret a Shakespeare play is what the common beliefs were at the time. Many followed Protestantism which means they heavily reflected and believed in the religious themes within the play. The great chain being seems unimportant to a modern day audience however the immediate breaking of the chain would have been shocking for an Elizabethan audience as it goes against everything they know. To them, no one shall be greater than the king so when Lear falls down the chain to the same level as plant, it’s really crazy.

People of the time also had very sexist beliefs, it was okay to hit your wife, they were all house maids and the female characters were all acted by males because females couldn’t have a role in society outside of the traditional wife life. This sexism would have influenced the way they interpreted the performance. When they see a female character doing something empowering or outside what they were expected than it was uncomfortable, confronting and off-putting. From a modern day audience’s perspective, our thoughts on Lear turn negative rather soon into the play and even though we know the Goneril and Regan are bad, we don’t see their actions of locking Lear out of the castle as unjustified, however for the Elizabethan audience would think that this is foul play on their behalf.

The reason why a lot of the acting was very script heavy with every line explaining in detail what a character was doing is because the production didn’t have advanced technology or even a large budget. So lighting would have been regular room lighting, actors had to speak loudly as theaters could be rather large and there would be plenty of people talking in the audience.

The reason why Lear is true to the ‘tragic hero’ trope is because he fulfills all of the five characteristics. His error of judgement is his inability to judge sincerity within his daughters when he divides his land. This is his hamartia, he would rather be lied to if it meant feeding his ego. His intentions when splitting up his land are good intentions however his error of judgement gets the better of him which has a snowball effect leading to his characters fall. His hamartia leads directly into his peripetia.

His reversal of fortune is when he is kicked out of his castle and is forced to survive in the wild. Here we see how all of actions have lead to him being banished from his own kingdom, then time after another we see him break and reconnect with the world, only to break again. He used to rule England, now we see him completely naked. He was once at the top of the great chain of being, now he’s completely fallen off and is at the bottom, his flower crown symbolises how he percieves himself as less valuable than plant life (which is at the very bottom of the great chain). He’s gone from riches to rags, a complete reversal of fortune.

Lear’s recognition, that helps him fit the tragic hero role, occurs right as Cordelia has died. His most treasured and lovely daughter has fallen at the expense of his own actions and now those actions are confronting him directly. It’s not until he’s lost everything that’s truly important to him, that he can realise how much it meant to him. It is truly painful to see what he has done to Cordelia.
Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:
Had I your tongues and eyes, I’ld use them so
That heaven’s vault should crack. She’s gone for ever! He say’s howl because he is howling in pain at his grief over his lost daughter.

An example of Lear’s hamartia is also his hubris, which is his excessive pride. This is quite a defining fatal flaw

If presented in an effective manner, thought is a very effective devise for an audience to understand. An idea can impact an audience through writing by making them strongly reflect on what that idea really means in a real world context. The idea can takes us out of our comfort zone and makes us reflect on a certain issue that we may have never considered, or even show a prevalent social context from a different perspective. This is all over modern day media/entertainment as we as a society are finding it more relevant to talk about issues. During Elizabethan times, talking about society’s faults wouldn’t have been common so seeing a play where themes hit you so hard and are so relevant would have been really impactful.

Shakespeare’s take on human nature is that there is no one who can surpass flaw, not even royalty. Lear is a king and with that, we wouldn’t be stupid to think that he is rather exemplary, however the further we get into the play, the more his flaws are revealed. He see how prideful and wrathful he is with his actions and how human he really is. An Elizabethan audience would traditionally believe royalty to be perfect humans, incapable of flaw. Shakespeare is able to reveal the flaw that every human is capable of.

Justice is another theme discussed in King Lear, the character that experiences the greatest level of injustice would be Cordelia. She is honest, faithful and is although, expresses it the least, actually loves her father the most. Her honesty is what gets her banished and as a flow on from that, killed. This is an interesting thought to provoke in an audience as we can think critically as to how this theme applies in our real world. In our world there are countless of examples of people get wrongly accused for things they didn’t do, or a just treated wrongly through vice of the society we’ve created. I personally believe injustice to one of the most cathartic thought device in literature. When I think of times where a text has made me upset, it can comeback to the theme of injustice. For example, The Green Mile is a movie that is very well known for its sad ending. What makes it so sad is how we see how gentle and kind that John is, however he is predetermined to be killed because its his word as a negro, against a white persons word. This is injustice at its purist and as an audience, it can feel like a dagger through the chest seeing this. King Lear is absolutely the same. As Lear walks out with Cordelia, dead in his arms, it is harrowing, we know she didn’t deserve this fate. She was and only had good intentions and we as an audience feel the pain of the injustice that has occurred. Feeling that pain makes it easier to reflect on our real world.

“Nothing shall come of nothing” is a quote that bears a heavy theme that is constantly visited and revisited in King Lear. The quote is ironic in a way, because as the play progresses we learn that everything comes of nothing. What this means is that there can be dire consequences for doing nothing in a situation.

An important example of when diction is used in King Lear is when characters switch from verse to prose. Since diction is the choice of words and phrases in speech and writing, so when characters are switching between the two types of speech it feels fairly obvious and this has a strong purpose within the play, lemme explain. When speech is done in verse, it shows nobility, that’s why we see it most often in Shakespeare as most of the characters are of high power and are considered superior to the average citizen of the time. So prose was very infrequent in the play, however we do see it and that’s during when characters begin their downfall. The most obvious example is with Lear himself, during the exposition and rising action we see him talk exclusively in verse, however it’s when he exits to the storm, we begin to see his mental deterioration, as he continues to ‘fall from grace,’ the more he begins to enter prose speaking.

King Lear is the most obvious character who switches between verse and prose. Here is an interaction between Lear and Gloucester, where Lear is originally talking in prose however later changes his speech to be more verse.

What, art mad? A man may see how this world goes
with no eyes. Look with thine ears: see how yond
justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark, in
thine ear: change places; and, handy-dandy, which
is the justice, which is the thief? Thou hast seen
a farmer’s dog bark at a beggar?

GLOUCESTER

Ay, sir.

KING LEAR

And the creature run from the cur? There thou
mightst behold the great image of authority: a
dog’s obeyed in office.
Thou rascal beadle, hold thy bloody hand!
Why dost thou lash that whore? Strip thine own back;
Thou hotly lust’st to use her in that kind
For which thou whipp’st her. The usurer hangs the cozener.

I chose this extract because it occurs after Lear has re-entered civilization. Before this moment, Lear had been in the wilderness and was loosing his sanity and it was as if he had forgotten who he was or how he was supposed to act. So once he begins to interact with Gloucester he is able to quickly snap back into sanity. Lear battles with his sanity and Shakespeare uses diction to display this. For an Elizabethan Audience, this improper speaking would be very noticeable, particularity when for so long, all the characters have spoken in verse.