medea as tragic hero

             According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is either an aristocrat or someone of royalty that cannot be evil. The hero has a flaw that causes a mistake in his judgement and leads to the downfall of himself or those around him. Also, the character must recognize his guilt. The Greek play Medea is the tale of a sorceress, Medea, and a fleet commander, Jason, and the conflicts that arise among them. Medea abandons her home and flees to Corinth after foolishly falling in love with Jason. There, two sons are born to them. Jason and Medea remain happy until Jason finds a new love, the King of Corinth's daughter. Filled with rage and overcome with jealousy, her two flaws, Medea sends her rival a poisoned robe, her mistake. Because she fears the king will attempt to avenge the death of his daughter by harming her sons, Medea kills them. By realizing that she will feel the lifelong agony of her sons' deaths, Medea is the tragic hero.
             The first requirement of being a tragic hero is the character must be either noble or royal. As the daughter of Aeetes, King of Colchis, Medea is royal. However, because she kills her brother and deceives her father, they exile Medea from her home of Colchis. But because Medea is a "sorceress," she possesses magical powers. Therefore, Medea qualifies for being aristocratic or royal.
             A second characteristic of a tragic hero is he or she cannot be evil. It may seem Medea is evil because she is a "sorceress," but she has a conscience. In act two when Medea says "O women, I cannot do it! . . . Farewell to all my plans! ," she shows that she is considering allowing her children to live. Although Medea kills her sons in the end, having a conscience shows she is not evil.
             Jealousy and rage are Medea's flaws. When she discovers Jason's new marriage, she becomes furious. Her first reaction is to kill the princess, which is her mistake. After killing the princess, she fears someone will har
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
medea as tragic hero. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 12:29, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/73224.html