The definition of tragedy in the Oxford dictionary is, "drama of
             elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident,
             calamity." However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean
             Tragedy is more expressive. Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but
             in fact, it refers to a series of steps which leads to the downfall of the
             tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death. Lear, the main character in
             King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the play meets all the
             requirements of a tragedy. In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic
             hero, he must be in a high status on the social chain and the hero also
             possesses a tragic flaw which initiates the tragedy. The fall of the hero is
             not felt by him alone but creates a chain reaction which affects everyone
             around him. Besides, the hero must experience suffering and calamity slowly
             which would contrast his happier times. The suffering and calamity
             instantaneously caused chaos in his life and eventually leads to his death.
             Finally, the sense of fear and pity to the tragic hero must appear in the play
             as well. This makes men scared of blindness to truths which prevents them from
             knowing when fortune or something else would happen on them.
             Lear, the king of England would be the tragic hero because he held the
             highest position in the social chain at the very beginning of the play. His
             social position gave him pride as he remarked himself as "Jupiter" and "Apollo".
             Lear out of pride and anger has banished Cordelia and Kent and divided his
             Kingdom in halves to Goneril and Regan. Lear's hamartia which is his
             obstinate pride and anger overrides his judgment, thus, prevents him to see the
             true faces of people. As in Act One, although Cordelia said "nothing", she
             really means everything she loves to his father. However, Lear only believed
             in the beautiful words said by Regan and ...