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Essay Instructions: choose four questions from below and answer then in one page
this questions are related to "hamlet"by willam shakespear

--What is Hamlet’s tragic flaw? That is, what is it about his character that prevents him from doing the right thing and avenging his father as he’s been told to do?

--Claudius is, of course, a murderer and a bastard. But beyond that, how does he exhibit characteristics beyond just flat-out evil? Does he seem to have remorse for what he’s done?

--Why do you think Gertrude remarries so quickly—so fast that the funeral buffet doubles as the wedding feast, to paraphrase Hamlet?

--What SHOULD Hamlet have done? Killed Claudius, revealed his treachery, something else?

--Is Hamlet truly insane, or is he just acting? And why would he act that way, if he is acting?

--What is the purpose of the play-within-a-play?

--How does Hamlet relate to his mother? (Some scholars have argued that Hamlet exhibits signs of the Oedipus Complex—a jealousy of his “father” (Claudius) because he wants to be closer to his mother. I’m not really sure about that one, but it’s a possibility.)

--Pick out a couple of significant lines and describe how they relate to the overall theme of the play, or what their symbolic meaning might be.

Essay Instructions: MLA format line number is fine.


Here is the essay prompt: Aristotle considered the character of Oedipus fro Oedipus the King to be the perfect example of a tragic hero. Do you agree or disagree. Discuss the position using Aristotles definition.

traditional 5 paragraph essay addressing this.

Introduction to include a thesis.

Body 1
Body2
Body3

Conclusion.

Here is what I have worked on but I am not feeling it has enough concrete evidence. I have alot of commentary and feel I have been repetitive. I would like a writer to clean it up, and make better points. I need a good these statement that allows for creating 3 good solid paragraphs followed by a conclusion.


One of the greatest classics of all Western literature is Sophocles’s trilogy The Oedipus Plays. The second of these plays, the protagonist Oedipus the King, is described by Sophocles as a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the characteristics of a tragic hero are - must be an influential person, is far from perfect, makes an error in judgment due to his or her own arrogance, and must suffer the consequences of his or her own actions. Aristotle points out that Oedipus' tragic flaw is excessive pride (hubris) and self-righteousness. The best type of tragic hero, according to Aristotle, exists "between these extremes . . . a person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor one who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs through some miscalculation" (Golden ch. 13 - maybe this can be changed a bit to make a better thesis)

THESIS
Aristotle’s argument that Oedipus was the perfect tragic hero is sound because Oedipus is noble but imperfect, his downfall is the result of a tragic flaw but his punishment is greater than his failure, and his tragic end is elevated by his own learning and the resulting response of the audience.

I want to use the ideas of this information in my first paragraph. Can you take these ideas and build a paragraph.
Searching for the tragic flawin Oedipus' character usually points to his stubborn pride, and concludes that this trait leads directly to his downfall. However, several crucial events in the plot are not motivated by pride at all: (1) Oedipus leaves Corinth to protect the two people he believes to be his parents; (2) his choice of Thebes as a destination is merely coincidental and/or fated, but certainly not his fault; (3) his defeat of the Sphinx demonstrates wisdom rather than blind stubbornness. True, he kills Laius on the road, refusing to give way on a narrow pass, but the fact that this happens to be his father cannot be attributed to a flaw in his character. The central plot concerns Oedipus' desire as a responsible ruler to rid his city of the gods' curse and his unyielding search for the truth, actions which deserve our admiration rather than contempt as a moral flaw. Oedipus falls because of a complex set of factors, not from any single character trait.



Body 1
Describe what kind of person Oedipus is
The first two components of Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero fit Oedipus perfectly. First, Aristotle asserts that the tragic hero is a man of great character and nobility.
• Oedipus exhibits this kind of nobility and character throughout his ordeal. For instance, Oedipus seeks the truth even when the truth seems to point to his own guilt.
• When he hears Jocasta say that Laius was killed by a robber at the crossroads of three paths, Oedipus is reminded of a arrogant stranger he killed in just such a place after the man insulted him. Although it would have been acceptable for a noble man in Greek society to defend his personal honor by killing over an insult, it was never acceptable to kill one’s own father (Sophocles).
• Oedipus knows this but continues to pursue the truth because truth is an important part of nobility.
• The second aspect of Aristotle’s definition, that the tragic hero is imperfect, also fits Oedipus. He is also arrogant and a braggart after conquering the Sphinx, saving the people, and becoming king so quickly. Yet even at this early point in the story, when his arrogance is at its height because he does not know anything of his fate, he is already the tragic hero. He is tragic even at the beginning precisely because he is noble and overconfident but he will soon meet his tragic end due to the hand of fate.

Body 2 Heros own imperfections
Also according to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus’ downfall comes as a result of fate and his tragic flaw, but his punishment seems far worse than his crime. Aristotle stated that two other components of the definition of the tragic hero was that the hero’s downfall was at least in part due to the hero’s own imperfections and that the hero ensures more suffering than he deserves.
• Viewing his arrogance as his tragic flaw, one can see that this arrogance is the reason that he was willing to kill the stranger at the crossroads and that this act sealed his fate (Sophocles). At that point, he had already sealed his fate because he had killed his father.
• Later he will make matters worse by unwittingly marrying his mother. Nevertheless, the fact that he does not realize that he is killing his father or marrying his mother would seem to make him less culpable. In fact, it seems that Oedipus’ entire problem was beyond his control and was actually the fault of Fate itself.
• Being a person of natural noble character, Oedipus would never had killed his father or married his mother. Therefore, Fate caused the entire sequence of events to occur.


Body 3 accepting the consequence of your actions
Just as Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero indicates, the events of Oedipus’ life do teach him something and his story allows the audience to experience the cathartic release of watching the spectacle of his demise. In Oedipus’ case, Oedipus learns to stop questioning fate and accept his fate in obedience to the gods. Once he has learned the truth, he states:
And yet I know this much??"no disease
nor any other suffering can kill me??"
for I would never have been saved from death
unless I was to suffer a strange destiny.
But wherever my fate leads, just let it go (Sophocles 1723-1727).

Oedipus learns that he should not have been arrogant and overconfident in the face of Fate but should have accepted his lot in life from the start. Now he does realize that this was his destiny from the beginning, as evidenced by the fact that Fate set up the whole series of events from the first oracle to his parents to his final days. Now he does accept his Fate with humility and with the same nobility of character he had from the start.
His punishment, to lose his kingdom, his family, his lineage, and to wander blind and dependent on his daughter for the rest of his life, seems extreme to the modern audience. In this way, Aristotle makes the point that the plot of Oedipus’s story also reveals him as the perfect tragic hero.
Finally, the audience is encouraged to experience a catharsis of emotion from watching his demise when the chorus reminds the audience that no one can be called a happy and successful person until they are dead, because one never knows what Fate has in store for them (Sophocles 1812-1814).
Aristotle offers six points in his definition of the tragic hero. In the first four components, Aristotle states that the tragic hero is noble, imperfect, doomed by his imperfection, and punished more severely than he deserves. In the last two components, Aristotle explains the purpose of the tragic hero and his horrific story by indicating that the tragic hero learns from his downfall and that the audience gets the benefit of the cathartic emotional response to the story. Oedipus fits this definition perfectly because he is noble and imperfect in his arrogance in that Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a man who is heroic because of his arrogance and strength but also doomed by it. Also, Oedipus is certainly punished severely and he does learn from his demise. Finally, the Chorus directs the audience to learn from his experience and to derive some benefit and emotional release from it. All of this makes Oedipus the perfect tragic hero.

The following is additional information that maybe can be incorporated. I dont know right now I am just needing some help. I think these examples can be related to being a tragic hero some way.
Searching for the tragic flaw in a character often oversimplifies the complex issues of tragedy. For example, the critic predisposed to looking for the flaw in Oedipus' character usually points to his stubborn pride, and concludes that this trait leads directly to his downfall. However, several crucial events in the plot are not motivated by pride at all:
(1) Oedipus leaves Corinth to protect the two people he believes to be his parents;
(2) his choice of Thebes as a destination is merely coincidental and/or fated, but certainly not his fault;
(3) his defeat of the Sphinx demonstrates wisdom rather than blind stubbornness. True, he kills Laius on the road, refusing to give way on a narrow pass, but the fact that this happens to be his father cannot be attributed to a flaw in his character. The central plot concerns Oedipus' desire as a responsible ruler to rid his city of the gods' curse and his unyielding search for the truth, actions which deserve our admiration rather than contempt as a moral flaw. Oedipus falls because of a complex set of factors, not from any single character trait.

Essay Instructions: "Antigone"

Drama Analysis Essay
This paper is to be an analytical essay

Write an essay in which you argue your character Antigone as the tragic hero.
Refer to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.
The Tragic Hero as Defined by Aristotle
The Greek philosopher Aristotle presented his theory of drama in Poetics, written 350 B.C.E. Here is a summary of his basic ideas regarding the tragic hero. Keep these ideas in mind as we study the classical Greek tragedy Antigone. Then, as we move into modern dramas, consider how, if at all, Aristotle?s theory fits these works. Consider further the question, “Is modern tragedy really „tragedy? at all?”
Here?s what Aristotle says about the tragic hero:
1. The tragic hero is a character of noble stature. He/she has an aura of greatness that is readily evident in the play in how other characters regard him/her, as well as in how he/she conducts himself/herself. He/she must occupy a "high" status position such as king or queen but must ALSO embody nobility and virtue as part of his/her innate character.
2. Though the tragic hero is recognized as great, he/she is not perfect. Otherwise, the rest of us--mere mortals--would be unable to identify with the tragic hero. We should see in him or her someone who is relatively like us, although perhaps holding a higher position in society.
3. The hero's fall, or peripeteia (reversal of fortune) is inevitable. It is also at least partially the hero?s own fault. It is the result of the hero?s own free choice, not of accident or villainy or evil fate. In fact, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw. Remember, the hero is not perfect and does not always make the right choices. This error of judgment or character flaw is known as hamartia, which is usually translated as "tragic flaw." Often the character's hamartia involves hubris (which is defined as a sort of arrogant pride or over-confidence).
4. The hero's misfortune is not wholly deserved even though that misfortune was most likely caused, at least in part, by the hero?s own actions. However, the punishment greatly exceeds the crime.
5. The hero?s fall is not pure loss, however. As a result of the fall, the tragic hero recognizes significant truth about himself/herself and understands how his/her character flaw or error in judgment has led to these consequences. Thus, the tragic hero accepts responsibility for his/her role in the fall and grows in awareness and self-knowledge, even though he/she often dies in the end. Aristotle called this recognition anagnorisis.
6. Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the "unhealthy" emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis (which comes from watching the tragic hero's terrible fate) cleanse us of those emotions. It is worth remembering that Greek drama was not considered strictly "entertainment"; it had a communal function--to contribute to the good health of the community. Thus, dramatic performances were a part of religious festivals and community celebrations.
Literature for Compostion, Sylvan Barnet, William E. Cain, and William Burto Ninth Edition.
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Essay Instructions: 1. research paper over the play Hamlet.
2. The paper must contain a minimum of 5 scholarly sources.
3. The paper must be a minimum of 1250 words.
4. Your paper will attempt to answer "Is indecisiveness Hamlet's tragic flaw?"
5. Incorporate quotes from Hamlet as well as the scholarly sources found.