What quality should a tragic hero possess according to Aristotle?

What quality should a tragic hero possess according to Aristotle?

• A. Basically good, admirable, and noble
• B. Purely evil
• C. A comic fool
• D. A mundane bystander

Answer: (A)

Aristotle wants the tragic hero to be a person of high status who is basically good and admirable. This makes the audience invest in the character and feel sorrow when the downfall comes, because it isn’t deserved as a pure villainy but results from a human flaw or an error in judgment (hamartia). The drama then deepens through the hero’s reversal of fortune and a moment of recognition, which heightens the moral and emotional impact. If the character were purely evil, we wouldn’t feel the same pity or fear; if they were a comic fool, the work would veer into comedy; if they were a mundane bystander, there would be little to trigger a tragic arc. So the best fit is a noble, essentially virtuous figure who errs.

Aristotle wants the tragic hero to be a person of high status who is basically good and admirable. This makes the audience invest in the character and feel sorrow when the downfall comes, because it isn’t deserved as a pure villainy but results from a human flaw or an error in judgment (hamartia). The drama then deepens through the hero’s reversal of fortune and a moment of recognition, which heightens the moral and emotional impact. If the character were purely evil, we wouldn’t feel the same pity or fear; if they were a comic fool, the work would veer into comedy; if they were a mundane bystander, there would be little to trigger a tragic arc. So the best fit is a noble, essentially virtuous figure who errs.