Amy Winehouse Tragic Hero Analysis

The Story of a Tragic Hero: Amy Winehouse Tragic heroes are not only exemplified in fictional stories, but also in the existent world. A tragic hero is a person who is destined for great success; however, their personal flaw tragically demolishes their heroic destiny. Three main theories of the tragic hero are the Aristotelian model, the Shakespearean model, and the modern tragic hero. Each model has five defining characteristics, which are nobility, hamartia, downfall, anagnorisis, and suffering. In the Shakespearean mode of tragedy, the play Romeo and Juliet best models the tragic hero. For instance, nobility is characterized by being upper class and having elevated character. Romeo satisfies both these criteria through his position as

An example of a real-life Shakespearean tragic hero is Amy Winehouse. For example, nobility has to do with being upper class and having elevated character. While born a common person, Winehouse worked her way up to achieving elevated status through her talents as an outstanding jazz, soul, and R&B singer. Furthermore, Winehouse’s hamartia, or, more specifically, her fatal flaw that conclusively leads to her death, prevails in her reckless behavior with drugs and alcohol, introduced by her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. The tragic hero also has a downfall, where her position is flipped and she gradually loses her influence. For Winehouse, her continued drug use caused her to attract media attention and lose many fans. After repeatedly arriving at her performances intoxicated, many fans lost interest in attending Winehouse’s concerts. In Shakespearean tragedy, the anagnorisis, or the change from ignorance to the recognition of hamartia, is not always realized by the tragic hero. Nevertheless, Winehouse recognizes the negative effects of her actions, but still prolongs her drug and alcohol use and abuse. Even though she attended rehab, Winehouse was never able to beat the addiction, and she continued using drugs. Lastly, the tragic hero endures death that is not only contained to herself, as Winehouse

Amy has always been encompassed in music, surrounded by uncles on her mother’s side that were jazz musicians, her father, a former singer, and her grandmother was once in a relationship with Ronnie Scott, a jazz musician. By the time Winehouse was 12, she was enrolled in the esteemed Sylvia Young Theatre School, where a fellow classmate passed along a tape of her singing to his music label, which eventually led to Winehouse getting signed to Island/Universal. That same year, “Winehouse was expelled for ‘not applying herself’ and piercing her nose”(Biography.com 1). Winehouse’s professional career began when she released her first album, “Frank”, in 2003. For this, “the album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize as well as two BRIT awards for Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Act. The debut single on the album, "Stronger Than Me," earned the new artist an Ivor Novello award. Frank also hit double platinum status” (Biography.com 1). Her management company was suggesting that she attend rehab, but she refused. Winehouse then abandoned that management company, and then wrote her next single, “Rehab”, for her album Back to Black, which she released in 2006. Subsequently, “Less than a month after her BRIT win, Back to Black made its American debut. It was an instant smash, hitting higher on the Billboard music charts than any other American debut by a British female recording artist in