King Lear Research Paper

Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher who is highly revered as one of the most influential people to have ever lived. His works and contributions have even lived on to influence almost every field of human knowledge today. This ranges from the scientific method in science to dramatics in poetry, specifically involving literary theory. One of his most famous works, titled Poetics, is a study of dramatic Greek art. Using Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy from his work, Poetics, Lear from the Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear, can be shown as a tragic hero.

Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy portrays a hero or heroine as a flawed character that will succumb to an inevitable and tragic end due to their excessive pride. More specifically they

To be more specific his stature is from a royal bloodline, a king and his social standing stands above the rest of the characters. In the beginning he is an authoritative and powerful figure at the peak of his reign. He is presented to the audience as a magnificent ruler, being brought onto the stage with majestic fervor and zeal through ceremonial introductions and trumpet calls. Immediately, the audience is made aware that during his rule, Lear, proved himself to be beyond a competent ruler, adding prosperity and wellness throughout his regions of rule. This all proves that Lear retains his prospective position as a tragic hero by being a figure of high nobility whom is highly respected. However, as conventional Shakespearean tragedies goes, Aristotle states that the tragic hero in the play has a crucial, yet basic character defect that will set in motion his own

The plot in a tragedy is the driving force of the play, and in the case of King Lear it is heavily involved in understanding that Lear is a conventional Aristotelian tragic hero. The plot as a whole has a structure that comprises of a definite start, middle, and end. In these phases of a beginning, middle, and end, the five characteristics of a tragic hero will be shown in order to adequately show the tragic heroes change in fortune and misery. Since the goal of a tragic hero is to successfully invoke sympathy and pity through a change in the character of the tragic hero, he must be a person of which the audience can empathize and understand to where he can successfully arouse those specific emotions. In the tragedy King Lear plot is used successfully to invoke these emotions. From the beginning where Lear makes the fatal mistake, to his self-enlightenment, to his miserable end, the plot was successful in rationally presenting the 5 characteristics of an Aristotelian tragic hero to the audience in a way that is logical, subtle, and easy to understand. It is clear that Aristotle’s theory of the tragic hero from his work Poetics, is successful in defining Lear as a tragic hero. A story that allows the audience to learn a valuable lesson from the tragic hero in humility and the consequences of boundless