King Lear: The Tragic Hero King Lear is the main character in Shakespeare’s tragic play that ends in epic betrayal and death. Some people would argue that King Lear causes everything to go wrong in this play and that he is the only one to blame for his tragic outcome. However, he is actually the tragic hero of the story. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a character of high status, but still imperfect, someone who plays a part in their own downfall, but receives more punishment than they deserve. He also says that the tragic hero’s death is not in vain, some lesson was learned before their end finally came. Thus, King Lear proves to be a tragic hero, as described by Aristotle, in practically every way. Though King Lear is a ruler and king, of high status, he is not a perfect man. King Lear is the King of Britain who has …show more content…
Not only is he a king of high status, but he is relatable because of his fatherly position and his human errors. He loves his three daughters, but still lets his anger and pride take over and cloud his better judgement. And though he plays a major role in the cause of his downfall, his punishment is more than is deserved. He did make the choice to follow his arrogance and divide his kingdom, but he did not deserve his daughters’ betrayal or mistreatment and he certainly did not deserve to lose his mind, watch his only loving daughter die, to then die himself. His punishments were far worse than anything he deserved. However, like all tragic heroes, his death was not in vain. Before dying, he recognized his pride and learned to humble himself. Not only that, but he also got to apologize to his youngest daughter for his treacherous crimes and got to experience real love for and from her. Thus, King Lear proved that a high and mighty king can make mistakes, suffer consequences, and learn life lessons, while also becoming a tragic