Aristotle's Poetics is considered the first work of literary criticism in our tradition. ... Aristotle also points out terms such as catharsis, which can be said that is the purification of one's soul. ... In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a numberof characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. ... All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according ...

• Word Count: 1309
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Aristotle's Poetics is considered the first work of literary criticism in our tradition. ... Aristotle also points out terms such as catharsis, which can be said that is the purification of one's soul. ... In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a numberof characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. ... All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according ...

• Word Count: 1311
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Many critics regard "King Lear" as the greatest, and most tragic, of William Shakespeare's plays; indeed, some claim that it is the most tragic play ever written. ... This characterization seems to preclude viewing Lear on the Aristotelian model of a tragic hero, as someone raised above the ordinary level of humanity, except in the most conventional sense of his social status. ... In concrete terms, critics generally do not view Lear as caught between genuinely conflicting loyalties, his political and his personal obligations; on the contrary, in their reading of the play, Lear would simp...

• Word Count: 8939
• Approx Pages: 36
• Grade Level: High School