Tragic Hero
The name "tragic hero", which has become synonymous with Shakespearean dramas, was developed before Hamlet, Macbeth or any of Shakespeare’s well-known plays were written. ... Through his theory of catharsis, Aristotle debated that the great plays of Sophicles, Euripides, and other Greek playwrights contained tragic heroes similar to each other, which all portrayed four basic characteristics ("English Lit. ... These qualities were a tragic flaw, or harmartia, they all were from a noble class, with very human personalities, and they all face their tragedy with dignity. ... Probably the most important characteristic of a Shakespearean tragic hero is that one must posses a tragic flaw, because without the flaw, there would never be a downfall. ... While the tragic flaw is the key element in a tragedy, the tragic hero’s social status is also of high importance.