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This feature will lead to the characteristic and fact that, by doing
these mistakes or “flaws”, the tragic heroes are doomed from the
beginning and the audience and readers know the fate of these
characters is sealed. And for the tragic hero be just that, a tragic
hero or tragic character, this type of character has to be doomed
from the beginning of the play, but doesn’t hold any
responsibility for possessing his flaw or fault. This may be seen in
Faustus. From the beginning of the play, from the time that he
tells the audience and readers that he wants to acquire more
It could also be said that Oedipus and Hamlet are also prosperous
and renown. Oedipus is king of Thebes, which leads the readers
and audience to assume that he is fairly prosperous. The readers
and audience may also assume that he is renown, because the
citizens of Thebes come to Oedipus, when the city is attacked
with plague, in the prologue. Hamlet is a prince, which also may
lead us to suggest that he is fairly prosperous and successful.
A fourth feature and aspect involving the tragic hero is that this
character must support the plot of the story, which is similar to
many other protagonists. This may be easily seen with Faustus, in
Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. It is Faustus’ actions, which seem to
lead and direct the plot and the entire story of the play. This is
the same situation with Oedipus and Hamlet, in Oedipus Rex and
Hamlet. Both Oedipus and Hamlet are tragic heroes, who both
lead and guide the story and its plot. This may be also part of and
applied to the human life, as most of us make our own decisions
and lead and drive our own lives, much like Faustus, Oedipus,
and Hamlet guide the plays they are in.
This sense of realism in the tragic hero may introduce pity. This is
a crucial aspect to the tragedy genre. If the audience and the
readers pity or sympathizes with the main character, this may
lead to suggest that the audience and readers feel some form of
connection with the hero of the play. In order for this to occur,
the character must have some realistic features. This aspect of
the tragic hero of Doctor Faustus in relation to the audience and
readers may vary. There may be some who do pity Faustus, while
other may feel no pity for this character. The same can be said of
the characters Oedipus and Hamlet. Several people may feel
sympathy for these two characters, while others won’t
sympathize with these characters. This aspect and feature is part
of the human condition and adds to the realism of the character
and of the play. It is impossible to like or sympathize with
everyone.