I. Antigone
A. "Sophocles." Dictionary Of World Biography: The Ancient World (Sienkewicz) Sophocles was born about 496 B.C. in Colonus, a suburb just outside Athens, Greece. He was born into a wealthy family and was well educated in poetry, music, and dancing. His family status and his education prepared him to play important roles in the Athenian society. At the age of fifteen, he was selected to lead the boys’ chorus, in a public celebration of Athen’s unexpected victory over the Persians. Along with this achievement, Sophocles held many leadership roles in government. He was a treasurer in the Delian League of the Athenian Empire, he was elected to serve as a general during the rebellion of Samos and was a priest of Halon that helped introduce the worship of Asclepius, the god of healing. Sophocles greatest achievement is his continuing popularity as a dramatist. Sophocles wrote the tragedy “Antigone” along with more than 120 plays, but only seven complete tragedies have survived over time. He also …show more content…
Tragic Flaw in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Devi) Even though tragedies had been written before Shakespeare, it was Shakespeare’s distinctive features that took the stories one step further. Shakespeare’s tragedies focus on the hero’s tragic flaw, the hamartia, that lead them to his or her downfall. This resource helped me to understand some of the characteristics of a tragic hero to better analyze the character, Hamlet. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes were not ordinary men, but men of nobility and greatness. They are typically a good person with good morals under normal circumstances but end up making errors in judgement. The tragic hero struggles with their conscience and themselves.They also must provoke both pity and fear from the audience (catharsis). Unfortunately, in the end, they must die. This is the tragic hero’s fault because of his actions and misjudgements but is not always