Which of these three is the most tragic character ...

[YankeyMCC]

When I think of the classic tragic character these are the three that I think of. To be sure there are more, Ahab comes to mind, but these three stand out in my mind.

Hamlet - it seems to me it is mainly due to the kind of man Hamlet is, his temperament and decision making capacity (or lack there of) that creates the bulk of the tragedy of his life.

Oedipus - Was he the first literary tragic figure? I don't know but certainly one of the earliest yet the source of his woes seem more external, out of his control. Perhaps at the end he could've exercised better judgment and in that becomes more like Hamlet but I think he was set on the road to tragedy by events out of his control in contrast, although Hamlet had a tragedy in his life (the murder of his father) it wasn't exactly a unique tragic event and did not have to lead were it did.

Turin - Here's the most blended of the two types I think. Much of his woes were out of his control, but like in Hamlet's case he certainly should've been able to fare better if he wasn't so stuborn and prideful at key moments. Of course perhaps that was part of the point that when Morgoth puts a curse on you it touches the evil he wove through the creation of the world as Melkor and that in turn meant Turin was fated to be the way he was.

It's hard for me to choose. Should it be the character that did his best to avoid tragedy but ended up a tragic figure anyway (Oedipus)? Should it be the one who had the best chance, least stacked against him, to salvage a non-tragic existence but screwed it up anyway (Hamlet)? Or the character that just had no chance due to external forces and his own faults (Turin)?

I lean towards Hamlet because every time I read the story I wince at his choices and think - this doesn't have to happen and to me that is the foundation of literary (and perhaps real life) tragedy.

Though Turin is the story I most enjoy somehow and in a sense he too could've lived a better life or at least spared many around him and perhaps that's the worst of it, in Turin's case it isn't likely he could've escaped his basic fate but he brought so much doom on the people around him (of course so did Hamlet).

What say you all? And of course feel free to talk about other tragic characters.

[wildhorses]

1. stella du bois

joan of arc
jane grey
zelda fitzgerald

[YankeyMCC]

3. Thanks

I admit I tend to think in terms of my own gender when thinking about particular kinds of characters unless I'm specifically discussing female characters. So thanks for listing some good female examples.

[wildhorses]

8. oh and what about ophelia and let's not forget

romeo AND juliet

i dunno about most tragic but, tragic nonetheless

:hi:

[MiniMandaRuth]

2. This may not add anything,

but last year I played Horatio in Hamlet. I pushed my friend over during rehearsal when she wouldn't die fast enough.




(I pick Turin)

[YankeyMCC]

4. lol

would that be "method" acting. :)

[MiniMandaRuth]

5. Yes. Hamlet last year was filled with that.

Good times, good times.

[Shakespeare]

6. None of the above. Lear is always my choice.

He had to live with the consequences of his tragic actions, and I don't think there's any scene in any literature more heartbreaking that Lear holding his dead daughter Cordelia in his arms.

[doggyboy]

9. A good choice, and an unsurprising one

from a poster named Shakespeare

I'm guessin you know a thing or two about literature

[rug]

7. Othello.

He couldn't help himself.

[MilesColtrane]

10. It's got to be Oedipus.

Because no one wants to end up a blind, mother-boner.