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Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher and scientist, in his book Poetics, Chapter XIII, defined the element of the ideal tragic situation and the tragic hero. He states, "This is the sort of person who is not outstanding in moral excellence or justice; on the other hand, the change to bad fortune which he undergoes is not due to any moral defect or depravity, but to an error of some kind. He is one of those people who are held in great esteem and enjoygreat good fortune, like Oedipus, Thyestes, and distinguished men from that kind of family."

By mentioning "error" Aristotle meant "hamartia," the flaw in character that results from ignorance or an error of judgment that leads the hero to his downfall. This hamartia or error of judgment is considered as a genuine tragic situation by the Greeks. It is an impulsive act which does not include malice elements. According to Aristotle tragic hero is a good man but not extra ordinary in virtue. The ideas that he gives in his Poetics are,

(i) Hero must have a flaw or error of judgment.

(ii) There must be a reversal of fortune because of the hero's error of judgment.

(iii) A discovery that would say the reversal has been brought because of the hero's own act

or fault.

(iv) The hero must have extreme pride or hubris.

(v) The hero will suffer more that he deserves.

(vi) The hero bears no responsibility for his fatal flaw. He must be doomed from the very beginning.

(vii) He/she is a person who is noble in nature but not perfect that is why the audience see heir own reflection on the hero.

(viii) He/ she discover their fate by themselves through their actions.

(ix) The story of the tragic hero raises pity and fear.

(x) The hero gets wounded physically and spiritually because of the experience he/she

gathers which results them to their death.

(xi) The hero learns from his mistakes because of his intelligence.

(xii) His weakness is his pride.

(xiii) He must face a very serious decision.

The Aristotelian tragic hero dies a tragic death. He falls from a high position by making a mistake and the hero accepts the death courageously.

King Oedipus is a play which involves member of same family. It contains a best kind of hamartia or fatal flaw; it includes anagnorisis or critical discovery and peripetia or the reversal of the plot. Sophocles arranged the action of the play by blending with pity and fear. He made the hero a good man acts honestly. The dramatic movement comes when Oedipus realizes that, in spite of all attempts and being cautious to prevent the Delphic Oracles prediction, he has killed his father and married to his mother with whom he has children and this has happened because of the curse of the God Apollo which was impossible to overcome.

On the Contrary, in Shakespearean tragic drama of 16th century which comes much later, the hero and his actions are inextricable. Shakespeare emphacized more on the characters than the plot which is the indication ofslightly breaking away the traditional Greek form of tragedy because following the Aristotelian model Shakespeare took the forms into one step further. He included the idea of hamartia and presented it as Aristotle suggested in Poetics.

During the Renaissance time period, the meaning of hamartia which is associated with the tragic hero has gone under a drastic change. This is mainly because of the interpretation of the Italian scholars. As Renaissance period represents rejection of the classical period, the critics were first to translate Poetics. They have translated the hamartia as "a weakness of characters" instead of fatal flaw or going wrong. They insisted to include tragic hamartia as the part of characters. Therefore, it became popular and acceptable by the people of that time, considering it the characterization of the post-classical tragic hero.

The main difference of the classical and post classical schools of thought is the influence of religion especially Christianity. "The Greeks were pagans who believed in instant retributive measures. The renaissance men are influenced by the tenets of the Christian religion". As a result, they believed in sin and intuitive corruption. Moreover, the inclusion of fate was necessary in Classical dramas whereas, Christianity replaces the belief on fate with nemesis or providence. For example, there is a belief in Christianity that god has sent different intercession to prevent men from evil. The idea of punishment is for those who do not show guilt or repentance for their crime. This way the literary tradition changed from the classical time and transformed into Christian religious belief. The story remains the same. It talks about a downfall of a prince or of a man fell from a high position but he is responsible for his action. He is no longer the pawn in the hands of gods and goddesses. He makes his own choice from his knowledge.

In the modern time during the 20th century tragedy came out with a new form keeping the classical concept in mind but the writers of modern era portrayed tragic hero as a man who is not a prince or a high born. He does not fall from his position. He does not need catharsis to bring the story to a close. He is an ordinary man living in present society dealing with the problems generally people face in their daily lives. For example; Willy Loman in Death aof a Salesman is a salesman who has hopes and dreams of a better life.

The modern day tragic hero may have aspirations and ambitions but he does not need to die with an epiphany or sufferings. His story can close without his death and without his realization. For him the belief in religion and fate is not as important as they were in classical times. The modern day tragedy focuses more on man and the inner conflict of the human mind rather than focusing on god or any other super natural being.