Tragic Hero and the Concept of the Over-reacher

 

Tragic Hero and the Concept of the Over-reacher 

1. Tragic Hero

Definition (Aristotle – Poetics):

A tragic hero is a person of noble stature who falls from grace due to a tragic flaw (hamartia) and whose downfall evokes pity and fear (catharsis). The character’s journey includes anagnorisis (recognition) and peripeteia (reversal of fortune)

Key Features:

·         High birth / noble status

·         Hamartia (tragic flaw)

·         Hubris (excessive pride)

·         Peripeteia and anagnorisis

·         Catharsis for the audience

Examples:

·         Oedipus (Oedipus Rex) – flaw: ignorance of true identity

·         Macbeth – flaw: ambition

·         Hamlet – flaw: indecision

2. Over-reacher (Renaissance Tragic Hero)

Definition:
Coined from the Renaissance spirit of individualism and humanism, the overreacher is a character who aspires to go beyond human limitations — often seeking power, knowledge, or immortality, and ultimately faces damnation or destruction.

Key Features:

·         Excessive ambition

·         Defiance of divine/natural limits

·         Intellectual arrogance

·         Fall due to moral/spiritual transgression

Major Example:

·         Dr. Faustus (Christopher Marlowe):
Sells his soul to Lucifer in exchange for 24 years of magical power.

Others:

·         Tamburlaine (Marlowe)

·         Victor Frankenstein (Shelley)

UGC NET Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

PYQ 1: NTA UGC NET, 2012 (Paper II)

Q. The concept of catharsis is associated with which of the following theorists?
A) Longinus
B) Aristotle
C) Plato
D) Horace

Answer: ✅ B) Aristotle

PYQ 2: UGC NET, 2013 (Paper II)

Q. Who among the following is often described as a "Renaissance overreacher"?
A) Oedipus
B) Dr. Faustus
C) Hamlet
D) King Lear

Answer: ✅ B) Dr. Faustus

PYQ 3: UGC NET, 2015 (Paper II)

Q. Match the following characters with their tragic flaws:

Characters	Flaws
A. Macbeth	1. Indecision
B. Hamlet	2. Ambition
C. Oedipus	3. Ignorance
D. Faustus	4. Pride/Hubris

Correct Match:
A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4

Answer: ✅ Correct

PYQ 4: NTA UGC NET, 2018 (Paper II)

Q. “A character who is great but not perfect, whose downfall is partially his own fault and whose misfortune evokes pity and fear” refers to:
A) A Romantic hero
B) A Gothic hero
C) An Epic hero
D) A Tragic hero

Answer: ✅ D) A Tragic hero

PYQ 5: UGC NET, 2020 (Mock Test Sample)

Q. Who said: “The overreacher is one who goes beyond the limits set by God”?
A) Samuel Johnson
B) Harold Bloom
C) Christopher Marlowe
D) Irving Ribner

Answer: ✅ D) Irving Ribner
(Literary critic who described Faustus as the Renaissance overreacher)

PYQ Themes Noted for UGC NET Preparation:

·         Aristotle’s Poetics and tragic structure

·         Comparison between classical and Renaissance tragic heroes

·         Marlowe’s heroes as overreachers

·         Catharsis, Hamartia, Hubris

·         Faustus as a symbol of Renaissance ambition