Tragic Archetypes

Archetypes, the bases of stories that date back to the creation of literature, are absolutely everywhere, whether plainly stated or cleverly hidden. Sometimes they don't even make sense, but they are there, in every story, in every movie, in every song ever.

One of the oldest and most famous of the archetypes in literature is the tragic hero, the character who brings about their own downfall due to a single fatal mistake, caused by a fatal character flaw present in the hero, be it lust, vanity, anger, etc. I regret to say I'm not too familiar with many tragic heroes, but of the few of whom I have read, my favorite has to be Brutus from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. There is much controversy as to whom is the true tragic hero of Shakespeare's play, but my vote rests with Brutus. Brutus' fatal flaw was, if you can believe it, his love of Rome, which compelled him to join Cassius, who sought only power, and murder Caesar. This act was his tragic mistake, and the implications of Caesar's death was the death of all of the conspirators, Brutus included. Staying true to the tragic hero recipe, Brutus, shortly before his suicide, reaches a point of self-realization, regretting the murder of Caesar, and seeing it as his greatest mistake. Upon seeing the folly of his ways, he promptly threw himself upon a sword held by own of his own men. A tragically fitting end.