In each of William Shakespeare's plays there is a tragic hero, and every tragic hero has a tragic flaw. Two examples of this would occur in Hamlet and Macbeth. Both title characters possess the same characteristics of a tragic hero. What is tragedy? Aristotle defines tragedy: "A tragedy must not be the spectacle of a perfect and good man brought to adversity. For this reason it does nothing but supply us" (1). Not in every play where a hero dies is considered a tragedy. Furthermore, "Nor, of course, must it be that of a bad man who passes from adversity to prosperity: for this is not tragedy at all, but a perversion of tragedy and turned to the moral sense." Furthermore "Nor, once again, should it show the downfall of an absolute villain, pity is aroused by undeserved misfortunes, terror by the misfortunes that befall a man like us." "There remains, therefore, as the only suitable subject for tragedy, the spectacle of a man not absolutely or eminently good or wise, who is led to disaster not by mere depravity but by some error or frailty." “Finally, this man must be very renowned and prosperous – and Oedipus, a Thyestes, or some other illustrious person” (Quiller-Couch 1). “A tragedy, he tells us, is a work in which the main characters experience a change from good fortune to bad, and in a comedy, alternately, the change is from bad to good” (Fallon, Themes 210). Macbeth's tragedy occurs among friends, but Hamlet's tragedy occurs within the family. Every tragic comedy must have a tragic hero. A tragic hero doesn't need to be good; for example, Macbeth was an evil person, even though he was a tragic hero. This tragic hero, Aristotle tells us, should not be absolutely evil, since the death of such a figure, being only just, would involve moving the audience; should not be absolutely good, for his death would violate our concept of right and wrong, evoking not a sense of tragedy but a feeling of courage" (Fallon, Shakespeare 7). According to Aristotle, "The tragic hero...must be an important person in the community, a king, a queen, a prince, a famous warrior, a man or woman of substance and responsibility because that figure suffers a fall, and every fall is more moving if it happens from a great height" ( 6). Even a tragic hero does not have to die, but in all Shakespeare's works the hero dies, while in other tragic works he can live..