In tragedy people must make difficult choices and face serious consequences, but they do not always meet with death. Aristotle distinguishes between tragedy which depicts people of high or noble character, and comedy which imitates those of low or base character. Renaissance critics read this passage to mean tragic characters must always be kings or princes, while comedy is peopled with the working or servant classes, but Aristotle was not talking about social or political distinctions. For him character is determined not by birth but by moral choice. A noble person is one who chooses to act nobly.
Ordinary humanity belongs on the sidelines in tragedy, represented by the Greek chorus.
The tragic protagonist is always larger than life, a person of action whose decisions determine the fate of others and seem to shake the world itself. The hero of tragedy is not perfect, however. To witness a completely virtuous person fall from fortune to disaster would provoke moral outrage at such an injustice. Likewise, the downfall of a villainous person is seen as appropriate punishment and does not arouse pity or fear. Much confusion exists over this crucial term.