Chris Oedipus Tragic Hero's Dramatic Experiences

Abraham Lincoln once pronounced, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus tries to escape his fate by fleeing from his adopted parents in Corinth. Instead, he becomes responsible for triggering the destruction that leads to his eventual demise. A tragic hero is of noble birth characterized by a personality flaw and fated by the gods for doom (Santora). Oedipus is classified as a tragic hero by his tragic and heroic qualities, his responsibility for his fate, and his enlightenment.

Captivating heroes like Batman and Robin have become inspirational figures of modern day society that people love, but do they really dive into how tragic their lives really are? What happened to the truly emotional stories of tragedy rather than 15 minutes of non-important backstory? These heroes had done great things in their life, but fell gracefully from power due to selfish inhibitions and get remembered for how their mess up affected everyone else in the vicinity. Why can’t stories be as tragic as Sophocles’ Oedipus the King? He was a true tragic hero that saved his city and fell due to several flawed character traits. His drop from power came about because of his sense of hubris and ignorance to the presence of facts around him. People’s lives in the media should invoke more tragedy and suffering, making the character more relatable due to his flaws. While this doesn’t happen often, there are a few characters, like Duncan Dewey, that possess traits that make them tragic heroes.

"A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." -Aristotle No one wants to be a tragic hero. A great or virtuous character, but sadly they are destined for downfall because of their own judgement. Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

A true hero does not merely wear a cape, but this individual possesses admirable characteristics. A hero inspires the people around him and he is honorable. Heroes influential individuals from fairytale stories and myths of a real-life hero. Yet, none of these influential people are perfect. The tragic hero is clearly defined by Aristotle as being a person of admirable character, yet completely human with noticeable flaws. Moreover, this individual is not exempt from suffering. In Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus displays heroic characteristics as well as those which hinder him. “There remains then the man who occupies the mean between saintliness and depravity. He is not extraordinary in virtue and righteousness and yet does not fall into

Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King is Sophocles’s first play of “The Theban Cycle.” It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate, but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character.

King Oedipus, was a flawed leader with many issues due to his past which plagued his city and his life. To save his people and free himself, he needed to go back to the very beginning to learn the cause of this curse to correct the future. On this journey, new information was revealed to Oedipus about his life which he would try to repress each time he learned something new until he couldn’t hide it any longer by blinding himself; therefore, consumed by his knowledge. Hence, he confronted his destiny which predicted that he would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta (Sophocles, p. 34). A tragic hero would describe his upbringing. With unfortunate circumstances birthing his future, he fought the gruesome fight to the ignorant

The definition of a tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, defeat, or suffering. Oedipus is a perfect example of this. He is a leader whose flaws led him and everyone around him to horrible suffering. Oedipus’ denial and pride are the flaws in him that would eventually cause his downfall.

The ultimate tragic hero is presented in all its glory in the play “Oedipus the King.” Rather than being a typical tragic hero, “Oedipus,” has gone beyond the traditional into the unbelievable. “Oedipus” when we come to him in this play has already taken three noble positions. He was born the babe, and prince of one Royal Family, then discarded because of an oracle. This cast off prince, was then brought low to die, facing the flaw of naivety, which a babe only knows. A shepherd discovered him and took him to another royal couple, to which he became a prince once more. Later, as he became older another oracle was spoken of him and in his flaw of fear, he fled from the second royal family, becoming of no account once more. The purpose for this qualification. Following this, on the way he killed several men in ignorance, impulsiveness and anger. Later, when he would sit in his own father’s throne, sleeping with his mother, who bore children of this ungodly union, his tragic flaws would strike at his core and be brought lower than a man could ever or should ever know. Thus, the identification of “Oedipus” as a tragic hero is fulfilled and demonstrated three times over in this heartbreaking tale of woe.

Aristotle stated that “a man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall,” when describing a tragic hero. Throughout history, there have been many literary tragic heroes: Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Romeo from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and even Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Often times, when discussing tragic heroes, the Theban tragedy of Oedipus Rex and his family is brought up. The tragic hero, Oedipus Rex was the heir to the throne of Thebes who was prophecized to kill his father and marry his mother. Due to this, he was abandoned at birth by his birth parents and adopted. Believing this prophecy would cause him to kill his adoptive parents, Oedipus flees his

Tragedy is a broadly used literary term most often associated with various pieces of dramatic literature, both old and new, where the actions of the main protagonist cause a drastic catastrophe at the end of the story. Most commonly found within these tragedies are tragic heroes, a literary concept created by the famous philosopher, Aristotle. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character who inhabits a stature of power and nobility, but also experiences a downfall or change in fortune from happiness to misery because of some tragic flaw. Yet, the fate of the hero evokes an emotional purging or catharsis in pity and fear for readers because the tragic hero incarnates the qualities we value most like courage, generosity, and bravery.

The play Oedipus The king written by Sophocles, and it setting in Greek, Thebes. The Oedipus The King was a play that describe Oedipus' tragedy life and his unfair fate that already been told. In his whole life he try too hard to change the fortune and not hurt anyone. Oedipus was a character that fill with self-confidence, most of time in his life was fill in too much tragedy happen. Like been in need, leaving the hometown that he grew up, and accidentally killed his real father, and marry to his mother. After that, he realized everything that he did even destroyed the eyes to punish himself. For those tragedy issues happen on Oedipus how couldn't say he was a tragedy hero.

In the play Oedipus the King, Oedipus struggles to accept the truth and lets his temper over power him. He can be displayed as a tragic hero. His refusal to accept the truth led to Oedipus’ down fall. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, “is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.” Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

Sophocles is one of history’s most influential authors and playwrights as he is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His, along with contemporary playwrights’ work have been analysed to define and expound the fundamental qualities of a tragedy and tragic heroes. More importantly, these plays establish the criteria for tragic heroes, the paramount characteristics being that they must be pre-eminently good and virtuous, yet their downfall should be partially triggered by their own flaws. They must also seem human enough to elicit pity and fear in the audience. Sophocles’ most notable work, Oedipus the King, explores many influences such as fate, time and coincidence, along with the character’s hamartia and hubris to illustrate what a tragic hero is. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus is the embodiment of a tragic hero, and as his pitiful fate is slowly uncovered, it is enough to evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. This is demonstrated through fate working against Oedipus, his flaws and hamartia, and the realization of his ignominious actions which leads to a violent catharsis and peripeteia, all of which drive the audience to feel an amalgam of fear and pity for the tragic hero.

Oedipus The King, a play written by Sophocles, features Oedipus, a tragic hero incorporated in a tragic play. Oedipus, biological son of the king and queen of Thebes, is unknowingly adopted and raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope after his biological parents decide to abandon him due to a curse lashed upon the city of Thebes long ago. Nonetheless, Oedipus, like all other tragic heroes, is raised in nobility and lives in prosperous circumstances. However, it is not only his social status that classify him as a tragic hero but also his ideal traits in his individual personality. Sophocles first depicts Oedipus’ keenness when he is able to “solve the riddle by [his] wit alone” (27) of the Sphinxes and liberate Thebes

Knox, B. M. (1998). Hero. In Oedipus at Thebes: Sophocles' tragic hero and his time (1st ed., p. 4). New Haven, NY: Yale University Press.