Downfall Of Oedipus The King

The Greek drama “Oedipus The King” evidently leads to the unveiling of a tragedy. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play uncovers his tragic birth story and the curse he had been baring his whole life. Oedipus is notorious for his personal insight that helped him defeat Sphinx, which lead him to becoming the king of Thebes. He is admired by the people of Thebes and is considered to be a mature, inelegant and a rational leader. From his birth, his story began with a prophecy that Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Through out the play numerous people, who tell him of his unknown past, visit Oedipus. Blind to the truth he casts them away until a blind man named Therisis gives a sight of truth to Oedipus. As Oedipus learns the truth he realizes the great evil his life carries. After finding his wife and also mother hung in her bedroom, Oedipus blinds himself with the gold pins that held Jocasta’s robe. Oedipus blind to the truth is finally able to see when the old blind man visits him and tells him the truth about his life. Both metaphorically and physically sight plays a significant role in understanding the irony of a blind man seeing the truth while Oedipus who isn’t blind doesn’t seem to the truth that’s right in front of him.

Oedipus’ stubbornness led to his downfall because he thought he was always correct and didn’t like listening to others. He was a static character because he was overconfident and refused to believe anyone’s opinion above his own . By not listening to anyone when the truth came out, he was hurt emotionally and physically. Oedipus was a man of power and wealth who suddenly falls.

Imagine you were told that you killed your own father, and married and had children with your mother; the thought of that is just sickening, but this catastrophe is exactly what happened to Oedipus in “Oedipus the King”. This Greek tragedy shows how unfavorable irony can be, and how it can lead to your own demise. Oedipus has one tragic flaw that leads to his ultimate downfall, and it is his reckless anger. His anger causes his downfall by leading him to kill his father, which leads to the other events that occur in the story. His anger also causes his downfall because it led to his prophecy to come true; the one that his parents wanted to avoid in the first place.

Oedipus’s bad temper lead to his downfall. He killed the King of Thebes who happened to be his father. Once he killed his father he went into Thebes and helped the people who lived there. He was determined to rid the plague that hindered those of Thebes. Oedipus promised to find the killer of the king and the killer would be exiled or killed.

Oedipus is one of the most famous tragic heroes in drama history. His bizarre fate leads him to a tragic defeat that leaves the audience and reader feeling emotionally overwhelmed. According to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus’ story makes him as a tragic hero. Oedipus is the personification of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to maintain and keep his virtue and wisdom, despite his shortcomings and situation in life. Aristotle’s observation of a tragic hero does not reveal the lack of morality or the evil of the character, based on an error in judgment. The tragedy and drama fit the Aristotelian characteristics of Oedipus.

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.

In Thebes, a plague is infecting the people. They ask King Oedipus for help, since he saved them from the Sphynx. He sent Creon to Oracle of Delphi to get help from Apollo. Creon comes back and says Thebes must find and punish former King Liaus’ murderer. So, Oedipus starts seeking information of the murder. Oedipus welcomes Tiresias, but Tiresias regrets coming. Finally, Tiresias tells Oedipus that he “is the wound”- King Liaus’ murderer. Oedipus responds by accusing Tiresias and Creon of treason, and defends himself. Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, stands up for Creon, so Oedipus agrees to banish him, even though he wanted to kill him instead. Oedipus complains to Jocasta about Creon. She tries to calm him by telling him that prophesies and oracles can be wrong.

Who Is to Blame for Oedipus’s Downfall    Sophocles Oedipus The King,the tragedy Oedipus a tragic hero plays the lead character in the play.  Oedipus story unravels throughout the play.   His character that he presents is typical of those who honestly believe they have no part in the situation that occurs.

“...You can pretend that bad things will never happen. But life's a lot easier if you realize and admit that sometimes they do” (Lois Lowry). Oedipus, the main character in the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophacles, represents a great example of what happens if you don’t realize and accept the lousy situations in your life. There are certain aspects of Oedipus’s life that lead to his great downfall, including the fact that he refused any idea of his true fate. Oedipus’s downfall was caused because of his parent’s decision to leave him, which led to his pride and curiosity.

In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the topics of fate and free will are exceptionally solid all through the play and. Both focuses could be contended to extraordinary impact. In old Greece, fate was thought to be a simple piece of everyday life. Each part of life depended and was based upon fate. It is nature conviction to accept that humankind does in reality have Free will and every individual can choose the result of his or her life. All Oedipus actions are given to him by God So, fate and free will control his downfall.

Oedipus has had a continuous downfall since the beginning of his life. It is not until the Messenger from Corinth visits, the Shepherd that gave Oedipus to his adoptive parents is questioned, and the acknowledgment of who he is that Oedipus’s downfall really begins. Oedipus fell from a King that everyone respected and loved to a murderer of his father and a husband to his mother (Scene 4.1118-1123). His downfall was not just his reputation being ruined amongst his people, but his mental and physical well-being ruined as well. Oedipus is described as not being himself and “Hunting the wife who was not his wife, the mother/Whose womb had carried his own children and himself/I do not know: it was none of us aided him/But surely one of the gods

Sophocles critiques the character Oedipus as having anger problems that cloud his judgment, lead to brash decisions, and ultimately becomes his major flaw that brings him down. The flaw can easily sculpt bad situations, especially when such an influential person is affected by it. He reveals his anger as a problem very early in the book during a road rage where he, “[brawling] with an old man in a carriage over right of way and in a fit of temper [killing] him.” (page #) Murder is a pretty serious crime to commit for a dispute of who had the right of way. He just didn’t take the time to think about what he was doing because he let his anger take control. Had he taken time to allow his anger to pass, he would have evaded the prophecy that applies

Oedipus Rex was a strong soul who became the king of Thebes thanks to his intelligence. Once the Sphinx's riddle was solved she destroyed herself and Oedipus became king. Plague had taken over Thebes when he became king and was said to be a curse. Oedipus new task was to find the murder of Laius, the old king, and punish him so the curse could be lifted from Thebes. While trying to find the murder he starts learning new things about himself which aren’t very pleasing. He soon finds out that was sinful in his birth, he’s married to his mother, and killed his own father. To me his downfall was caused by fate and was bound to happen no matter what.

In the greek drama, Oedipus the king by Sophocles, King Oedipus shows all the characteristics of a tragic hero. By definition A tragic hero is, “A privileged, exalted character of high repute, who by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate suffers a fall from glory into suffering”. That definition perfectly describes Oedipus and his life. Throughout this whole story we see the real Oedipus emerge. Oedipus starts out in the beginning by being the best king around but by the end of the story we see the ups and downs of his life and how it changed forever. In the story we here Oedipus say these words, “ah! My poor children, known, ah known too well, the quest that brings

In conclusion, Oedipus’ is excessively proud in himself but that will eventually lead to his downfall that will label him as a tragic hero. Aristotle even claims Oedipus to be the ideal tragic hero in Greek tragedy. Sophocles supports the way that Aristotle defines a tragic hero through the character of Oedipus form his Oedipus the King.