Examples Of Tragic Hero In Oedipus

By definition tragic heroes can be considered one who is held up high by society for the good deeds they bring, but is then slowly or quickly taken away from that grace and placed in a world far below what they were originally. An example of this is the excerpt and the tragedy of Oedipus the king. The play shows that the faults humanity can fall through when put into a very stressful situation. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he wants to improve the lives of his citizens, he has a major human flaw of being impulsive and easily irritable, Oedipus takes more punishment than what the play told, his life and fate was not fully under his control, and he makes a vast realization with an equal amount of change.

Oedipus also displays this uncompromising attitude in his devotion to Thebes. Oedipus' loyalty to Thebes is another factor that led to the tragic figure's ruin. Aristotle explains that a tragic character is just and good, but fatal error, pride(possibly hubris), or frailty brings about his misfortune. Oedipus fits this description perfectly. Oedipus could easily have left the city of Thebes and let the plague take its course he “would be blind to misery/ not to pity [his] people kneeling at his feet”. When Apollo's word comes back in the hand of Creon, Oedipus could leave the murder of Laius uninvestigated as it had been for so long, but “rising in his pride, he protests: he pits himself in some way against whatever…seems to him to be wrong…”(Levin 178). Oedipus can not let this investigation be overlooked; he must solve the riddle of who killed King Laius because his pride overpowers him. Oedipus' pride also reveals itself again in his loyalty to the truth.

Tragedy is an element of literature. It is rooted in Greek mythology and ancient Greek society. Its definition is “A literary piece that consists of a courageous noble character who must confront powerful obstacles, either external or from within”, and “the protagonist usually has a tragic

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.

In literature, a tragedy is defined as a drama where the main character in the end suffers extreme sorrow because of their mistakes or poor judgment. The characters that are fated to suffer the extreme sorrow, the tragedy, are (called) tragic characters. These tragic characters, however, must follow Aristotle’s principles which include:

Thesis Statement: Oedipus is the embodiment of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to preserve his virtue and wisdom, despite his flaws and predicament.

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.

    By definition, a tragedy is a story that details the downfall of a protagonist. Most often, the protagonist (tragic hero) is a member of high society who is faced with an oppositional force, be it internal or external. In his Poetics, Aristotle states that "tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves, and these- thought and character- are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions, again all success or failure depends...." This quote illustrates an aspect of tragedy upon which many works are based, including

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.

In his Theory of Tragedy in the Poetics, Aristotle explains the characteristics necessary to create a good tragedy. He defines tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude.” In other words, a tragedy must be focused and realistic. It must also evoke a “sense of fear and pity within the audience”, through its six parts, and end with a katharsis or cleansing of these emotions. The six parts of, a tragedy determines the quality and the most important parts include: plot and character. Aristotle also outlined the characteristics necessary in order to create an ideal tragic hero. Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, is an example of a perfect tragedy and Oedipus is a perfect example of a tragic hero.

In Oedipus the King sophocles utilizes the characteristic Hamartia to mold Oedipus into a tragic hero. Hamartia in Aristotle's version of the fatal flaw. It presents as a flaw in judgement or a character trait that eventually becomes the character’s downfall. Oedipus’ fatal flaws were his pride and ego. When a character experiences the fatal flaw of pride it it called hubris, another element of the Aristotle’s tragic hero. Oedipus describes one instance when he decides to run from home in order to avoid his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. This is revealed when he says “And for all these years, I have kept clear of Corinth” (Oedipus 52). The reason this shows his overwhelming and detrimental pride is because it shows that Oedipus felt as though he could defy the fates and the gods by hiding from his parents to avoid the prophecy. This

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.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a story about a boy who was left by his own parents in the mountains, by himself, to die because of a prophecy that were given to his parents by the Oracle of Delphi. A shepherd found this young child and decided to bring him to King Polybus and Queen Merope, who can’t have a child of their own. The couple decided to adopt the child and name him Oedipus, which means swollen ankles because of the way the shepherd found him with his ankles pierced with pins. When Oedipus grew up, he saved the town from a beast which made Oedipus be considered a hero of his town. Oedipus is considered an epic hero, but also a tragic hero. An epic hero is someone who is applauded for his bravery against the beast. A tragic hero is someone who does good for its town, but does not always do the right thing which leads to their own ruin. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has a fatal prophecy that he could not bypass.

According to Aristotle's theory of tragedy and his definition of the central character, Oedipus the hero of Sophocles is considered a classical model of the tragic hero. The tragic hero of a tragedy is essential element to arouse pity and fear of the audience to achieve the emotional purgation or catharathis. Therefore, this character must have some features or characteristics this state of purgation. In fact, Oedipus as a character has all the features of the tragic hero as demanded by Aristotle.