King Oedipus Tragic Hero

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.

A tragic hero is a person who has qualities of a hero such as intelligence and strength but makes choices that lead to their self-destruction. The tragic hero is usually from a noble family or high position. Oedipus from The Sophocles is a tragic hero because he possesses tragic flaws such as hubris, hamartia, and too much curiosity. Marcus Brutus, a Roman politician, also serves to be a tragic hero since he is too naive, honest, and sometimes impulsive. Both Oedipus and Brutus have certain characteristics that determine them to be a tragic hero.

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.

Oedipus is described as a hero with god-like qualities. They worship him. The people of Thebes for instance believe that Oedipus ascended to the throne through God’s guidance. Sophocles play Oedipus definitely exemplifies Aristotle definition of a tragic hero.  Oedipus is not only a king but a person born a noble. Oedipus takes his fate into his own hands and takes his decisions head on. He is his own cause of the things happening around him, to him and in his life. Sadly, his life falls apart, but by his own doing. He has to suffer the consequences of his actions in many ways. First, he forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny as well as his father’s name. Teiresias tries to avoid all these questions but in the end he has to head warning to Oedipus against forcing him to reveal those details. Oedipus is relentless and is determined to find the truth. He continues questioning Teiresias further. Teiresias finally

“The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves”, quote by Sophocles. Sophocles is a ancient Greek writer who created multiple plays including the tragic and heartbreaking play called Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King is a tragedy about a young king, Oedipus, who tries to help his land from disease by finding the murderer of the former king. But by solving this mystery Oedipus unravels a tragic truth about his family and fate. Over past years, they’ve been controversy of whether Oedipus is known as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who makes a mistake or error that eventually leads to someone's downfall. Although there are many ways supporting Oedipus as not a tragic hero, there are multiple characteristics that define Oedipus as a

Aristotle’s tragic hero is one of the most recognizable types of heroes among literature. A tragic hero combines five major points all of which have to do with the hero’s stature in society, his faults, how these faults effect him, the punishment his faults gets him, and how he reacts to this punishment. Aristotle explained that the story of Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, is a perfect example of a tragic hero. In the play, Oedipus is given a prophecy in which he is told that he will kill his father then marry his mother. As in many Greek plays, Oedipus tries to run from his prophecy and ends up fulfilling exactly what it is foretold. Through the play we see that Oedipus posses many of the characteristics

By definition, a tragic hero is a character who is unavoidably doomed. That hero’s fate has already been decided but the character usually spends the entire course of a story trying tirelessly and unsuccessfully to change that. Oedipus easily falls into this definition. Oedipus is also a hero that

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.

A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

A tragic hero is defined as an influential person who holds a high position in society and maintains a strong hold on their life, but then suddenly falls into misfortune because of an error in judgment. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus was portrayed as a great and powerful king. The Choragos, which is the voice of the people of Thebes, praise their king and outwardly show their respect towards him throughout the whole tragedy. Oedipus is the archetypal Greek tragic hero in the play because he is the original hero who had everything in his life: the throne, a wife, a family, and his people who praised him, but then he loses it all.

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.

The first quality of Oedipus that justifies him as a tragic hero is in his lack of self-knowledge. Oedipus can be seen has someone who is not genuinely satisfied until he or she solves all of his life’s puzzles and the last riddle of his life. Oedipus physical strength gave him a great opportunity to be the king. This physical strength which he possesses and misuses also marked the beginning of his downfall. In the beginning of the play Oedipus has perfect vision; however, he is blind and ignorant of the truth about himself and his past. As a result; he gains too much pride and confidence and starts to believe he is impalpable. He desperately wants to know, to see, but he can’t. His actions must somehow overcome his blindness. Ironically, into the play a prophet was introduced, a seer, Teresias, who is physically blind, but who is clairvoyant. Teresias says to Oedipus, I tell you, no man that walks upon the earth/ shall be rooted out more horribly than you (S1. .1117). This describes Oedipus as a man ignorant to the true appearance of things, this blind man could see the truth about Oedipus, yet Oedipus in all of his physical strength cannot.

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.

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.