Oedipus As A Tragic Hero

A tragic hero is a person of high rank, who accepts his or her downfall with dignity. A tragic hero also has to have four qualities to be considered a tragic hero. One, the person must be high born(royalty/high class). Two, he or she must have experienced a tragic flaw. Three, their tragic flaw causes them to have a downfall. Lastly, he or she must have an catharsis; realizes too late the error of his or her choices.

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.

A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his destruction. Typically not an ordinary man, but is a man with outstanding quality and greatness about himself. His own destruction is is for a greater cause or principle. John Proctor is the perfect example of a tragic hero; his downfall was self inflicted because he thought keeping his name is more important than staying alive.

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.

A Tragic hero is a character who makes a judgement error that ultimately determines his or her own downfall. Romeo Montague from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of a tragic hero. His decisions and actions cause self-inflicted suffering, as well as bring harm to other characters in the process. His decisions not only have consequences that lead to his downfall, but they also lead to other characters’ downfalls. Being a tragic hero, Romeo was strong in his beliefs and took care of those he loved.

By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his need for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s tragic flaw is his need to be remembered. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, Beowulf also has a tragic flaw, excessive pride and the search for fame, which ultimately leads to his demise.

he ancient philosopher, Aristotle, describes a tragic hero as someone whose error in judgement leads them to their own downfall. Often it is a flaw in his character that will hinder him from proper judgement. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar's unrestrained pride had caused him to disregard multiple forewarnings about his future, which led him to his own death. Caesar’s death could have been avoided long before he stepped into the senate house, though from the beginning Shakespeare plants a fault in Caesar.

A tragic hero in literature is a type of character who has fallen from grace, where the downfall suggests feelings of misfortune and distress among the audience. The tragic flaw of the hero leads to their demise or downfall that in turn brings a tragic end. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through error of judgment.” The characteristics of a tragic hero described by Aristotle are hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, anagnorisis, nemesis and catharsis which allows the audience to have a catharsis of arousing feelings.

Aristotle is a greek Philosopher, he created a list that all tragic hero have in common .A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. According to Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero, a tragic hero must have 5 rule to be a true tragic hero. First rule is that the tragic hero Usually have noble birth or wisdom. Second , Hamartia – a.k.a. the tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. Third , Peripeteia – a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s tragic flaw. Fourth is Anagnorisis - his actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge and the last rule is Catharsis - the audience must feel pity and fear for this character. In modern time the new tragic tragic hero is that the hero does not necessarily have to be of noble stature but can be an "ordinary person", the hero is growing from low position to higher position . And the hero doesn’t die to end the story but complete their quest to end the story.

Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle described qualities that manufacture a tragic hero. The first quality is that he must be someone of “high estate” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2016, p. 858). His downfall is always a result on his flaw or tragic flaw. He must have a recognition of sorts. The protagonist must experience a reversal of fortune. Lastly, in order to be a tragic hero, the story must make us feel pity and fear. The story of Oedipus The King is a clear and excellent example of a tragedy and the protagonist is a perfect illustration of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

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.

In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Oedipus struggles to accept the truth and he lets his temper over power him. Throughout the tragedy, he displays all the necessary elements to be categorized as a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. His refusal to accept the truth led to Oedipus’ downfall. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, The term hero is derived from a Greek word that means a person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger. However, sometimes he faces downfall as well,” (Literary Devices Editors, 2013). Based off this definition, Sophocles’ Oedipus clearly exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

“A tragic hero is a character of noble birth with heroic qualities. This character, as a result of his fatal flaw met his doom after substantial suffering. In the play, Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles in 429 B.C., Oedipus is the tragic hero who is distinguished by the definition above. Oedipus Rex is a tragedy play and is set in Thebes. It describes a tale of a king with the inability to see the truth and this lack of sight ultimately causes him to suffer. Oedipus is a quintessential example of a tragic hero which can be seen through his characteristics, such as his start at noble height, his inability to acknowledge his own flaw, and through his own actions, brings his own doom.

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

There are many ways which one can describe or define a tragic hero. Nevertheless, Aristotle, a well-respected Greek philosopher, gave perhaps one of the simplest and most effective definitions of a tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition/characteristics of a tragic hero argue that the hero must be “a character of noble stature and has greatness.”Therefore, if one is to believe Aristotle and/or his definition of a tragic hero, Oedipus, in Oedipus the King, is a perfect example of a tragic hero because he fulfills not only the aforementioned trait but a few of the other characteristics set forth by Aristotle.