Oedipus Heroic Qualities

Oedipus’s first characteristic of being a tragic hero is being talented and of noble birth. Oedipus was talented because during his journey to runaway form his curse, the oracle foresaw for him. He stumbled upon the Riddle of the Sphinx in Thebes; Oedipus solved the riddle and was rewarded to be king and was given the old kings wife. (“You freed us from the Sphinx; you came to Thebes and cut us loose from the bloody

When reading Oedipus the King, most people would conclude that Oedipus is an overall courageous character that, he belongs at the top of the list as the most courageous character. He was portrayed as a man well loved by his people. The love and respect that the people of Thebes have for Oedipus, is evident in some of the first lines of the play, in which the priest praises Oedipus as being the city’s “greatest power” (pg. 160-line 60). The chorus and the priest then go on to praise Oedipus for the noble and courageous things that he has done for the city of Thebes in the past:

In literature, tragic heroes are described as otherwise perfect protagonists except for a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall in the end. Such examples include Othello in Shakespeare's Othello; Prince Hamlet is a tragic hero in Shakespeare’s Hamlet; the Salvatore brothers from The Vampire Diaries are both tragic heroes; and Oedipus in Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex is a tragic hero. Oedipus is the tragic hero who, mixing fate, pride, and lack of judgement, bring about tragedy to him and others. Oedipus Rex is a Greek drama about moral responsibility, nature of innocence and guilt. The protagonist, Oedipus, is a young Sheppard in Corinth, who fulfills the very destiny he was attempting to flee from.

     Throught Oedipus Rex, Oedipus displays his heroism many times. From the Prologue of the play to the moment in which he leaves Thebes, Oedipus' heroics are extremely apparent; however, at the same time, the decisions which make Oedipus a hero ultimately become the decisions which bring him to shame and exile.

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

In the story of Oedipus, Oedipus is considered a “Tragic Hero” because of the tragic fate and effect that he had upon his life. My definition of a tragedy is a great loss that has a unhappy ending to which concluded me to state that Oedipus falls under that category. Throughout the book, Oedipus is leading himself to his own destruction when trying to find the killer of the late King Laios. So when a journal article I found published by The John Hopkins University Press stated that a “tragic hero is a man who fails to attain happiness, and fails in such a way that his career excites, not blame, but fear and pity in the highest degree” ( Barstow, Marjorie.) there was no doubt in my mind that the story Oedipus fell under the category. In my

Aristotle, Ancient Greek philosopher whom did a lot of philosophizing, he believed in a logical reality. Aristotle’s objective was to come up with a universal process of reasoning that would allow man to learn every imaginable thing about reality. The initial process involved describing objects based on their characteristics, states of being and actions. Aristotle once said "A man doesn 't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall”. Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. Oedipus is in fact a tragic hero. Aristotle uses six different points to define a tragic hero. (1)The tragic hero must be of noble stature and have greatness. (2)Though the tragic hero pre-eminently great, he or she is not perfect. (3)The hero 's downfall is their own fault. (4) The hero’s misfortune is not fully deserved and the punishment exceeds the crime. (5)The fall is not a pure loss. (6) And though it arouses solemn emotion tragedy does not leave the audience in a state of depression. Using Aristotle definition of a tragic hero, I will show that in Oedipus in “Oedipus the King” is in fact a tragic hero; hence, how his decisions led to his downfall. Oedipus is a man of high standing (king of Thebes) intellectually (he 's a great solver of riddles) and morally he is determined to find the murderer and to end the plague of his people). His quest to find the murderer described by

There are certain elements present in tragic stories that qualify them to be identified as tragic. Because tragedy as a genre was not an inexorable matter, authors have been able to take it into their own hands, diverting from the traditional styles as they desire. Among the traditional elements of the genre is the inclusion of a tragic hero who finds defeat through his fatal flaw. While still confining to certain attributes of tragedy, these remodeled stories portray tragic heroes in an especially unique way. Two such tragic tales that modify the idea of a tragic hero are Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Euripides’ Medea. The characters Oedipus from Oedipus Rex and Medea from Medea alter the perception of tragic heroes evident in their many differences and few shared tragic hero qualities.

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.

First, Oedipus survived being nailed to a mountain as a baby, and grew into a great prince/king. Second, Oedipus saved Thebes from the Sphynx when nobody else could. He was smart enough to understand the riddle given to him and answer it correctly. Oedipus has some heroic moments and acts that make me believe he is an epic hero with a tragic life. His dispelling of the Sphynx can be classified as the hero trait of good versus evil. Next, we witness Oedipus’

Oedipus as leader is rather outstanding. Right as we are introduced to Oedipus, we are presented with his sense of justice and caring for his people. He is also very respecting towards all the towns people. For instance, when Creon returns from his encounter with the Oracle, he tries to be discreet, asking Oedipus if he wants to receive the news privately. Oedipus judiciously responds with the following: “Speak before all! My heavy load of care, more for their sake then for my own I bear” (Sophocles 4). In other words Oedipus is saying that he doesn’t want to hear the news privately, rather publicly because he rules for his people not himself. Another great characteristic of that Oedipus possesses are his tactful and quick responses to problems.

Oedipus is associated with qualities of heroism. He is also seen as seen as a savior that was sent to the land.

The tragic hero is a great man who is neither a model of integrity or experiences the change to adversity through any impiety however, it is because of a fault, in this play Oedipus is our tragic hero. Our story starts out with Thebes in a plague when their king Oedipus finds out the cause is since a murderer was not punished. So he goes in search of the murderer, which he is told that it is him, and over time he starts to become nervous that this is true because of his past when he ran from a prophecy and killed several men. By the end of the story Oedipus finds out that the prophecy that he was running from has already come true and that he is the murderer. In Sophocles’ tragic play Oedipus the King, Oedipus fulfills the archetype of the

Oedipus is regarded as a great representation of Aristotle’s characterization of the tragic hero. He is able to accomplish this task because of his ability to demonstrate virtue of wisdom regardless of the flaws and the challenges he endures.

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.