Oedipus Tragic Hero

The definition of tragedy is great suffering, destruction, or distress like a disaster. The term is commonly used in our society but where did it come from. Aristotle, an ancient greek philosopher, laid the foundation for the definition of a tragedy that we still use today. His idea of tragedy is a character who makes a judgment error that inevitably lead to his or her own destruction. He called this a tragic hero. Aristotle's’ idea was based on five specific characteristics. The characteristics were hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, hubris and lastly, the character’s fate must be greater than deserved. The book, Oedipus The King, written by Socrates, fits Aristotle’s idea perfectly. Oedipus is an ideal tragic hero because he goes through all the five specific characteristics throughout the book.

Sophocles presented the world with Oedipus around 2500 years ago. Never-the-less, the story remains among the most riveting of all time. He was, in fact, a man that was driven by a very high internal moral standard. It was that internal moral standard that ultimately entwined him in a sequence of events and circumstances that placed him in the spousal relationship with his mother. Oedipus, in fact, can truly be regarded as a tragic hero as Aristotle himself defined the term.

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.

Abraham Lincoln once pronounced, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus tries to escape his fate by fleeing from his adopted parents in Corinth. Instead, he becomes responsible for triggering the destruction that leads to his eventual demise. A tragic hero is of noble birth characterized by a personality flaw and fated by the gods for doom (Santora). Oedipus is classified as a tragic hero by his tragic and heroic qualities, his responsibility for his fate, and his enlightenment.

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 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

The purpose of a tragedy is to bring catharsis within the audience and purge the audience with pity and fear for the tragic hero. Key characteristics that comprise a tragic hero in relation to Aristotle’s idea of one include a destiny filled with great potential but ending in inevitable failure, a fatal flaw called hamartia, and an honorable death. These types of heroes are not completely bad nor are completely good; however, they are the ones responsible for their own fate. This is due to their disregard for divine warnings and lack of adherence to the laws of the land. In Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles displays how Oedipus is an example of a tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, by exposing his internal attributes that contributed to his inevitable fate, leading to his tragic ending, through the use of various literary devices.

A tragic hero has many traits and characterized in many lights, but what mainly encompasses a tragic hero six things. The first is called the Hamartia, this is the tragic flaw that causes the downfall of the hero. The second is called the Hubris, this is the excessive pride or,it can also be labeled as over confidence, and their disrespect for natural order. The third thing is called the Peripeteia this is known as the reversal of that the the hero experiences. The fourth thing is called the Anagnorisis, this is the moment in which the hero makes an important discovery. The fifth is known as Nemesis this is the fate of the protagonist. The sixth and final characteristic of a tragic hero is Catharsis and these are the feelings of pity and pity that usually the audience feels for the protagonist after the downfall of the hero. In this book, Oedipus the King, Oedipus posses all of these traits.

The story and life of Oedipus is one of misfortune and misunderstanding. Oedipus is generally percieved as a tragic hero, but I think that theres more to him. I believe that Oedipus can be considered an epic hero on top of already being a tragic hero. There are a few reasons why I think this.

Tragedy and truth. Sophocles’ famous play Oedipus the King, shares the destined fate of King Oedipus who embarks on a journey of self discovery, only to reveal a wicked truth about himself. A tragic hero can be identified as someone who contains five traits which are: larger than life, driven by an impossible dream, expecting more then the world can return, having a tragic flaw that leads to downfall and lastly, doomed to fail. Throughout the story of Oedipus, there can be many connections made that he, by definition, is a tragic hero and can apply to all these traits. As Oedipus tries to discover who he is, he realizes that in the end he was always doomed to fail, led by his dream of being

Hero, a word that everyone knows, but not everyone knows that heroes also face challenges, and sometimes even a downfall. This has happened to Oedipus. He is a hero, but what we call a tragic hero. A tragic hero can go from a hero to nothing and therefore going through a downfall. Oedipus is a major tragic hero who is often studied and known. In “Oedipus Rex” Sophocles shows the character of Oedipus in the beginning as a celebrity whom everyone loves and praises to the tragic hero where he struggles to get attention as that hero he was before.

In the Fourth Century BC, a famous philosopher named Aristotle wrote about the qualities that a tragic hero must possess. Ever since that time, there have been many examples of tragic heroes in literature. None of those characters, however, display the tragic hero traits quite as well as Oedipus, the main character from the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is, without a doubt, the absolute quintessence of a tragic hero. His example shines as clear as a sunny summer day.

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.

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.