Oedipus Tragic Hero

Sophocles presented the world with Oedipus around 2500 years ago. Never-the-less, the story remains among the most riveting of all time. Unfortunately, today when we hear the mention of the name Oedipus we place negative connotations around it. Oedipus, after all, had an unnatural sexual relationship with his own mother! In actuality, however, this relationship emerged entirely innocently. Oedipus was not some misguided sexual pervert of an earlier 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

In the play Oedipus the King we identify the classic tragic hero. The character Oedipus Rex plays the role of the tragic hero perfectly. He shows the three main characteristics being talented and of noble birth, possessing a tragic flaw that causes the downfall and pain of everyone, and the recognition of responsibility.

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.

“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

A true hero does not merely wear a cape, but this individual possesses admirable characteristics. A hero inspires the people around him and he is honorable. Heroes influential individuals from fairytale stories and myths of a real-life hero. Yet, none of these influential people are perfect. The tragic hero is clearly defined by Aristotle as being a person of admirable character, yet completely human with noticeable flaws. Moreover, this individual is not exempt from suffering. In Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus displays heroic characteristics as well as those which hinder him. “There remains then the man who occupies the mean between saintliness and depravity. He is not extraordinary in virtue and righteousness and yet does not fall into

He never considers himself as a suspect, despite knowing of a similar act of murder he had committed in the past. When confronted by Tiresias, Oedipus is shocked and dismisses what is being said about him. Angered, Oedipus yells at the prophet “You sightless, witless, senseless mad old man!” It is ironic that blind prophet sees the situation clearly but the King who sees cannot. It also foreshadows a later event in which Oedipus gouges out his eyes in grief. The prophet then says, "Pride breeds the tyrant." The playwright uses the irony of the blind prophet that sees to achieve the grave portrayal of the tragic hero. Oedipus is determined to seek the truth even if it means neglecting the elders like Tiresias who can see the past, present like the chorus and

Killing his father, marrying his mother, blinding himself, abandoning his country; these are all actions the main character, Oedipus, commits in Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus, which adds to his tragic heroicness. He starts off with the potential to be great, but was doomed to eventually fall and by the end, he meets his moral victory. Although some may disagree with the fact that Oedipus is a tragic hero, there are a plethora of examples to prove that he is the tragic hero of both plays. In fact, almost every major action Oedipus takes throughout the two plays are actions that could qualify him as being a tragic hero.

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a protagonist in a play who has his misfortune come to him not through, “vice or depravity, but rather by some great error or frailty” (Roberts and Zweig 1031). That being said, Oedipus the King, written by the great Sophocles was a tragic play. Oedipus was told that the only way to rid Thebes of the curse was to find the man who murdered Laius. Throughout the play, Oedipus uses clues to find the murderer. However, in doing so, he discovered that he was Laius’ murderer and had fulfilled a great prophecy. By having a close emotional connection to the audience, a horrible hamartia happen to him, and have the audience feel pity for him during his downfall, Oedipus is considered a tragic hero.

Wisdom and folly, truth and falsehood, peace and suffering are all different forms of light and darkness. To the ancient Greeks, whether one is in darkness or light is determined by their ability to see spiritually, which they believed the physically blind were capable of. This contrast between spiritual sight and mere physical sight is a major theme in Oedipus Rex, the Greek tragedy written by the legendary Sophocles, a Greek playwright so skilled that he won the Festival of Dionysus approximately twenty times with his masterfully crafted tragedies (Buller). Oedipus Rex is a tragic journey of self-discovery as King Oedipus uncovers his origins and how he unwittingly fulfilled the oracle that he will marry his mother Jocasta and kill his

Literature and theatre arts throughout the ages have created many memorable tales and many unforgettable characters that withstand the test of time, while many others will likely fade away. Oedipus Rex is a tragic tale set in Ancient Greece. Greek thinker, Aristotle, said there were certain elements that would make a person qualified as a “tragic hero.” (Adade-Ywboah, Ahenkora & Amankwah, 2012). We think of heroes being larger than life, possessing impeccable honor, integrity, strong leadership and having the higher moral ground. However, tragic heroes are different; they are imperfect and will inevitably face a tragic downfall. Per Aristotle, there are several different specific attributes necessary in a tragic hero, including noble status, tragic flaw, extreme awareness or self-knowledge, punishments that do not fit their crime, the plight of the hero evokes emotions and there is an element of free choice that send the character down the wrong path; the tragic path. After reviewing the relevant material and the analysis of the title character, Oedipus, is essentially a perfect example of the traits identified by Aristotle as indicative of a tragic hero in Ancient Greek literature and theatre.

The play’s protagonist Oedipus is revered as a good man and intelligent ruler who acts quickly to support Thebes- a city which is troubled by plague. This is demonstrated in the background notes that describe Oedipus saving the city from the curse of the sphinx and as a reward receiving the queen’s hand in marriage. The confrontation with the sphinx and the solving of the riddle is referred to multiple times throughout the play as a reminder of Oedipus’s intellect and ability to creatively solve problems. His people’s admiration is also suggested by the priest in lines 37-39 “We judge you the first of men in what happens in this life and in our interactions with the gods” (Sophocles). Creon, the brother-in-law of Oedipus, regards him as a great king which is shown by their multiple exchanges throughout the play. Another indication of Oedipus’s goodness is the respect shown by his wife Jocasta. These examples reveal that Oedipus is a good and noble king who is virtuous and respected by his people and his family.

Thesis Statement: Sophocles’ Oedipus is a perfect example of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero through the main characters prosperity to an emotional downfall caused by a tragic flaw.

The idea of a tragic hero was first thought of by the philosopher Aristotle in his work, “Poetics”. In article discussing the philosopher’s ideology of a tragic hero, with emphasis on hamartia, the author states:

When deciding between whether the characters in the recent three plays we have read qualify as tragic heroes or not I had to take a step back and rediscover what the true definition of a tragic hero is. There are several different concepts and definitions that people believe make up a tragic hero, but the most formal and universal comes from Aristotle. He views a tragic hero as one who falls from grace into a state of extreme despair, due to an error in judgement and the heroes own actions. The playwrights that we have read over the past several weeks all have a common main character that encompasses a tragic flaw resulting in their downfall. In Sophocles “Oedipus the King” we are introduced to a character that fulfills his destiny by falling from power and suffering due to his lack of knowledge, Oedipus represents the ideal tragic hero. Old Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” elicits the image of the modern tragic hero by allowing his sense of pride cloud his reality during his pursuit of the american dream and to be well liked. And finally in “A Raisin in the Sun” were faced with the character who does not embody the qualities of a tragic hero but is just the common man trying to figure out where he belongs in society. There is factual evidence of each individual characters mistakes and flaws that they embody and through the help of specific sources and text I will prove my opinion on why I believe only some of these men can be classified as tragic heroes.

In a utopian society that lacked the literary genre of tragedies, the genre of comedy in literature would likewise fail to exist. Without a periodic reminder of the horrible events which exist in a non-perfect world, comedy would have no origin from which to lift its audience. It is this origin point that tragedy finds its home, a central point from which its reader can compare themselves to and better themselves from as they compare their own lives to the life of the tragedy’s hero. It is this hero who must connect with the reader (or view in case of this play), yet simultaneously create themselves as a stepping stone for the reader to enlighten their mood in future comedic interactions. As the tragic hero leads the reader through the play, it is his/her interactions with the work’s non-heroic characters that cause their ultimate suffering, giving the tragedy its rightful name. In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, the tragic hero Oedipus causes the suffering of civilians in the city of Thebes and his own wife/mother in her eventual suicide. The calamity of his mother was foretold to Oedipus as his inescapable fate, and through his attempt to escape this destiny he only manages to bring suffering upon himself, his mother, and the city of Thebes.