Role Of Oedipus A Tragedy

The Greek drama “Oedipus The King” evidently leads to the unveiling of a tragedy. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play uncovers his tragic birth story and the curse he had been baring his whole life. Oedipus is notorious for his personal insight that helped him defeat Sphinx, which lead him to becoming the king of Thebes. He is admired by the people of Thebes and is considered to be a mature, inelegant and a rational leader. From his birth, his story began with a prophecy that Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Through out the play numerous people, who tell him of his unknown past, visit Oedipus. Blind to the truth he casts them away until a blind man named Therisis gives a sight of truth to Oedipus. As Oedipus learns the truth he realizes the great evil his life carries. After finding his wife and also mother hung in her bedroom, Oedipus blinds himself with the gold pins that held Jocasta’s robe. Oedipus blind to the truth is finally able to see when the old blind man visits him and tells him the truth about his life. Both metaphorically and physically sight plays a significant role in understanding the irony of a blind man seeing the truth while Oedipus who isn’t blind doesn’t seem to the truth that’s right in front of him.

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

Evidence: “ How i weep for you -- I cannot see you now… just thinking of all your days to come, the bitterness, the life that rough mankind will thrust upon you… such disgrace and you must bear it all! Who will marry you then? Not a man on earth. Your doom is clear: you’ll wither away to nothing, single, without a child. (Line 1625-1645)

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.

As Aristotle has posed, tragedy is formulaic and imitative, composed of distinct parts that inspire pity or fear which ultimately culminate into a depressingly satisfying ending. Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King in particular, incorporates Aristotelian characteristics as detailed in the Poetics. Through its manner, the play presents a singular yet complex plot and, an imperfect main character dealing with the consequences of his actions. Given the various rules to tragic aspects, Oedipus the King embodies the elements of a perfect tragedy holistically.

No matter how free a man believes he is, there is always one constraint that governs his life: fate. In the play Oedipus, the protagonist’s life is dictated by one prophecy that ultimately leads to his downfall. The play illustrates the idea that no matter how much effort is put into avoiding god’s will, fate will eventually catch up at any cost. A major contribution to emphasizing this theme is the murder mystery that takes place in this play and the investigation that goes through to solve this mystery. Through the investigation, the title character Oedipus and is wife/mother Jocasta uncover the truth that the prophecy of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother comes true. Unraveling this truth shows Oedipus as well as the audience

    Have you ever had one of those days when it seems that everything is against you, that life could not look any bleaker than it does right now? We have all had moments like those, but nothing can compare to the feeling Oedipus had on that dreadful day when he found out that he was cursed by the gods, destined to kill his father and marry his mother. This tragic story of the cursed man is told in Sophocles' play, Oedipus the King. This essay will examine one of Oedipus' speeches, found in lines 1183 - 1194, made before he learns of his appalling fate. It is a passage full of dramatic irony. We, the audience, know the truth. Even Jocasta has just come to realize the facts, but Oedipus is still

In classic Greek literature the theme of a tragic hero is prominent. In Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, the protagonist falls victim of being a tragic hero. Events within the text lead readers to question Sophocles’ implementation of fate and free will. This key philosophical question poses a conflict between the prophecy of Oedipus’s life and the decisions he makes once told about the prophecy. If Oedipus was able to make independent decisions such as gouging his eyes out, (an event not told about in the prophecy) could he have made decisions to go against his predetermined fate? In the same regard, is Oedipus a victim of his fate or could his choices have impacted the overall fortune his life? Sophocles leaves the ideas up to the interpretation of the reader. Tragic irony plays a role in the interpretation of these ideas. Briggs defines tragic irony as when “a character’s words carry a deeper and more sinister meaning for the audience than the character speaking intends them to impart” (Briggs par. 19). This concept supports

The play King Oidipous by Sophocles is essentially timeless, bearing repeated readings over thousands of years. Throughout those years, many discussions about the flaws of humanity and the nature of fate have centered around the tragedy. When discussing the role of fate in a person’s life and the role of a person’s choices in fate, King Oidipous must be split into two separate parts, the past and the present, the cause and the effect. The work essentially has two plots. The first takes place in the past, in which Oidipous kills his father and marries his mother without knowing who they really are, also saving the city of Thebes and becoming king. The second helps Oidipous realize the veracity of these events and focuses

Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King,” successfully demonstrates Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. According to Aristotle “tragedy” is vastly different from what one would likely describe if requested in modern times. It is common today to hear one speak of a tragic vehicular crash, but what is being spoken of as a tragedy, is an accident, not a tragedy. Thus, it is important to understand what Aristotle thought when he spoke of a “tragedy.” Based on Aristotle, POETICS, CHAPTER VI,

Tragedy is an important theme in multitudes of writing, especially in Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles. Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy about a man whom is trying to avoid his fate (murdering his own father and marrying his own mother and having their own children together) from becoming a reality. Throughout the story we understand how fate keeps Oedipus in the dark throughout the play.

Using Aristotle’s five different descriptions of a tragic hero, we will show that Oedipus in Oedipus the King is in fact a tragic hero and how his decisions led to his downfall.

exercising his free choice by making bad decisions . Oedipus certainly meets these portrayals of a tragic hero. The dialect of tragedy consists of two circles: one is a relative point and the other is impacted and the effect on its audience. Sophocles and Aristotle’s achieve that task with absolute clearness. The modern reader, coming to the classic drama not entirely to the enjoyment, will not always surrender himself to the emotional effect. He is apt to worry about Greek ‘fatalism’ and the justice of the downfall of Oedipus, and, finding no satisfactory solution for these intellectual difficulties, loses half the pleasure that the drama was intended to produce . In dramatizing stories, there will dependably blends of passionate sentiments, suspense, and fervor to discover what’s

Greek theater designates tragedy as the result of: the demise of characters, by means of poor decisions, devastation and demise. According to Gainor, this destruction is known as “Tragic Flaw.” The character misunderstands and misinterprets actions or poor judgment (Gainor, Garner, and Puchner 6). Particularly Sophocles’ Oedipus vividly illustrates the concept of tragic flaw by means of fate, hubris, and decadence on multiple proportions.

The sixth century B.C. represents a time of enormous shaping of culture and civilizations, leading people in this period to question how power can be lost as easily as gained. The use of theatre during this era for the Ancient Greeks consequently allows them to further philosophize the society they live in, resulting in tragedies becoming an integral form of drama. The Greek philosopher Aristotle states that tragedies should include the following elements: the arousal of pity, a significant frailty of the main character, and peripeties alongside discoveries that all lead to a destructive end. Sophocles, a Greek author, rises to popularity around this time period with his utilization of these qualities in his literature. The play Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, is a tragedy because of the use of a tragic hero as well as tragic irony.