The Tragic Flaws In Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

In Sophocles play Oedipus the King, Sophocles depicts the horrible fate of Oedipus, a pompous, arrogant young ruler. The story begins in the Greek town of Thebes. A plague has descended upon the Thebians causing death and famine throughout the land. Oedipus, being the heroic king, takes full responsibility to find out the cause of their aliments. While working to discover the source of the plague, Oedipus stumbles upon the tragic truth of his heritage and the horrifying implications of his appointment to the throne. Unfortunately for Oedipus, everything ends in tragedy. With the suicide of his mother/wife and the self-inflicted blindness followed by exile from Thebes, Oedipus paved the path to his own

In Oedipus the King, the protagonist, Oedipus, played a major role in the plot of this play. Both his stubbornness and his swift responses are strong qualities that he possesses, and they will prove to be both an asset to him, and a liability that will eventually lead to his demise. Before being crowned as king of Thebes, Oedipus was hailed as savior of the city after he single handedly solved the riddle of the Sphinx, and freed the city from the plague. He would be called upon once again to save the city from the plague that had been placed upon them by Sphinx, but this time serving as king. Acting swiftly and proactively, Oedipus send his brother in-law, Creon, to the oracle in Delphi in the hopes of gaining some advice on how to get rid of the plague before the citizens of Thebes become overly worried. In this situation, his swiftness proved to be an asset to him. As the play continues, and the situation changes, his stubbornness and swiftness will become a major liability to him. After receiving news from Creon that the only way to rid the city of the plague was to expel the murderer of Laius (former King of Thebes), Oedipus vows to find the murderer and begins the process of questioning those around him. The first person he questions is Tiresias (the blind prophet), who after threatening him, tells Oedipus that he in fact is the murderer of Laius. Oedipus’s stubbornness gets the better of him and he refuses to believe what Tiresias has told him. He then accuses both

Many people believe that fate has planned out their lives and despite efforts on their part what was meant to happen, will eventually happen. This belief has been handed down over the centuries from some of the first civilizations, such as the Greeks. However, not all Greek citizens wanted destiny to take control of their lives. Some decided to choose freewill over the will of the gods. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles writes a cautionary tale meant to warn the doubters in Greek society that regardless of their beliefs in gods and prophecies, it is necessary to heed their warnings. Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius are Sophocles’ characters that prove that escaping one’s fate is not possible, as each of their predicted fates is realized despite extensive efforts to thwart them.

plague of Thebes, a historical epidemic in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex." Emerging Infectious Diseases, 18(1): pp. 153-157. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3310127/. [Accessed on 24 September 2012].

Oedipus, the main character of Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. A tragic flaw is defined as “an otherwise good trait that turns destructive when taken to an extreme” (Stary). In a tragedy one can see the suffering of the main character, which is evident in Oedipus’ case. Oedipus’ tragic flaw is his determination, when he intensely seeks to find Laios’ murderer, forces the unwilling blind prophet Teiresias to reveal the truth, and when he stopped at nothing to prevent the prophecy from becoming true.

In his play Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses the ancient Greek idea that the gods determine a person's destiny by giving them certain inherent characteristics. He does this by predisposing Oedipus with the tragic flaws of rage, stubbornness, and pride, which leads to his eventual downfall. By doing so, Sophocles evokes pity and fear from the audience, reminding them to avoid the tragic pitfalls of Oedipus, lest they end up in a similar doom. Sophocles gives Oedipus irrational rage, which causes him to make some questionable decisions throughout the play.

Tragedy deals with unexpected or unfortunate events that usually results in negative outcomes that affects the downfall of the main character in a play. Tragedy within Greek drama incorporates the time within the their lifestyle of religious and superstitions. Greek writers use tragedy as a theme in literature because it represents their civilization. Sophocles uses this theme in his dramatic plays because the audience is able to correspond to the story line. It allows the audience to relate and be able to feel vulnerable and let go of all the feelings such as sadness, anger, fear or pity. A Greek tragedy symbolizes the ability of a man or hero that has no control over the destiny God intended him to have. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, he illustrates Oedipus as a hero who encounters a tragic end. When Oedipus was born, the prophecy predicted that he would murder his father and marry his mother. His parents wanted to avoid his destiny by leaving him to die on a mountain. A shepherd found Oedipus who then gave him to the King and Queen of Corinth. They took him in and raised him as their own. Apollo told Oedipus what the out come of his destiny would be and did not want to face his fate so he left the city of Corinth, not knowing the king and queen of Corinth were his foster parents. He was seen as a hero because he saved the city of Thebes from the curse that was created by the Sphinx by solving its riddle. It was not until the city of Thebes broke out in a

Sophocles used Oedipus’ pride to characterize Oedipus as a tragic man. It showed that he was destined to make himself miserable because of the hubris he was born with. He also uses it to show that there is fate, but we are a part of it and it is only what might happen based on the person we are. Oedipus came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. When the oracles stated that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, he stated what could happen. Oedipus’ fate might have been avoided if Oedipus was not the type of person he was.

Fate chose him to kill his dad, marry his mom, and discover it all in Oedipus Rex, Sophocles’ tragedy. Oedipus was so determined to save Thebes from the plague bestowed on them by Apollo. But little did he know that he was the source of it all. His constant reversal of fortune, neutrality, and suffering make him the perfect example of a classic Greek tragic hero.

Over the extensive history of the theatre arts, most of the many plays and productions fall into unique categories in regards to structure. The two most simplest of the structural categories are climactic and episodic. A climactic structure, or alternatively known as an intensive structure, contains a play in which all components are restricted as the main conflict in the story commences late into the play and only a little time passes until the story occurs. Everything is restricted to a few components. There are not as many characters, scenery change and very limited amounts of action. climactic structures focuses heavily on the climax in contrast to other structures. One notable example of a climactic performance is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The story of Oedipus is that of tragedy and despair as Oedipus and his family are unable to escape the fate that Oedipus has had since birth. The exposition and starting action (in this case, the events that led up to him to being king of Thebes) occur before the play and is only ever talked about. The play only takes place in the castle and has only four primary characters. Ultimately, Oedipus Rex only takes place within a day and primarily focuses on the realization and aftermath of the story of Oedipus and his sins, or the climax. All these components that define a climactic structure of production are found in the aforementioned play by Sophocles, strengthening what a climactic structure is and the vast potential a climactic play

At one time in our lives there is a moment that we may think of ourselves as better than someone or something else. There may also be a point when making a decision leads to a great error in judgment. In the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, both of these characteristics can be seen in the main character. These characteristics are known as tragic flaws. These flaws are known as hubris meaning excess pride, leading to overconfidence, and hamartia meaning errors and weakness in judgment. Both of these characteristics are the main reason of destruction and downfall in mankind and the tragic hero in this play. The tragic hero is unable to escape his misfortune that is destined to happen.

is a trait viewed as being favorable to a character at first, but it leads to their later downfall. It was often used in ancient Greek tragedies to show that mankind was susceptible to flaw. This was present in Sophocles 's tragedy, Oedipus the King. The protagonist of the tragedy,Oedipus, was not exempt from his own flaws. Oedipus’s traits of excessive pride and desire for knowing the truth were advantageous to him in the beginning, yet were the very things that contributed to his tragic downfall.

Tragic hero could be said to be someone that has had a tragic flaw that leads to the hero's death and also helps the reader to sympathize with the character. Oedipus is a classic example of a tragic hero who had many flaws on the surface, such as the lack of self-knowledge, curiosity and pride, and the wisdom gained at the end.

Throughout Poetics, Aristotle describes what traits a tragedy must have to be successful. To support these choices, he makes use of a small analysis of many tragedies, including many of Sophocles’ plays; Oedipus Rex is one of the plays mentioned in Aristotle’s Poetics. Some of these traits include a successful plot structure, recognition scenes, and a correct choice for its hero. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles fulfills all of these requirements.

Oedipus’s life and destiny was said to be set by the god’s, but together with his parent’s lies and his own ignorance, he brought upon his downfall foretold so long ago. It was only when he was born that a prophecy of Oedipus, who was to kill his father and marry his mother. Terrified and without much thought of the consequences, Iokaste and Laius abandoned the child to die. Oedipus did not die. Instead he became a strong and well respected prince, who believed his real parents were king and queen of Corinth. Oedipus’s adoptive parents kept him in the dark about his true identity. For this reason, when ignorant Oedipus hears of his prophecy, he runs away terrified. Ironically, on his journey away from home, he encounters his real father, Laius King of Thebes, which he kills due to an argument. Moreover, he goes on to become King of Thebes and husband of Iokaste, his biological mother. So, without realizing, the fate that Oedipus wanted to impede so badly occurs right before his eyes, showing that fate “lies within Apollo’s competence/As it is his concern” (Oed.