The Tragic Hero Of Oedipus The King

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.

The archetypal term “tragic hero” was originally coined by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in Poetics as he began to theorize Greek Tragedy. In the grand debate of who the archetypal tragic hero is, Oedipus fulfills the position just as he fulfilled his inexorable fate with a tragic flaw that brought about his downfall. As Aristotle states, Oedipus eventually comes to recognize his flaw and its consequences, but only after it is too late to change or reverse the course of events.

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.

“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

Throughout my study of “Othello”, I have learnt of the many aspects of Othello’s character. He is noble and strong, yet he has many insecurities and is recognised for trusting others too easily. This causes him to obtain the famous title of ‘tragic hero’. According to Greek philosopher Aristotle there are certain characteristics of a tragic hero. These include a noble birth, a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall, a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s tragic flaw, his actions results in an increase of self-awareness and the audience must feel pity or fear for the character.

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

Prompt 1: Write an essay explaining how Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies or refutes Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

Thesis statement: Aristotle’s tragic hero is represented in Oedipus through embodying the main three concepts of his theory: he is virtuous but not overly good, his errors in judgment bring about his misfortune, and he evokes pity and fear from the audience.

According to the great French playwright, Jean Racine, “Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.” (“Quotes about Tragedy”). Racine’s observation would likely be embraced by the playwrights of ancient Greece, where plays were written in the style of three major categories: comedy, tragedy, or satyr play. According to Jacobus, Greek tragedies were the first plays to be performed in competition (Jacobus, 30). Plays are classified as tragedies when they present a powerful protagonist undergoing extreme suffering, the theme of fate, and the end-goal of a catharsis. Tragic heroes are defined by their easily identified character development pattern, as well as their tragic flaw. Oedipus Rex is the perfect example of a tragedy, and the protagonist, Oedipus, is the quintessential tragic hero.

A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Oedipus struggles to accept the truth and he lets his temper over power him. Throughout the tragedy, he displays all the necessary elements to be categorized as a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. His refusal to accept the truth led to Oedipus’ downfall. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, “is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.” Based off this definition, Sophocles’ Oedipus clearly exemplifies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

Thesis: In Sophocles’ “Oedipus”, Oedipus is exemplified as a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s definition because his story appeals to the reader’s humanity in the way he maintains his strengths after inadvertently causing his own downfall.

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.

According to Aristotle's theory of tragedy and his definition of the central character, Oedipus the hero of Sophocles is considered a classical model of the tragic hero. The tragic hero of a tragedy is essential element to arouse pity and fear of the audience to achieve the emotional purgation or catharathis. Therefore, this character must have some features or characteristics this state of purgation. In fact, Oedipus as a character has all the features of the tragic hero as demanded by Aristotle.