tragoed The Tragic Figure of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

Throughout the tragedy by Sophocles, the king Oedipus relies on his personal glory to attain long lasting fame and balks when confronted with anything that might shatter this perception that he is the best. While both characters have done marvelous deeds in the past, their inherent arrogance, which is part of the tragic flaw of each of the characters,

Oedipus is introduced as a caring king, with the flaw that he’s always priding himself for what he does for the people. Like this we can relate to him, because no human is perfect and we make mistakes when we try to find ourselves. By trying to be a good man he leads himself to his own ruin although he doesn’t know it yet. His pride blinded him from the truth. When he finds the truth, he recognizes his actions and feels guilty. If he wasn’t responsible

When Aristotle argues that tragic “is brought about not by vice or depravity” you can’t help but to think about Oedipus and his character. His impatience, his displeasure at just everything and anything, and for a minute you question whether he was a good person or someone who was completely driven by anger. But then all of those

Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex details the catastrophic downfall of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who kills his father, marries his mother, and plagues his kingdom unknowingly. Aristotle’s discourse Poetics references Oedipus Rex as containing several elements of the ideal tragedy (CITE). Among other factors, Aristotle stresses that the tragic hero’s collapse does not occur in response to his or her depravity, but in reaction to a “serious error” (CITE). Throughout the play, Oedipus demonstrates to readers “vice or depravity” did not incite his actions (cite). Rather, he is an ethical man who makes fatal mistakes. Oedipus Rex is not a corrupt villain, but an impulsive man who lacks the knowledge to understand the implications of his actions. Oedipus

Oedipus is a tragic character, but at the same time, a pathetic one. He is a tragic because he suffered so much especially when he learned that he is the murderer whom he seeks. He possesses wisdom, power and wealth but because of the crime, all of it went to waste. But Oedipus is also pathetic because he attempt to escape Corinth to avoid the prophecy, yet he ended up fulfilling the prophecy. It is because he did not first confirm if the mother and

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.

From the start of his life, Oedipus was thrown into series of tragic events that would shape not just his life but the lives of everyone he was associated with. The story of Oedipus has received worldwide acclaim and has been praised as one of the "greatest achievements of Greek dramatic art". When Sophocles wrote Oedipus, he did so in a way that pioneered what a true tragic hero should be and it was written in way that has continued to impact the moral compass and emotions to those that read this epic tale, still to this very day.

In Oedipus the King, Oedipus can be considered to be the tragic hero of the play. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero holds that the tragic hero is “a person who is neither perfect in virtue or justice, nor one who will fall into misfortune through vice or depravity, but rather, on who succumbs through some miscalculation” (Brown). Aristotle also believed that the tragic hero’s misfortune or demise was not “wholly deserved” and that the punishment would exceed the crime that he or she committed (“Aristotle”). The tragic hero’s fall was also meant to serve as an allegory and intended to “raise awareness [or] gain self-knowledge” (“Aristotle”). In many cases, the tragic hero’s fall is due to a tragic flaw that serves as a catalyst for his or her demise. In other cases, supernatural forces help to cause the tragic hero to fall (“Tragedy: The Basics”). In the case of Oedipus, it is King Laius that initiates the conflict between himself and Oedipus who retaliates against the king and kills him in self-defense. When Oedipus is told the truth, he cannot understand what has happened, which is a direct result of being lied to about his biological parents. When Oedipus is finally able to piece together the fragmented facts that

Aristotle describes a tragedy as “An imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude", describing a person who has good intentions but a fatal flaw in his character. In essence, this flaw ultimately leads to a tragic ending, as the hero becomes the victim of his own actions. In Sophocles Oedipus the King, Oedipus defines his outcome as one by harmatia, as the narrative exposes his arrogant trait to blame for his downfall. To begin, it is essential to note his nature to be good hearted, as he truly cares for Thebes and his people. His role within the narrative further justifies his protagonist status, as gives examples of courage and bravery. However, his ignorance further enables him to act illogically, as Oedipus basis his judgments off of anger. This is not only seen when unintentionally killing his father, but by how he bullies others when he is unhappy with results. Hence, his inability to handle displeasing information shows

To quote Brigitte Bardot “ Only Idiots refuse to change their minds” just like how Oedipus refuses to change his mind about him killing Lais until the end. There is a prophecy told about Oedipus saying that he would kill his father and marry his mother and he refused to believe that this prophecy was the truth. In Oedipus's journey you really see how his stubbornness affects his noble statute and creates a horrible ending for him. Because Oedipus has noble statute at the beginning of the story, his tragic flaw of stubborness, his downfall oedipus is clearly the tragic hero of the story.

During the story of Oedipus the King, readers discover that one of Oedipus’s flaws is his temper. Just as the story begins to turn around, a prophet tells Oedipus that King Laius’s killer brought on the plague. However, when Oedipus questions the prophet, Tiresias, he is denied an answer. He grows mad, calling Tiresias “scum of the earth” (Episode I. 381). Oedipus then goes on criticizing the blind prophet about the arrival of the Sphinx saying, “it cried out for a prophet. Where were you?” (Episode I. 448), justifying that he is smarter and stronger than the prophet is. Furthermore, readers can observed the effects of Oedipus’s anger. His anger leads him to name-calling and disrespect towards Tiresias. Tiresias is only trying to save Oedipus

Yet, it is because of his character as a great discoverer of truth and a man determined to find out what he has decided to discover, that Oedipus meets with tragic reversal. In the scene where he is cross-examining the shepherds, Iocaste begs him not to carry the investigation further, but he pays no heed to her words, in page 1336 the shepherd says, “In God’s name do not torture a old man. Unhappy king! What more do you wish for?” It is this determination of Oedipus to find out the whole truth at any cost, which makes him tragic. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be a person of noble birth and prosperity whose misfortune results, form depravity or vice but from some hamartia. Hamartia is translated as an error of judgment by most critics, but interpreted as tragic flaw by some. Oedipus is clearly the intermediate kind of person stipulated by Aristotle. However, it is difficult to say that his misfortune befalls him because of some flaw in his character, or some error of judgment committed by him. There is no doubt that his character has several flaws, and that he commits some errors of judgment, but the question is whether these errors are the cause of his tragedy. Oedipus is no doubt rash, impatient, irritable and passionate. He is also very proud of his intelligence, and believes that he can find the answer to every problem. Yet, if we take his tragedy to be the basic actions of incest and parricide, then these flaws and errors of Oedipus are quite

Oedipus was a great man, and ruler but he was too cocky which was why it was so hard for him to accept the truth that lead to his tragic death. He gave the audience a preview of his arrogance when he first introduced himself as “the famous” as he was referred to even by those around him. However, because of his impacting image to everyone he was hard on himself when he let his people down by finding the truth of his birth and the life he had been living. Due to his feeling of letting his people down he felt that he disappointed his people who believed in him the most which was why he was so hard on himself. He was so uneasy that he caused harm to his own body and wanted everyone to disown him for which he already knew they would do. Although, Oedipus was overly confident he was a good and brave man who would do anything for his people even if

Oedipus Rex is one of the many plays that exemplifies Aristotle’s principle of tragedy, where the plot revolves around the hero’s progression towards his own demise. In this story, the titular character was subject to a horrendous fate where he murders his own biological father-King Laius- and marries his own mother, which he eventually unearths this truth when it became his duty as the new king to find the murderer of the previous Ruler. Throughout the play, we begin to see that Oedipus intends to solve this case with the expectation of a success like he did with the sphinx’s riddle , but instead resulted in the extreme opposite. Through Oedipus progression as a character, the author implements a message that regardless of anyone’s

In Sophocles’ Oedipus The King, Oedipus is shown as a confident man of dignified origin who inevitably meets a catastrophic end. Oedipus is a tragic hero because of his strong traits of confidence, as well as, virtuous intentions, his tragic downfall due to on his own flaws, and lastly his self-inflicted severe suffering and punishment. When Oedipus realizes the truth about his past he suffers the harsh reality of his condemned future.