Oedipus The King: A Tragic Hero

Words: 446

Pages: 2

Open Document

Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a man or woman of high standing who is capable of great suffering. The tragic hero must possess many great qualities, but will display a single fatal character flaw which will bring his downfall. The audience should accept the death of the hero because of their flaw. With this being said Oedipus can be considered a tragic hero. Oedipus is of high standing because he became king of not only one town, Thebes, but two, Corinth. With king in his title it makes him a man of high standing. He was born with respect because he was born into royalty. Oedipus was born into royalty, and married Jocasta, the queen and wife of late King Laius. Oedipus suffered in his life by being told by his prophecy that he would …show more content…
Oedipus is greatly respected by the citizens of Thebes. He is very loyal to Thebes, for example when the messenger came to tell him he became the ruler of Corinth he stayed in Thebes. He shows great exasperation when he finds out Jocasta has died. He shows loyalty to Thebes and all the people in Thebes. When he finds out about mistakes, he makes up for them and tries to make things better. He makes his own decisions throughout the harder times of his life. Oedipus also has many great, but not so great character flaws. First of all he gets upset and leaves Corinth so he would not end up killing his father and have children with his mother. Little did he know that on his way to Thebes he kills his father, becomes king of Thebes, and has children with his mother. Then he finds out Jocasta kills herself, and makes himself go blind. This is a flaw, because he could have handle all of the news a little differently. Oedipus can be considered a tragic hero. He can be considered this because he is a man of high standing. He has many great qualities, with one major character flaw. The audience should accept his downfalls. With this being said, and these qualities in mind Oedipus can be considered a tragic

Oedipus The King: Donald Trump As A Tragic Hero

One of the greatest philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “Comedy aims at representing men so worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life.” tragic hero made peopled reflect about life, and the experience often touches the hearts of the audiences. In the Greek Tragedy, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles writes about Oedipus who was raised nobly and became the king of the city Thebes. However, his life was manipulated by a prediction designated his fate of murdered his father and married his mother. Even though…

Words 1619 - Pages 7

Oedipus Tragic Hero

epic hero or a tragic hero. Oedipus from Sophocles’s “Oedipus the King” is a tragic hero who without knowing kills his father, marries his mother, and help spawn his brothers and sister in this epic tale. The main character Oedipus embodies the characteristics of a tragic hero with his tragic flaw, his fate which affects the kingdom, he rules and by also being doomed from the beginning of his birth. Oedipus’s tragic flaw is ignorance which he demonstrates throughout most of the tale. Oedipus is talking…

Words 479 - Pages 2

Oedipus; a Tragic Hero Essay

Oedipus Rex as a Tragic Hero Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier…

Words 521 - Pages 3

Oedipus Flaws

story, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus definitely had stubborness as a flaw. A tragic hero is defined as a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Oedipus is a great fit to be the tragic hero of this story because of his high status and noble stature, his tragic flaw of of stubborness, and his downfall in the end. Oedipus displayed noble stature at the beginning, and throughout the whole story because of his high status. Oedipus was immediately…

Words 543 - Pages 3

Oedipus Flaws

In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles the protagonist Oedipus is the tragic hero - Oedipus embodies many characteristics but the two most important are the reversal of fortune and the realization of errors. Tragic heroes have to hold these traits to be a great developed character. He has these traits and these traits makes the character a tragic hero. For example, Oedipus was once a great king but met his downfall when he realized he was the killer of Laius showing his realization of errors…

Words 544 - Pages 3

Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

almost always a tragic hero. If there is a tragic hero, then he has a tragic flaw. His flaw could be arrogance, ignorance, or even being too ambitious. Aristotle has even names Oedipus as the ideal tragic hero because of his actions. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus shows the five characteristics that every tragic hero possesses. According to Aristotle, the first characteristic that all tragic heroes have is that they come from a royal family. Oedipus has been next in line for king since he was born…

Words 759 - Pages 4

Oedipus As A Tragic Hero

Aristotle definition, a tragic hero is a hero of high standings who is capable of great suffering. The tragic hero must pass many excellent qualities in character, but possess one character flaw which will ultimately lead to their demise that the audience accept this downfall. Oedipus can not be considered a tragic hero. Oedipus does not meet all the qualifications that is required to become a tragic hero. Oedipus does fit the qualification of the High Standings. Oedipus figured out the Sphinx riddle…

Words 411 - Pages 2

Hamlet: Tragic Hero and Hamlet Essay

202.11 25 February 2015 Hamlet and Oedipus the King According to Aristotle’s characteristics of a typical tragic hero, which are described in his Poetics, the tragic hero is the one that belongs to nobility or high class, does not wholly deserve his or her misfortunate, and partially responsible for his or her own hamartia, which is a tragic flaw that leads to the downfall of a hero. What is more, Aristotle points out that, “The change of fortune [of a tragic hero] should be not from bad to good, but…

Words 1388 - Pages 6

Oedipus Rex Research Paper

someone reads Oedipus Rex by Sophocles one wonders how someone so wise and intelligent can be so stupid and ignorant when it comes to family. In the town of Thebes, Oedipus is the town hero due to the fact he solves the riddle of the Sphinx. He is then promoted to king and marries the queen. As time goes on, Oedipus and his town are still in the middle of a plague. Oedipus is a hero, but can he save himself and the town he loves? In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a tragic hero because of excessive…

Words 723 - Pages 3

Oedipus Tragic Hero

A tragic hero by definition is a great or virtuous character of high standing in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat through one of their flawed characteristics that the audience is able to connect to. Therefore by this definition, Oedipus is not a tragic hero. Oedipus is not a tragic hero for the simple fact that he has more than one characteristic that leads to his downfall. Oedipus is a perfect example of a character of high standing, because Oedipus is king…

Words 741 - Pages 3