Oedipus as Tragic Hero
In most dramatic plays, tragedy usually strikes the protagonist of the play and leads him, or her, to experience devastating losses. While tragic instances can be avoided, there are other instances where one's fate and future is out of the protagonist's control. In Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles and first performed around 249 BC, Oedipus cannot escape his destiny and even though he tries to overcome and circumvent prophecy, he finds out that supernatural forces will get what they want in the end. Oedipus meets the criteria of a tragic hero set forth by Aristotle and his fate within the play demonstrates that one does not always have free will in their lives.
Traditionally, in Greek drama, tragedy is meant to reaffirm the concept that life is worth living and that people are in constant opposition with the universe. Action within Greek tragedies commonly comes from inner conflicts. These actions are also intended to create feelings of pity and fear within an individual ("Greek Theatre History Notes," 2011). Greek tragedy also holds that the hero of the play, who is a good person yet not perfect, must fall from his or her position of nobility, grace, or power. Additionally, Greek tragedy contends that the audience must experience catharsis after tragic events happen and that the hero is left to face the world by him or herself ("Greek Theatre History Notes"). Aristotle defined tragedy as, [An] imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality -- namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody. (Aristotle)
Moreover, "tragedy evolved from the choral lyric poem in honor of Dionysus, sung and danced around an altar of Dionysus in circular dancing place" ("Greek Tragic Drama").
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 have been presented before him, he is overcome with guilt, blinds himself as punishment, and requests that he be banished from Thebes so that order can be restored to the ruined kingdom.
The foundation of Oedipus' tragic flaw, or hubris, can be found in his stubbornness, pride, and ignorance. There are many instances within the play where events are not caused by these flaws, but rather are predetermined by the gods. However, Oedipus' tragic flaws make it easier for prophesies in the play to come to fruition. For example, while it has been prophesized that Oedipus will kill his father, his stubbornness helps to ensure that he acts out on the prophecy. Oedipus kills his biological father, King Laius, on a narrow road -- while he is ironically trying to flee his adoptive home to prevent killing King Polybus, whom he believes is his father -- but because both Oedipus and King Laius are too stubborn to let each other pass, Oedipus ends up killing King Laius after the King assaults him (Sophocles). This is only one of several instances where Oedipus is too stubborn to see the truth although the truth is often...
As a tragic hero therefore, Oedipus does not err because his character is somehow flawed. Instead, his inevitable fall is caused by an error of judgment: instead of accepting his own fate, he tries to find out the truth about his origin and thus begins the quest that will lead to his dramatic end. Oedipus' almost paranoid search for the truth of his birth shows him as a social nonconformist
Arthur Miller was certainly aware of the nature of Greek tragedy and made a deliberate decision to use the structure of Greek drama as a basis for his play A View from the Bridge, as he had previously done for All My Sons. The central character, Eddie Carbone, fits well with the central figure in All My Sons and Death of a Salesman, being a family patriarch who has also
A short time later, Oedipus comes across Jocasta who has hung herself. He immediately blinds himself with her brooches in a fit of madness brought on by the recent developments. Oedipus ultimately seeks to banish himself out of the Kingdom to escape his reality and for the good of the people of Thebes. Conclusion Oedipus fits the classic model of an Aristotelian tragic hero very neatly. First, Oedipus exhibits and is
Tragic Hero begins with an examination of Oedipus Rex. But, while he is the archetype of this particular literary character, Hamlet is, perhaps, the most well developed and psychologically complex of tragic heroes. For the Greeks, all things in life are preordained, which is what makes for the tragedy of Oedipus - his attempt to make his own destiny. Over the course of time, however, while the form of
However, the play goes even further than these hints in demonstrating the irrelevance of any supernatural force to the story's action when Tiresias mocks Oedipus for suggesting that the blind seer is the source of the plague (Sophocles 27). When Oedipus accuses Tiresias of a being "a conspirator" to Laius' murder due to his reluctance to tell what he knows, Tiresias responds by asking "Sooth sayest thou?" (Sophocles 26-27). While
Both literally and figuratively of noble character, Oedipus is the epitome of tragedy, moving from hubris to his downfall to ultimately tragic hero. In a mental sense, Oedipus realizes his flaw and finds this completely unacceptable. He punishes himself by means of self-mutilation and his removal from kingship. Antigone also suffers from a sense of hubris. She is completely self-sufficient. She fails to rely on others, or indeed to submit
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