Oedipus the King: A Tragic Hero
In the Bedford Introduction to Drama, Lee Jacobus writes, "Greek Tragedy focused on a person of noble birth who in some cases had risen to a great height and then fell precipitately." The modern critic, Kenneth Burke expands on this. He developed a pattern for these tragedies. Burke believes that that the tragic hero goes through three developmental stages, the first is purpose, the second is passion, and the third is perception. Lastly, Aristotle - perhaps the greatest contemporary of the tragedians - indicates that the tragic hero must bring about his own downfall "by some error or frailty" in his being; today many refer to this as the character's tragic flaw.
Oedipus the King is a noble character. He is king of Thebes. The very essence of tragedy revolves around the idea that a character must fall from a great height. Oedipus has achieved the greatest height possible in his life and in his power and arrogance he decides to take on the plague that has cursed the city. He has decided to investigate and curse he who murdered Laius.
With the preceding quote, Burke's first developmental stage is set. Oedipus has purpose. Within this quote an audience also sees a glimmer of the flaw that will eventually be the king's downfall, his pride.
The second element, passion, can be seen throughout Oedipus' life and throughout the play. His violence toward Laius in his youth, his brash statements, and his quickness to proclamations and judgment are expertly weaved…
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
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
Oedipus as Tragic Hero One of the greatest classics of all Western literature is Sophocle'sSophocles' trilogy The Oedipus Plays may be considered one of the greatest literary works of the Western world. In tThe second of these plays, Oedipus the King, the protagonist, Oedipus the King, is described by Sophocles as a tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the characteristics of a tragic hero are - must be an influential person, is
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
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
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
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