The play, “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles will show the tragic destiny of Oedipus; the King of Thebes. In the beginning, the play slowly starts to unfold until Oedipus realizes a mistake, and downwards spiral begins. The play will convey how “tragic power resides in human failing” (Walton). Although Oedipus did not intentional kill, his father and marry his mother. The author’s view of a tragic hero as seen in the play, “Oedipus the King” will exemplify Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Because Oedipus is of elevated estate the King of Thebes, with a fallible flaw resulting in a high to low fall.
The beginning of “Oedipus the King” finds the city of Thebes under a terrible plague of many hardships. The people and priest have gathered praying for relief from the plague. Oedipus consoles the assembly speaking to a priest the people’s spokesman. The priest depicts Thebes as “a murdering sea… / rust consumes the buds and fruits of the earth… / herds are sick; children die unborn…” (Oedipus, Prologue, 25, 30). The priest pleads with Oedipus to use wisdom and intelligence, which previously rescued Thebes from the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus explains action initiated by sending Creon the “Son of Menoikeus, brother of the Queen, to Delphi” (Oedipus, Prologue, 70) seeking revelation of the Oracle of Apollo. These immediate actions indicate a noble character earning Oedipus a position of high estate among the people.
Creon returns with the answer to remove the pestilence. Creon explains, “The god commands us to expel from the land of Thebes an old defilement we are sheltering” (Oedipus, Prologue, 100). The old defilement is the murderer of King Laios. King Oedipus the wise intelligent king vows, “Then once more I must bring wh...
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Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex introduced the one of the most important tragic heroes of Greek literature. First performed in the fifth century B.C.E., the play is centered around Oedipus, the king of the Greek city-state Thebes, and his struggle to conquer his emotions as he seeks out the true story of his life. This work, inspired by a well-known Greek myth, scrutinizes both the tragic flaws of Oedipus and his heroism. Examples of Oedipus’ tragic flaws abound in the play. In his condemnation of Tiresias and Creon, Oedipus is controlled by his emotions. However, the heroism of Oedipus is also an essential theme of the drama, though it is often downplayed. Despite this, careful analysis can uncover many instances in which Oedipus exhibits his heroism by attempting to control his emotions and discover the truth of his origins. In his finest moments, Oedipus is in complete command of his emotions as he searches for the truth, while at his nadir, Oedipus is completely controlled by his emotions and is absolutely unpredictable. This contrast is, in large part, what makes Oedipus a tragic hero. Oedipus, King of Thebes, is among the greatest Hellenistic tragic heroes because of his fight to overcome his greatest flaw, his uncontrollable anger, as he heroically searches for the truth.
In the beginning of the text, an explanation is presented of how Thebes must “drive out a killer” in order to purge the city of the plague (99). Oedipus sets on a quest that includes Tiresias’s baffling words. Tiresias confronts Oedipus with [Oedipus’s] truth by revealing he is the murderer of Laius and “pollutes the land” (352). Oedipus is also bound by Apollo’s prophecy; his [Oedipus] fate is sealed (377). Oedipus displays his denial by refusing that he is the murderer and placing the blame on Creon.
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The concept of tragic hero is very important in the construction of tragedy. It is the main cause of pity and fear. The tragic hero is a character between the two extremes; he is neither virtuous nor evil. At the same time, this character is better than the ordinary men or audience, he has some good qualities. Moreover, as a tragic hero, he is moving from happiness to misery by his downfall at the end. In fact, this downfall is caused by an error or a flaw in his character not by a vice or depravity. Another feature in the tragic hero is that he has good reputation and he is a man of prosperity. It can be said that Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has all the previous mentioned characteristics and the whole play is a classical application of this concept.
O’Brien, Micheal. “Introduction.” 20th Centruy Interpretations of Oedipus Rex. Ed. Micheal O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 8-10. Print.
Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error). Oedipus also evokes both pity and fear in its audience, causing the audience to experience catharsis or a purging of emotion, which is the true test for any tragedy according to Aristotle.