Sophocles’s Oedipus is one of the most well-known and influential fictional figure in the history of literature primarily because of the fact that Oedipus symbolizes many things – as a hero, as a son, as a leader and as an example of the conflicting issues affecting morality. This particular hero is the center of the story. It’s about a boy who was thrown to the woods and was expected to meet his end there in the hopes that his death would render a prophecy unfulfilled. He would later find himself crossing paths once again with his true biological father whom he kills without knowing the true identity of the person he slew, thus, making the first prophecy a reality. When he later married his own biological mother upon his entry in his place …show more content…
of birth, he would make another prophecy realized. Oedipius’ life was tragic because he always ends up suffering various misfortunes even when his actions are fueled by the best of intentions on his part, a reversal known as peripeteia (Osborne, p. 69). It was his lack of knowledge and awareness that has doomed him to do the things he wanted to stay away from, which makes him the suitable individual to represent the concept of the ‘tragic hero’. Philosophical thinkers like Aristotle wrote about the idea of the tragic hero, explaining the characteristics of such an individual. Placing the predicament of Oedipus vis a vis, the characteristics of the tragic hero reinforces the idea that Sophocles’ Oedipus is the ideal man to exemplify Aristotle’s idea of the tragic hero based on several characteristics focused on the major flaw of Oedipus as an individual character and based on the actions Oedipus took that shaped his fortune and future. Discussion There are several characteristics that define the tragic hero, as per Aristotle’s understanding of the concept, and the life and characteristics of Sophocles’ Oedipus fit perfectly in this framework. First, there is the idea of evoking two important emotions: fear and pity. The life of the tragic hero should make the audience feel fear as well as pity. The feeling of pity should be a result of the audience empathizing to the misfortune that has befallen the hero in the story, while the feeling of fear should be a result of the realization of the audience that such misfortune could happen to them. Here, the role of the hero is to represent the human nature and the innate weakness and futility of the human endeavor to counteract or go against the perceived path that destiny and the universe has set for an individual. These are two of the strongest characteristics of Oedipus and two of the most important facets of the overall story of Oedipus’ life. The audience feels pity over Oedipus because of what Oedipus has to go through, and how he was powerless to fight a prophecy because he feels that it is the moral thing to do. First, Oedipus, as a baby, was cursed to die in the forest because his father believed that if Oedipus lives, it is by his hands that King Laius would receive his end. There is reason to celebrate and be happy because Oedipus somehow managed to get out of the forest alive as he was discovered by chance by some peasant farmers who eventually ended up handing them over to the king and queen of Corinth. However, what was thought to be the start of a better life for Oedipus was actually the opposite. On the contrary, it will be the start of a life that would have a grim ending not only for Oedipus but also for his mother and father. The feeling of pity among the audience continues as the audience witness how Oedipus unknowingly slays his father (Booker, p. 521), and then marries his mother, and it then becomes the reason for his mother’s intense feeling of guilt and confusion that led her to kill herself. Finally, the feeling of pity ends with Oedipus making himself blind and then throwing himself in exile. He allowed all of these things happen to him in pursuit of saving the lives of those whom he thought were his parents. Despite Oedipus’ moral and righteous goals, he nonetheless ends up doing what is wrong, illustrating the futility of the human being versus the power of destiny which is believed to be out of the control of human beings. As the audience ponders about the life and predicament of Oedipus, he – as the epitome of the tragic hero – then becomes the symbol of the inability of a human being to run away from his destiny, and for that, the audience feel fear. Oedipus then represents every human being (Felski, p.134). They feel fear because in their everyday lives, they make conscious choices and efforts in order to keep them from harm’s way or to keep them from doing bad things or being subjected to bad experiences. They protect themselves and they do everything they can to be morally upright and to guarantee self-preservation. But Oedipus’ life and the lessons from it will become a deeply ingrained realization upon the audience that they, like Oedipus, are after all helpless versus their destiny, especially once it is revealed to them. Another important characteristic of the tragic hero is the fact that the predicament that has led towards this destiny of the hero/protagonist is a road that is not paved with moral or virtuous steps, but should be characterized by the mercurial shift from a life of prosperity transforming towards the life of adversity. Aristotle does this to paint the tragic hero as imperfect, both in traits as well as in personal experiences. The tragic hero for Aristotle is a man whose knowledge and self awareness was a product of introspection resulting from strong and negative experiences. When Oedipus was born, he has in his hands the prospect of a prosperous life being the son of the King and the Queen. But this prosperity turns to adversity as a result of the response of King Laius to the prophecy. When he was growing up in Corinth, again he was presented by a life of prosperity to which he turned his back against because he does not want to murder his own father and marry his own mother, leading to a path that will saw him murder his true father, marry his own mother who would soon take her own life while Oedipus makes himself blind and them puts himself in exile – clearly a life filled with adversity and not prosperity. Aristotle believes that this is essential to the tragic hero because this will augur self-awareness as well as reinforce pity from the audience. It is perfect for a tragic hero because in the end, there is no happy ending for a man doomed to experience tragedy. The tragedy and misfortune will remove the tragic hero from an important trait of the tragic hero according to Aristotle, which is pedigree. The tragic hero is expected to be coming from a blood line of nobilities, which is symbolic of the expected role of leadership from which the righteousness or morality of the actions of the tragic hero are to be seen and gauged by the audience. Another important aspect of a tragic hero as presented by Aristotle is the presence of both the flaw and the state of being virtuous. This puts the tragic hero in a balanced human form – there is the presence of innate good enough to inspire moral actions but not so much that the individual is saintly and incapable of doing wrong, while on the side there is also the tendency of the tragic hero to demonstrate his frailty or weakness which will result in his error. In the story, Oedipus is the epitome of the tragic hero because he is virtuous. He was a good son to his surrogate parents and his being virtuous was demonstrated in two important events in his life. The first one was during the time he discovered that he was doomed to kill his father. It broke his heart to leave his parents behind but he knew that even though this is a very painful step for him, this was the only way that he could keep the prophecy from becoming true, saving the life of his father and saving his mother from shame that will result in the marriage of a son to his own mother. The other event which showed Oedipus innate characteristic of being virtuous is during the time he took it upon himself to punish his own self for his wrong doings. When he discovered his own crime and accepted his own shame, he was the one who took his very own eye sight, symbolizing how he was blinded and how his punishment means, not allowing him to visually enjoy life because of what he did. He also threw himself in exile as part of the punishment he himself embraced, knowing that this is the right and moral thing to do. But despite these moral actions, Oedipus is not perfect.
He is also flawed and is a man who is characterized with errors. One of his flaws is his temper. It is because of his anger that has led to his killing his father. Another flaw of Oedipus is his belief that he is more powerful than destiny and fate. He believed that he could change the course of his life based on his own actions. This belief has sent him towards the path which he was trying to avoid. He believed that he can outrun destiny and change it over time, and this sense of overconfidence in what he can do doomed him. Had he been humble enough to allow destiny to reveal itself without any effort to change it, things would have been different. Of course, Oedipus cannot be blamed here. Any one would risk doing anything and everything hoping that things turn out for the …show more content…
best. Lastly, the most important aspect of the tragic hero is death.
Tragedy pertains to a sad ending to a story or a life. The tragic hero’s life is a tragedy not because of death per se. Every human being dies, but the essence of tragedy is seen in the details leading towards the death of the hero, a life characterized by misfortune that the tragic hero has to carry with him to his grave. This is a tragedy because even in his own death, Oedipus knew that there is nothing he can do to redeem himself from his sins. He is a hero because he tried to do the right thing but he only ends up doing the wrong things nonetheless. He was a tragic hero because while the audience praise him for his values, he is also forever stained by the reality that he can never be redeemed from his errors brought about by his flaws and weaknesses as a man who is powerless against the power of destiny and fate, which is a very significant ideal during the time of
Sophocles. Conclusion Aristotle’s concept of the tragic hero puts in perspective the characteristics of the life of a person who tries to do good things but eventually ends up doing the wrong things anyway. The tragic hero paradigm explains a lot about the complex nature of life and destiny, and provides an excellent insight and commentary with regards on how society sees and judges the morality of a person. The tragic hero does not adhere to the idea regarding the means being justified by the end because even when the hero goes for what the people can consider as a moral end through acceptable means, the tragic hero veers away from this philosophical structure and opens up an entirely new schemata on how actions are decided, justified and later on adjudged for its morality and for its virtue. The tragic hero’s flaw will result in death and not in success. The tragic hero suffers misfortune not because of a particular vice or any form of depravity in the part of the hero, rather, this is caused by an error or fault in his part. In the end, the tragic hero’s actions result to self awareness and more knowledge about one’s self in retrospect of all that has happened to him. Oedipus, the quintessential tragic hero, is seen by the audience with pity for what he has to go through despite his good and noble intentions. Through Oedipus and the tragic hero paradigm, the audience is given the chance to examine the complexities of human life and to redefine the idea of moral actions depending on the reason for the action or the resulting consequences from an action.
Oedipus is a tragic hero being that he was a king who had a high position in his community to a person who wished to be released from the city forever. Oedipus says " Cast me out as quickly as you can, away from Thebes, to a place where no one, no living human being, will cross my path" (Sophocles ll. 1697-1699). Oedipus was once a person who citizens looked to for answers to problems, and a person who had control over a whole city. To a person who wished to be banished from a new king of Thebes. The use of tragic hero in the story shows a slow slope of not only his position as king, but a man who loses his family and gains information about his real identity. Sending him to his
In “Oedipus the King,” an infant’s fate is determined that he will kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent this heartache his parents order a servant to kill the infant. The servant takes pity on the infant and gives him to a fellow shepherd, and the shepherd gives him to a king and queen to raise as their own. The young prince learns of the prophecy and flees from his interim parents because he is afraid that he is going to succeed. The young prince eventually accomplishes his prophecy without even knowing he is doing it. He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate.
A son who kills his own father, marries his own mother, and is both the father and brother of his mother’s children. Oedipus, meaning “swollen foot”, grows up with adopted parents and a brooding prophecy on his heels. The frightful tale of Oedipus and his indescribable fate play out in the Greek theatrical production of Oedipus Rex. The horrible destiny for Oedipus is inevitable due to the unfavorable traits given to him by the author, Sophocles. Throughout Oedipus Rex, Sophocles masterfully weaves Oedipus’ fatal traits of naiveté, arrogance, and curiosity into the intriguing plot.
Tragedy; it’s inevitable. In life, everyone is bound to experience a rough time. These rough times and flaws are what test a hero and build character. Someone experiencing hard times transforms an average person and his mistakes into something remarkable and heroic. What characteristics make a him a tragic hero rather than just an ordinary person? A hero is a person who is admired for courageous acts, noble qualities and outstanding achievements. Despite possessing the same qualities as an ordinary hero, a tragic hero, who is born a noble birth and usually male, has a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to his ruin. The hero 's flaws can range vastly. Tragically, however, the flaws possessed with eventually ruin the person 's reputation and also
While his intentions were well meaning in the beginning, Oedipus finds himself weighed down by his own flaws. Tragically his flaws cause him to lose focus of his true objectives and damn himself to a life of misery. The tale of Oedipus depicts his rapid descent from Oedipus, savior and king of Thebes to Oedipus Tyrannus the man who slew his father and married his mother. Since Oedipus has so many tragic flaws there is a plethora to choose from. However, if Oedipus’s tragic traits could be described with two words it would be arrogant and imperceptive. First, Oedipus is arrogant. Additionally, Oedipus is imperceptive.
Oedipus is widely known for being the man that killed his father and married his mother. After Oedipus finds out about what he has done he proceeds to jab both of his eyes out and remains blind for the rest of his life. By Oedipus doing this it means that his fate that was told to his parents at the beginning of the story had come true. With Oedipus jabbing his eyes out, this made it clear that this was a tragedy. Oedipus is the perfect fit of being a tragic hero. First of all by being born into royalty and throughout his life he held a royal persona. Also he makes some choices that leads him to his own destruction. For example, with him already marrying his mother and his mother had already had several of his kids their was nothing that he could do when he found out that his wife was also his mother. In the story as he went back to confront his mother/wife, she had already hung herself. As for being a hero, he done many heroic things throughout his life. For example, when he arrived at the city where he met his mother and father, there
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
Two of the minor tragic flaws that lead to Oedipus downfall were his arrogance and short temper. Trough out the book we are able to see how Oedipus humiliates and gets into arguments with the people that telling him the truth about his real parents and that are trying to help him to find the “unknown”
Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary work that describes the downfall of an honorable, main character who is involved on historically or socially significant events. The main character, or tragic hero, has a tragic fault, the quality that leads to his or her own destruction. In reading Aristotle’s point of view, a tragedy play is when the main character(s) are under enormous pressure and are incapable to see the dignities in human life, which Aristotle’s ideas of tragedy is based on Oedipus the King. Shakespeare had a different view of tragedy. In fact, Shakespeare believed tragedy is when the hero is simply and solely destroyed. Golden (1984) argued the structure of Shakespearean tragedy would be that individual characters revolved around some pain and misery.
Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness.
In the play, Oedipus Tyrannus, Sophocles, illustrates how fate and free will could determine one 's destiny. Sophocles is a well-known tragedian who wrote more than one-hundred Greek dramas for Greek festivals. While his plays entertained countless people in Greek carnivals in his plays also made his intended audience to become acquainted with Athens’ government, social forms as well as its’ religion. In this play the main character, Oedipus, is represented as a man of sudden action, honest, and great insight. Oedipus unintentionally had fulfilled his own fate, stating that he will kill his father and marry his mother. While both fate and free will had resulted in Oedipus’ fate, the choices Oedipus made in his own
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, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is complete in itself among many other things. Oedipus is often portrayed as the perfect example of what a tragedy should be in terms of Aristotle’s Poetics. Reason being that Oedipus seems to include correctly all of the concepts that Aristotle describes as inherent to dramatic tragedy. These elements include: the importance of plot, reversal and recognition, unity of time, the cathartic purging and evocation of pity and fear, the presence of a fatal flaw in the “hero”, and the use of law of probability.
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.
In fact, Oedipus is doomed to kill his father, marry his mother and finally to be blind. It was his destiny or fate; he has nothing to do with this end or to prevent it. It was his fate which was manipulating him; drive him from Cornith to kill his father and then to Thebes to marry his mother. His destiny made him "his wife's son, his mother husband." By the hands of fate, he turned to be the most hated man in Thebes and "the man whose life is hell for others and for himself."