Oedipus The King

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ARISTOTLE'S THEORY OF THE TRAGIC HERO IS A LITERARY THEORY THAT SERVES AS A TOOL FOR ANALYSING GREEK TRAGEDY. USE ARISTOTLE'S FIVE STEPS TO ANALYSE OEDIPUS REX. MAKE SURE YOU SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS WITH EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT.

PARAGRAPH ONE: Hamartia, or the first step in Aristotle's theory of the tragic hero, is that the play must demonstrate a flaw or error of judgement. The play offers an illustration of "hamartia" throughout its prose, as at the beginning of the play, Oedipus thinks he is free of guilt. However, his rash anger led to him unknowingly kill his real father, King Lauis, at the crossroads. The murder of Oedipus' father is one of the essential links in his downfall, which indicates that his anger is a very important …show more content…

In Greek tragedy plays that follow the Aristotle created and presented in his Poetics, more often than not, the person who is asking the question is the answer. This is the reversal of fortune, brought about because of the hero's error in judgement. The reversal of fortune in Oedipus is revealed at the beginning of the play, he unknowingly is the cause of the plague crisis in Thebes, and is dragged into it personally because he takes it with a lot of personal concern and brings it upon himself, he says that it is “for [his] own sake.” His determination towards the problem engages him personally and it threatens his rule over the kingdom, and as the audience refers back to this point of the play, we feel that that was the first turning point in his life. After the blind prophet Teiresias charges Oedipus with murder, the king precedes into an investigation much fuelled by his anger, in which he discovers another turning point, where Oedipus discovers that Polybos is not his father. Ultimately, this leads to the formerly happy and successful king becoming emotionally distraught, further implicatred by his determination to know the truth, as when the shepherd tells that Oeidpus himself is the sinful one who married his mother and killed his father, the king that was admired and loved by so many becomes a tragic, miserable, and abominable character. This collapses all the vision and mission of the great king who was heretofore committed for avoiding evil and doing well, for finding the truth and helping the people, for living a happy and successful life with the help of his

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