Oedipus Tragic Hero Essay

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Greeks invented tragedy; One of the most famous of these is Oedipus the King, a tragic drama written by the famous Greek playwright Sophocles. The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle praised Sophocles’ work as the perfect tragedy. In addition to the reason Aristotle noted, The main character of this play, Oedipus, shows many characteristics of being a true tragic hero. While some people believe that Oedipus is not a tragic figure because he could have controlled his fate, Oedipus is indee a true tragic hero because his punishment exceeds the crimes he committed and the choices he made affected his life. The first reason why Oedipus is a true tragic hero is because his punishment exceeds the crime. Some would think that he deserves to be punished for his actions or that he should not continue to live life happily because of his wrongdoings. I believe that it was not his fault that he made the decisions because it was his fate. The oracle told Laius in the beginning what his son’s fate was. He said that Oedipus was to kill his father and marry his mother. He could not have changed his fate even if he wanted to. “Now I am godless and child of impurity, begetter in the same seed that created my wretched self. If there is any ill worse …show more content…

Some may believe that he could have made better decisions and changed his fate. If Oedipus were to have stayed in Corinth then his life would be different. However, that could never happen because it was his fate to marry his mother and kill his father. Ancient Greeks believed that fate is assigned to a person at birth and could not change. Even if he attempted to change this, Oedipus would be guilty of hubris. When Oedipus learned the truth about his family he blinded himself. “What can I see to love?”(line 1524). He would never have made these actions if he knew the truth in the beginning. For this reason Oedipus is a true tragic

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