Sophocles Oedipus The King

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Aristotle’s Poetics describe a tragic hero who has destroyed him or herself through fate. A tragic hero is usually defined as someone who is involved with him or herself, these characters are the ones who commit a tragic action by being blind to their surroundings. They do not wish to cause harm to others or make them unhappy, but for some reason they end up doing just that. In “Oedipus Tyrannus” by Sophocles, Oedipus is going through the same tragedy. According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious heartfelt story. This way the audience can engage and relate to the context provided. “Oedipus Tyrannus” contains many of the concepts and ideas Aristotle presents in Poetics. Some of these concepts include …show more content…

Since this was prophesied when Oedipus was born, his mother Jocasta sent him away to die so she could save her husband and family. The prophecy was not something any mother or father wanted to hear. To save their family and their son from a fate that he would never be able to come back from, they had to make a difficult choice. Oedipus, was introduced as a universally loved hero in the eyes of the people of Thebes. Oedipus had ruled the city well after the last King’s untimely demise and he is looked upto by the people. There is a conflict among the people because they have not been able to find out who killed King Laius. The people ask Oedipus to get them answers so that the issue can be resolved once and for all. He agrees and sends, Creon, his brother-in-law to find more information. Oedipus questions, Jocasta, his wife, a shepherd and, Tiresias, the messenger about King Laius’s death. It is revealed to him that the killing was done by one man, and he remembered killing a man and the men he had with him. At first he does not wish to believe that it was the same man. Soon, Oedipus finds out that King Laius was his father and Jocasta is his mother. Jocasta realizes that the prophecy has come true and she has been a part of this unbearable situation. After this revelation of incest, and knowing the crime Oedipus has committed, he cannot bear the pain. …show more content…

According to Aristotle this is exactly the kind of character that is part of a tragedy. A tragic hero is someone who is an important man who can bring upon change, this is usually the man who makes some kind of mistake in his lifetime. Then he must suffer the consequences and be ready for what maybe coming his way (100). The tragic hero must suffer a lot of pain, and when the audience reading feels that same pain, is when you know the author has succeeded. Learning from the mistakes we make is also an important issue, many people do not like to admit that they are wrong. Oedipus does not have this problem and he accepts his fault and decides his own punishment of exile as well. Blinding himself was not enough for him so he wished that he could be banished from Thebes. Accepting and deciding such a harsh and painful punishment is not easy, not many people are able to do what Oedipus did. Morally Oedipus was not a bad person, it was his fate that was tarnished. He was a proud man because he thought well of himself because he did not fulfil the prophecy, or so he thought. The revelation of truth is what breaks his arrogance and he is unable to look anyone in the eyes. Oedipus thought since he had solved the sphinx’s riddle he knew everything. What he did not know was that fate had brought him here to suffer a long and undesirable life. Oedipus’s story brings fear to us in our own lives because he has so many

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