Oedipus Tragic Hero

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• Oedipus the Tragic Hero Essay

  ...Oedipus; The Tragic Hero In the Fourth Century BC, a famous philosopher named Aristotle wrote about the qualities that a tragic hero must possess. Ever since that time, there have been many examples of tragic heroes in literature. None of those characters, however, display the tragic hero traits quite as well as Oedipus, the main character from the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is, without a doubt, the absolute quintessence of a tragic hero. His example shines as clear as a sunny summer day. Oedipus first shows himself to be a tragic hero through his birth and position in society. He displays both power and stature as King of Thebes. Aristotle’s first criterion states that the tragic hero must occupy a high status in society and embody nobility by birth, two qualities that Oedipus definitely has. Oedipus is the King of Thebes, showing his high societal position, and his birth was noble, as he is the son of a king. "Laius' house and the son of Polybus?" (Sophocles 283). This quote by the chorus was referring to Oedipus as the son of Polybus, King of Corinth. Oedipus is actually the son of Jocasta and Laius, the King and Queen of Thebes, but he grew...

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• Essay on Oedipus the King a Tragic Hero

  ...November 2011 A Tragic Hero Indeed! In Sophocles tragedy Oedipus the King, King Oedipus swears to solve the murder of former King Laios in order to free the city from the plague. The plague taunts the city destroying crops and livestock and making the women unable to bear children. A seer, Teirsias tells Oedipus that he himself is Thebes’s pollution for killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus ignores his words and is blind to the truth until he discovers that it is he who corrupts the city. In order to illustrate Oedipus as the perfect Aristotelian tragic hero, the reader must examine his noble stature that gives him authority, his hamartia resulting in his downfall, and his misfortune that not wholly deserved. Because Oedipus is the king he has the authority to demand information about Laios’s death and become a classic tragic hero. Aristotle’s states that a tragic hero must be of either a high rank or noble birth (“Tragedy and Comedy” 1211), and Oedipus’s position as king gives him power to find and question those who know and punishthose who withholds information about the murder. When Oedipus is at the front of the palace before the people the Priest refers to him as “great Oedipus, O powerful King of Thebes” (Prologue 16) when...

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• Essay about A Tragic Hero Oedipus Rex

  ... and suffers severe anguish and pain, he is labelled a tragic hero. This underline’s the theme of the 429 BC Ancient Greek play, Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles the Third. This beloved tragedy tells the story of a great King, Oedipus, who tries to live up to his title when the city of Apollo is cursed with a plague and the death of a King. Oedipus must find the culprit of the massacre, and destroy him. However, when a man and a prophet, Creon and Teiresias, accuse Oedipus for the problem, an entire cycle of downward events are put into Oedipus’ lap leading him to his recognition as King of Thebes and the death of his love Jocasta, which turns out to be King Laius’ Queen. This proves that it is actually Oedipus’ destiny is to kill his father and marry his mother, since King Laius and Jocasta are revealed later on as his parents. This is an event that takes place before Oedipus finds out. This is an epiphany. The king struggles through a great deal of tragedy due to his severe suffering, his tragic flaws, and his understanding of how he must face the terrible consequences for his actions. Oedipus experiences some cases of severe suffering throughout the play. Choragos describes to the King that “…[Oedipus] suffer it all twice over, remorse is...

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• The Tragic Hero Essay

  ...Honors Lit Antigone: The Tragic Hero In Sophocles’ Antigone, the two main characters, Antigone and Creon, could both claim the title of 'tragic hero,’ but the question is who more deserves the title? The grieving princess who only wanted to do right by her dead brother or the stubborn king who was only doing what he felt was right for his kingdom? There have been many debates over this question. Some people would say that Antigone herself is the tragic hero of her own story; others would argue that it is her uncle Creon who holds the title. Yet there are few people who believe that Ismene, Antigone’s sister, is just as worthy of the title for the fact that in the end she is the only survivor of her family and she, unlike Antigone and Creon, never has a chance where she is able to rectify the problems that come about her. Either way the question still remains ‘who is the tragic hero of Antigone?’ To answer this question we must first learn what defines a tragic hero. According to Aristotle a ‘tragic hero’ is usually someone born of a noble birth. The hero also has a hamartia or a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. He then has a peripeteia, a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero's tragic flaw. And last but not least his actions must...

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• Tragic Hero Essay

  ...Othello as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Othello, the Moor of Venice (c.1604, as reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Literature: Structure Sound and Sense, 6th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993]1060-1148) is arguably one of the finest, if not the finest, tragedies in the literary history of Western civilization. This paper discusses Othello as a tragic hero and compares him to the great Aristotle's concept of what a tragic hero actually is. First, we need to understand the characteristics of a so-called tragic hero as defined by the Greek critic, Aristotle. He indicates that a tragic hero must have these characteristics: (1) Be a nobleman, prince, or person of high estate; (2) Have a tragic flaw, and a weakness in judgment; and (3) Fall from high to low estate. (Hubele). Using the Aristotle criteria, we can easily classify Othello, the Moor, as a tragic hero. At the time, it was common practice for the Italian city-states to have a foreigner, with proven military capabilities, serving as the head of their Army. Othello, an African Moor of noble birth, is just such a character and held the highest ranking military position as Governor-General of Cyprus. The city of Cyprus was a city-state in the great state of Venice. His title alone, Governor-General, exudes an...

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• Essay on Oedipus Tragic Hero or Victim of Fate

  ...to create a compelling tragic hero. He states that this particular character must be "better than we are," a man who is superior to the average man in some way. At the same time, a tragic hero must evoke both pity and fear among the audience, causing each member to experience a feeling of catharsis, or strong emotion. According to Aristotle, the best way to achieve this effect is to accurately portray the protagonist’s imperfections, for a character that constitutes good and evil is more convincing than a character that is purely good. Lastly, a tragic hero can be characterized by his hamartia, a Greek word that can be translated as "tragic flaw," or more simply, "error in judgment." Upon close inspection of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, however, it appears as if Oedipus’ downfall was a result of the will of the gods and not a consequence of his “tragic flaw.” Therefore, in regards to Aristotle’s guidelines, can Oedipus truly be considered a tragic hero? At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is largely confident, and with good reason. He has recently freed Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx and has achieved royal status as king. In accordance with Aristotle’s view, the audience members would no doubt possess a deep respect for Oedipus as a “larger and better” version of...

  1365  Words | 4  Pages

• Tragic Hero Essay

  ...English 11 Fences: Is Troy Maxson a tragic hero? Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was a famous Greek philosopher who outlined the unique and powerful qualities of tragedy. For Aristotle, tragedy was the most refined version of poetry dealing with grand matters. Oedipus Rex and Antigone are just two examples of famous Greek tragedies. Fences by August Wilson is a contemporary play, and is certainly not considered a classic Greek tragedy, yet the main character has been called a modern-day tragic hero. After analyzing Troy Maxson’s conflicts and his character, decide how well he fits the definition of a tragic hero. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- To what extend could Troy Maxson be considered a tragic hero? ------------------------------------------------- Guidelines: 1. Include an introduction in which you accomplish the following goals: * Engage the reader. Include a hook! * Give general information about the play (including title and author). * Provide a clear thesis. 2. In the body of your essay, * Analyze how well Troy Maxson fits the characteristics of a tragic hero. Honors students should select at least 3 characteristics to address. Regents students should select 2 characteristics. Refer to the...

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• Oedipus King, Tragic Hero

  ...Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, contains a very prominent tragic hero: Oedipus. A tragic hero, by Aristotle's definition of one, must possess six traits. One of them is that the tragic hero must be of noble stature. Another trait of a tragic hero is a tragic flaw. A third trait defined by Aristotle is that a tragic hero must have a period of recognition of his crimes. Oedipus strongly displays each of the three aforementioned, necessary traits; and he is, then, an obvious tragic hero. Oedipus' noble stature is immediately apparent in Oedipus the King. The play's prologue opens with Oedipus addressing the people of Thebes. He states, "Yes, I whom men call Oedipus the Great" (5). This shows that Oedipus is of certain nobility, as it would be unheard of for any commoner to have the title of Great. Oedipus tells a priest to speak, who begins his reply with, "King Oedipus, the sovereign of our land, you see here young and old clustered round the shrine" (5). It becomes very clear that Oedipus is King of Thebes; and he is revered in his country. Oedipus is further noble because he is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes....

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