Always Blind and Always a Beggar: Hamartia in Oedipus Rex

Tragedies are mostly similar creatures. Whether it’s William Shakespeare’s Othello or Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, a tragedy must abide by certain standards to be called a tragedy. Of course, it must be fatal; someone or something must die. Certain complexities like tragic flaws or foreshadowing may also appear. Irony plays a key part and takes many forms, including tragic, dramatic, or cosmic irony. There is, however, another necessary mechanism to create a solid, working tragedy: hamartia. Defined as the “error of the tragic hero which causes his fall” (Scheepers 1) or simply a “miscalculation” (Brown), hamartia can be easier to explain than identify. Romeo and Juliet, for example, has many scenes or dialogue that could be deemed such a fall: Mercutio’s accidental death or Romeo and Juliet’s marriage may spring to mind. The Greek tragedy Agamemnon may find its hamartia in the prelude to the Trojan War when Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter to secure a victorious war abroad or the past offenses of his family towards Aegisthus’ family. Sophocles’ brilliant tragedy Oedipus Rex, however, seems to be an exception to this rule. Many claim that pride or birth is the hero Oedipus’ failing, but it is not so easy to discover, as there is no single action that causes his downfall. In her article “The Tragic Flaw: Is It A Tragic Error?”, Isabel Hyde claims Oedipus’ harmartia is “his ignorance of his true parentage” that led him to “unwittingly [become] the slayer of his own father” (322); however, this is a mistake. Ignorance is no “error” (Scheepers 1), “mistake” (Brown), or even an action. From lines 507 to 526 of the play certain phrases and wording show Tiresias the seer believes Oedipus is already doomed no matter what he does. The ill-fated sovereign could not control his ignorance. He never purposely acted in a way that turned the story into a tragedy; if anything, just the opposite occurred. Tiresias’ final speech in Oedipus Rex shows Oedipus is

Cited: Brown, Larry A. "Aristotle_Tragedy." Larryavisbrown. Jan. 2005. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. .>. Hyde, Isabel. "The Tragic Flaw: is It a Tragic Error?" The Modern Language Review 58.3 (1963): 321-325. JSTOR. St. Louis University Library, St. Louis. 29 Apr. 2008. Scheepers, I. "FATE AND DIVINE WORKING IN SOPHOCLES ' OEDIPUS REX." 137-144. Akroterion, 2005. Humanities International Complete. EBSCO. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. Sophocles, Robert Fagles, Bernard MacGregor Walker. Knox, and Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus. New York, NY: Penguin, 1987. Print.