In effect, Oedipus is dead, for he receives none of the benefits of the living; at the same time, he is not dead by definition, and so his suffering cannot end. Oedipus receives the worst of both worlds between life and death, and he elicits greater pity from the audience.
Second, Oedipus himself and the Chorus both note that Oedipus will continue after the tragedy's conclusion. Unlike, for example Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Orestes the heroes in the Orestia trilogy , Oedipus' suffering does not end with the play; even so, the conclusion also presents a sense of closure to the play. This odd amalgam of continued suffering and closure make the audience feel as if Oedipus' suffering is his proper and natural state. Clearly, Oedipus' unique downfall demands greater pity from the audience.
Oedipus fulfills the three parameters that define the tragic hero. His dynamic and multifaceted character emotionally bonds the audience; his tragic flaw forces the audience to fear for him, without losing any respect; and his horrific punishment elicits a great sense of pity from the audience.
Though Sophocles crafted Oedipus long before Aristotle developed his ideas, Oedipus fits Aristotle's definition with startling accuracy.
He is the tragic hero par excellence and richly deserves the title as "the ideal tragic hero. Any story which ends in the death of one major character and a lifetime of misery, shame, and self-exile for the other major character is clearly a tragedy. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
October Tragedy in Oedipus Rex. Copy to Clipboard Reference Copied to Clipboard. Tragedy in Oedipus Rex [Internet]. April Once Creon punished Antigone the blind prophet Teiresias told him that the Gods will take revenge for his actions, then Creon tried to change everything but he is too late. Creon's tragic flaws were his stubbornness, the abuse of power and the actions he took to cause the downfall of the Thebes.
It also poses the question, is the cause of suffering outside of ourselves, as in fate, or in the evil designs of our enemies, or even the work of the gods? If not, then is it internal? Do we bring suffering upon ourselves through arrogance, self-preservation, or the tendency view ourselves with grandiose illusions?
As a tragedy Oedipus the King spends the majority of the play discovering who he is, without knowing exactly what is occurring. The tragedy was that he suffered the improbabilities of murdering his father and then marrying his mother, it is a tail of his revelations about his past, and the events that led him to his ultimate fall. Is Oedipus a tragic hero? Oedipus in the play Oedipus rex, plays the villain, a murderer and even the role of a hero. As a tragic hero, Oedipus makes an error in judgement and is soon facing his own destruction and whose ultimate fate was determined by a self fulfilling prophecy.
Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Oedipus has a noble stature and has greatness. From the beginning of the story Oedipus is shown as a noble caring man. Oedipus solves the riddle of the sphinx. He refused to see. In the end, when all is brough to light, he blinds himself, so he finishes the play literally as blind as he figuratively was throughout. The moral of Oedipus Rex is that it is useless to try to escape the power of fate. By the time Oedipus becomes king of Thebes, he believes he has overcome the prophecy.
He is now successful in every way: a happy husband, a proud father, and a respected leader. The main idea of Oedipus the King by Sophocles is that one cannot defy the gods without suffering severe consequences. The play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who inadvertently kills his father and ends up marrying his mother. Even when the terrible truth is revealed, he remains in denial.
In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus killed his father by striking the older man with his staff. He had just visited the oracle at Delphi and was upset with the information he received. As a literary device, hubris is commonly exhibited by a tragic hero as their tragic flaw, or hamartia.
The extreme pride or arrogance of hubris often consumes a character, blinding them to reason and resulting in their ultimate downfall. Although they show it in different ways, Oedipus and Othello both suffer from a similar character flaw, the sin of pride. At the end, Oedipus physically becomes what he had metaphorically been throughout the play: blind. As a result, Oedipus Rex demonstrates how blindness is a choice, not a physical disability, as even a person who can physically see can still act ignorant towards their actions and outcomes of their fate.
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