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The Perfect Tragic Hero - Oedipus

            The story of Oedipus Rex has been around for thousands of years even before Sophocles turned it into a greek tragedy. The greek myth is about this king named Oedipus who is born with this fate that he will kill his father and marry and have kids with his mother. To save them from this they tied Oedipus by his feet and sent with a shepherd him be killed. The shepherd saved Oedipus and took him to another royal family to be taken care of. When he finds out about his fate he leaves unintentionally knowing that he will eventually end up following his fate through the efforts of trying to find out his identity. His search to help his people eventually turns into a search to find himself. Through this search the readers may not look at him as a hero any more because of some of the things he does, but in reality Oedipus is a true tragic hero from his rise to his fall through his actions.
             Oedipus has many great characteristics. He is compassionate, confident, trustworthy, highly praised, and a man of action. In the beginning of the play Oedipus acts out of selflessness to extend himself to find out why the city of Thebes is going through so much destruction. In lines 13 - 15 he says "Whether you come in dread, or crave some blessings: Tell me, and never doubt that i will help you in every way I can; I should be heartless were I not moved. "(1218) Oedipus' character is very confident although he is very proud he shows his compassion towards his people and listening to their concerns first hand rather than second hand. He cares about his people and because of his compassion and confidence mixed together he sends Kreon to Delphi to speak to the oracle of Apollo. He tries everything to get the answer because for him visible proof is the only type of proof there is. He is highly appreciated and praised by the people of Thebes. In lines 37-39, 42 the priest says "As to the man surest in mortal ways and wisest in the ways of God .


Essays Related to The Perfect Tragic Hero - Oedipus

1. Oedipus Tragic Hero

A tragic character is "A morally good but not perfect tragic hero who is brought from happiness to unhappiness because of a mistaken act, to which he or she is led by a hamartia, an error in judgment" (1493). A perfect example of a tragic character is Sophocles's Oedipus the King. ... Oedipus is a noble character who has no vices. ... King Oedipus fits the definition of a tragic character precisely. Despite his character flaw, he is a good and noble hero who tries his best to accommodate the wishes of his people. ...

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2. Oedipus The King - A Tragic Hero

Oedipus the King can be seen as a tragic hero which is defined as a person of high status who experiences a downfall due to their tragic flaw. ... A perfect life had been torn to pieces before the eyes of the entire town. ... Being considered a tragic hero is not something that most people would want to be called. Oedipus could have avoided the tragic hero fate by simply listening to his intuition and paying closer attention to the details of his own life. ... Oedipus the King is a perfect example of how living life for the greed of ones self can lead to the demise and destruction of loved...

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3. Oedipus Rex: The tragic fate of a tragic hero

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is someone who creates his or her own downfall, whose fate is not deserved, and whose punishment exceeds the crime. In the play "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, the main character Oedipus is a perfect example of Aristotle's tragic hero. ... Destiny played a vital part in the destruction of Oedipus. ... Oedipus is a tragic hero, according to Aristotle's definition: he creates his own downfall when he tries to rise above the gods and run from his fate; his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother is not deserved; and the punishment of blindn...

  • Word Count: 647
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4. Tragic Heroes in Oedipus Rex and Cinderella

Another part of the drama that makes it powerful is the notion of the tragic hero. The tragic hero should neither be better or worse morally than normal people, in order to allow the audience to identify with them. ... If the hero was perfect we would be outraged with their fate or not care especially because of their ideological superiority. ... This is what makes him the tragic hero - he is able to endure and accept his fate because he knows his actions are what lead him to his doom. ... Also Sophocles uses the characteristics of a tragic hero in his main character Oedipus to arouse pity an...

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5. Oedipus: A True Tragic Hero

Oedipus: A True Tragic Hero In his Poetics, Aristotle defined the term "tragedy" as "a man not preeminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity, but by some error in judgment the change in the hero's fortune must not be from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery". From this definition, he further expanded it by defining the profile of the Classical Greek tragic hero, basing it on what he considered the best tragedy ever written, Sophocle's Oedipus Rex. According to Aristotle, a tragedy sho...

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6. Othello as Tragic Hero

In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus was a very great example of a tragic hero. He understood that a tragic hero should be lifelike and all should be able to relate to him in some way. " A perfect tragedy should imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation" (qtd. in Sophocles, "Critical Excerpts" 109). ... A tragic hero should in all accounts have these important qualities: goodness, superiority, a tragic flaw, and a tragic realization at the end. ... In the following you will see how Sophacles brought about a very real and identifi...

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7. Oedipus Rex

Oedipus is the victim being a tragic hero in a tragic situation. ... Firstly, Oedipus" status meets that of a tragic hero. ... Secondly, Oedipus" tragic flaw causes him to be the perfect candidate for a tragic hero. ... This ignorance is Oedipus" tragic flaw, which qualifies him as being a tragic hero. ... Oedipus is a tragic hero in a tragic situation. ...

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8. Oedipus as a tragic hero

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a famous Greece tragical play. The main character, Oedipus, is considered as a classic tragic hero base on the most influential literary theorist, Aristotle's definition of tragic hero. ... Throughout the play, Oedipus is proved to be perfect match to Aristotle's tragic hero as he is the king of Thebes, he is good and looked up by his people, but falls because of an act of injustice. ... As mentioned, a tragic hero must be highly renowned and prosperous. ... Oedipus is a highly renowned and prosperous person and has perfectly matched the condition of being...

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9. Oedipus

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a numberof characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. ... All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according to Aristotle's ideas about tragedy, and a narcissist. Using Oedipus as an ideal model, Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be an important or influential man who makes an error in judgment, and who must the...

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