Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Themes in Oedipus the king
Character traits of king oedipus
King oedipus character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Themes in Oedipus the king
Oedipus: A Tragic Hero
Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King is Sophocles’s first play of “The Theban Cycle.” It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate, but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character.
Oedipus is a man of noble blood; his parents, who raised him as a child, were King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus also becomes a king himself when he solves the Sphinx’s riddle, thus saving Thebes and taking over the throne of the late King Laius. Oedipus then marries Jocasta, Laius’s widow, and they have children together. Though he is a very fair and understanding husband, Oedipus’s main concern is always the city of Thebes. When a plague strikes the city, Oedipus refused sleep until he finds the cause, and he, “…sent Creon,…To Delphi, Apollo’s place of revelation, To learn there, if he can, What act or pledge of mine may save the city” (Sophocles 1257). Oedipus then vows to find who killed King Laius after Creon reveals that Laius’s death must be avenged so that the plague will be dispersed.
Oedipus, a great and noble king was flawed by his hubris, or spiritual pride. Oedipus believes that he could avoid what the oracle told him long ago: he would kill his father and then marry his mother. Instead of returning to his...
play, Oedipus the King, the playwright focuses on a man named Oedipus, the king of Thebes,
Oedipus is shown to be a well-liked and trusted king among all his townspeople. Solving the riddle of the Sphinx and saving Thebes brought him great fame and popularity. When time came to save the town from Laios’ killer, Oedipus relied much on his intellect. He searched for information about the night of the murder from Creon and Teiresias, but as he learned more details, Oedipus realized not only that he was the killer but also that he married his mother. Throughout his inquiry he believed he was doing good for his people as well as himself, but eventually it brought him shame. Oedipus was humiliated and disgusted and stated, “…kill me; or hurl me into the sea, away from men’s eyes for ever(p882, 183).'; Oedipus’ wanted to be isolated from the people of Thebes because all his respect and fame was destroyed by his fate.
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
Charles was born on June 20, 1947 in Cannelton, Indiana. The first home that he remembers living in was a two-bedroom log cabin with his mom, dad, and three sisters. He specifically remembers that the house had a wood burning stove and how his family did not have an icebox. Instead, they kept the items that they needed to refrigerate in a water pump hole to keep them cold. His parents were tobacco sharecroppers, so his family moved around a lot. He went to first grade in Cynthiana, Indiana, and then his family moved to Calhoun, Kentucky where he finished the rest of elementary school. Then, his family moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he went to middle school. Once Charles got to the ninth grade, he decided to drop out of school and move to Evansville, Indiana to live with his older sister.
When Oedipus first heard about the oracles’ prophecy that he eventually will kill his father and will marry his mother, he was determined to escape his fate. He left his homeland of Corinth in hope of a new start. Then once he arrived at the city of Thebes, he solved the Sphinx’s riddle. After this encounter Oedipus’ pride had reached a new level. He was praised and worshipped by the people of Thebes, which led to the marriage of Queen Jocasta. While being crowned king, he also learns that someone had murdered the previous king, Laius. Speaking upon this tragedy, he
In most dramatic plays, tragedy usually strikes the protagonist of the play and leads him, or her, to experience devastating losses. While tragic instances can be avoided, there are other instances where one’s fate and future is out of the protagonist’s control. In Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles and first performed around 249 BC, Oedipus cannot escape his destiny and even though he tries to overcome and circumvent prophecy, he finds out that supernatural forces will get what they want in the end. Oedipus meets the criteria of a tragic hero set forth by Aristotle and his fate within the play demonstrates that one does not always have free will in their lives.
Oedipus is the king of Thebes. He solved the riddle of this sphinx and save the city from destruction. Oedipus is a loyal, honest and brave man. He always wanted the best for his people. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. No Oedipus is not guilty for killing his father and marrying his mother because he did not know the truth, the future was determined by fate and he was blinded by his own Pride.
Imagine what it would be like to have your fate planned for you by oracles, gods, and prophecies, Oedipus did. Oedipus’ fate was foretold to his parents by the oracle. Laius and Jocasta were his parents, and when they heard the prophecy they had a messenger bring him to a mountain to die. The messenger instead gave him to another messenger who brought him to Corinth. He then found out about his prophecy and ran away from his adoptive parents, not knowing he was adopted. Oedipus is a tragic hero, he endured prophecies, royalty and nobility, battle scars, suffering, and tragedy.
Oedipus the king had a prophecy told about him by Apollo. The Oracle informed Oedipus of his destined future, which is to eventually shed his own fathers' blood and marry, as well as conceive children with, his mother. As the story plays out, Oedipus comes to the realization that he has indeed fulfilled the prophecy given to him. While he has the honor to uphold as king of Thebes, he disgraces his people with his actions of murder and incest. Ultimately, Oedipus character flaws do not help this satiation, because his lack of self-control and anger, impulsive decision to marry Jocasta (his mother), makes the prophecy come true.
In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus is the tragic hero; his flaw is his pride which he displays throughout the play, this is what leads to his downfall. In the play, Oedipus is attempting to free Thebes, his kingdom, from a plague; in doing so, he uncovers a horrible truth about himself and his family. In the end, he realizes that trying to outrun his fate, killing his father and marrying his mother, only brought him closer to fulfilling it. Throughout the play, Oedipus consistently, and sometimes without knowing, shows how prideful he is; in doing this he tries to avoid his fate and the truth. Oedipus’ pride causes him to lose everything because he chooses to overlook his fate and the truth.
A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.
While still traveling, Oedipus had come to the city of Thebes. There, he saved the city from the wrath of the Sphinx by solving her riddle. Seen as a savior by the citizens of Thebes, Oedipus was made king and subsequently, the husband of Jocasta. Oedipus and his wife-mother ruled together and had four children while never knowing of the true relationship between each other.
The concept of tragic hero is very important in the construction of tragedy. It is the main cause of pity and fear. The tragic hero is a character between the two extremes; he is neither virtuous nor evil. At the same time, this character is better than the ordinary men or audience, he has some good qualities. Moreover, as a tragic hero, he is moving from happiness to misery by his downfall at the end. In fact, this downfall is caused by an error or a flaw in his character not by a vice or depravity. Another feature in the tragic hero is that he has good reputation and he is a man of prosperity. It can be said that Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has all the previous mentioned characteristics and the whole play is a classical application of this concept.
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error). Oedipus also evokes both pity and fear in its audience, causing the audience to experience catharsis or a purging of emotion, which is the true test for any tragedy according to Aristotle.