In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Sophocles writes about fate and what it is to be blind to the truth. Many Greek tragedies consist of tragic heroes. A tragic hero is someone who can possess many qualities, like being born of noble status and is destined by the Gods to inevitably lead to their own downfall. According to Aristotle, “The tragic hero is a man of noble stature. He is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle”. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he contributed to his own destruction, and he acquires a tragic flaw, that is recurring in the play. In the play, Oedipus the King, Aristotle makes it clear that the six traits find its …show more content…
His definition entails of a peripeteia from good to bad. In the same way, this is what occurs to Haile Selassie as well. This effect will reveal his hamartia, and it will lead to his downfall. The actions of Haile Selassie make him a tragic hero, because he, himself, experienced a change of events. “His reforms greatly strengthened schools and the police, and he instituted a new constitution and centralized his own power.” Selassie did have good intentions, and planned to bring about a plethora of changes, based on what he has done to help the country already. He also introduce many social reforms and these impacted the country positively. Granted that, he also wanted to mend Ethiopia from the beginning of his ruling. Haile Selassie even changed his name, after he was made emperor, of course. Oedipus has not changed his name, but has also wanted to do well for his people, much like that of Selassie. “Speak out, before all of us. The sorrows of the people here mean more to me than any fear I may have for my own life.” (pg. 9) Oedipus cares very much for the people of Thebes, and will do anything in his power for them. He is willing to take initiative to fix the problem. He is very determined to find the underlying cause of the pestilence and how to rid the city of it. Oedipus, also during the entire play, he was trying to find out the murderer of Laius, just so that the plague would be lifted. In a like manner, to Haile Selassie, who was also driven to help the economy and the people of his
A tragic hero is an individual who possesses a fatal flaw in their character that will bring about their own destruction or suffering. Aristotle believed that “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. (Aristotle #1)” This Ancient Greek philosopher also believed that each tragic hero has four characteristics. The first of these characteristics is that a tragic hero is born with either wisdom or high integrity, and in some cases both.
Oedipus can be argued to be a sympathetic ruler of his people, "my heart must bear the strain of sorrow for all." (4). He shows a strong desire to rid the land of its despair. Yet as the reader captures a more in-depth glimpse into Oedipus' soul, we find him to be a jealous, stubborn, "blind", guilty, and sinful man. Oedipus' character outwardly seems to want nothing more than to find the guilty persons involved in the murder of Laius, yet when given obvious clues he turns a blind eye, not wanting to know the truth behind the prophecy.
“Shepherd: I am on the brink of dreadful speech/ Oedipus: And I of dreadful hearing yet I must hear” (Sophocles 63) With this Oedipus shows that he wants the truth to be reveled so that he can save the city and have the truth realized. It does not matter what the truth is only that he must know who he needs to kill or banish to save the people of Thebes. Oedipus also shows his care for the city of Thebes when he finally learns the truth about who his parents were and that he had in fact fulfilled the prophecy that he had so desired to not do. Oedipus chooses to still banish himself and stick to what he promised the city at the beginning of the play. “conceal me somewhere far from Thebes” (Sophocles 75) Oedipus does this to not only hid from the shame he receives from fulfilling the prophecy but to also end the plague and to save the people of Thebes. Finally Oedipus shows his quality of care for his children a trait that makes him more admirable in the play. This moment is shown after Oedipus finds out that he has fulfilled the prophecy and is the reason for the plague. Then he blinds himself and prepares to banish himself but before he is banished he asks for Creon and asks of a favour “Take care of them Creon do this for me” (Sophocles 77) Thus Oedipus shows his compassion for his children
... So, Oedipus had every right to be worried. We later get another glimpse of Oedipus’s hubris as he address the chorus, “ Is this your prayer? It may be answered come, Listen to me, act as the crisis demands, and you shall have relief from all these evils.” (Scene 1. 1-4) in this quote he is basically telling the chorus, which represent the city of Thebes, that he once solved the plague problem, and because he is so smart and powerful he will do it again.
In Oedipus the King acts of duty, which focuses on servicing others occurs throughout the play with a variety of characters. Though there are various examples that represent this theme, none of them are more pivotal in the play than the task that the character Oedipus willingly accepts. This task involves determining who is responsible for the death of the former king, in order to end the plague that has been placed upon the kingdom of Thebes. The pursuit of this task leads Oedipus to find out that he is responsible for the death of the former king, and has participated in acts of incest with his mother. The realization of these acts lead Oedipus into psychological torment, in which he decides to blind himself. In brief, Oedipus uses the act of saving Thebes to maintain a righteous self-image.
The king was someone who the people of Thebes turned to when they needed help, "find us strength, rescue!" p. 161. Oedipus had set himself high social expectations after helping free Thebes "from the sphinx". Oedipus was admired as being "best of men" p. 161, and therefore socially the citizens would have expected him to help them when they needed it. Oedipus was kinder to the citizens and more open with them than was generally expected from a king, "my children" p. 162. He spoke to them directly and not through a messenger, showing the closeness between the people and their king, "Here I am myself..." p. 159.
From the opening dialogue we sense the character of Oedipus. When confronted by his subjects praying for relief of the plague he reacts kingly and graciously, saying, “I am king, I had to come....How can I help?...Ask me anything. Anything at all.” He obviously cares for the people in his kingdom, but he goes on to say how he pities “these poor shattered people of [his].” The pity he feels is rooted not only in his love and sympathy, but his arrogance as well. Perhaps this attitude is duly deserved, for Oedipus had solved the Sphinx’s riddle, an apparently heroic feat, and was seen to be “greater than any man”, but the leader that he had become still possessed the hubristic tendencies which doomed him from the time he fled Corinth.
Oedipus took great pride in saving people and being seen a hero. He wanted the death of Laius to be avenged and he had to be the one to find the murderer and punish him. "I'll fight for him, I'll leave no means untried, to cach the one who did it with his hand..." (Literature, Oedipus the King, Ln. 270-271, page 1081) He did not want to let the people of Thebes down, and he wanted to show that he would be a true hero once again.
On the beginning of the play, Oedipus describes himself to be a person that is willing to do anything to help his people (the people of Thebes). For instance, on the beginning of the play Oedipus says “Here I am, myself, world-famous Oedipus...You may count on me; I am ready to do anything to help...”(6). The theme of the play is Oedipus’s journey to self-discovery, this quote connects to theme by Oedipus, who describes himself to be a great force, a hero for the city; and so far seems to have done something to help the plague-stormed city. However, throughout the play, readers and Oedi...
This shows that he is not a purely evil character because he is saving a life and looking after others besides himself. However, running from what he believes is his fate causes him to run into his real fate which leads to his downfall as a leader. On the other hand, it causes Oedipus to take the position as king of Thebes. Being leader of the city, he is forced into
A tragic hero is a character in literary works with noble character and heroic qualities in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for a downfall. I decided to write on tragic hero since the story of Oedipus Tyrannus portrays Oedipus as a protagonist whose actions leads to his downfall. In tragic hero, the character makes an error related to judgment that sets up destruction and the ultimate destruction. A tragic hero is, therefore, a person respectable in the society occupies a higher status in the society and is often liked upon by the community to find solutions to the existing problems. The tragic hero earns respect and reputation due to their action, but the fear of failure and pride leads to judgmental errors that set up downfall.
Courageous and admirable with noble qualities defines a heroine. In Aristotle’s Poetics he describes a tragic hero as a character who is larger than life and through fate and a flaw they destroy themselves. Additionally, Aristotle states excessive pride is the hubris of a tragic hero. The hero is very self-involved; they are blind to their surroundings and commit a tragic action. A tragedy describes a story that evokes sadness and awe, something larger than life. Furthermore, a tragedy of a play results in the destruction of a hero, evoking catharsis and feelings of pity and fear among the audience. Aristotle states, "It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation." (18) For a tragedy to arouse fear, the audience believes similar fate might happen to them and the sight of the suffering of others arouses pity. A tragedy's plot includes peripeteia, anagnorisis, hamartia and catharsis. Using Aristotle’s criteria, both characters in Oedipus The King and The Medea share similar qualities that define a tragic hero such as being of noble birth, having excessive pride, and making poor choices. They both gain recognition through their downfall and the audience feels pity and fear.
The priests of Thebes have come to Oedipus to stop the plague that is killing the people of Thebes. They revere him for his knowledge, since he solved the riddle of the Sphix many years before and became the king. As the reader is introduced to Oedipus, they are given many facts about his life so that they become familiar with this man who has done great things. But Oedipus learns from his brother-in-law, Creon who he had sent to Delphi, that Apollo has placed this plague upon Thebes until they "Drive the corruption from the land, don't harbor it any longer, past all cure, don't nurse it in your soil - root it out!" ¹ Oedipus swears an oath before the priests and the chorus (which represents all people of Thebes) that the murderer would be found and driven from the land.
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.
Oedipus had good intentions for his people and tries to save the city when death is at its doorstep even admitting that they mean more to him that is own life “I grieve for these, my people far more that I fear for my own life”(106-106). His determination to seek the truth and care for his people not only makes him an admirable man but respectable king. His quest for truth no matter