Oedipus as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Oedipus the King
In the introduction to Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Sophocles defines a tragic hero as one who "[behaves] admirably as a man, [but who] is nevertheless tripped up by forces beyond his control and understanding..." (Sophocles 76). In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. The force that "trips up" the hero is fate, or, moira. It is Oedipus's actions that set the events into motion, but it is ultimately his fate, and his attempted aversion to it, that brings about his downfall. This downfall, and elements such as plot, character, diction and spectacle (Aristotle 175), that cause Oedipus the King to be a tragedy.
In order to describe Oedipus as a tragic hero, one must begin by describing a tragedy. A tragedy must consist of a variety of elements in order to truly fulfill its purpose. According to Aristotle, the most important element is plot (175). Without the events that unify all aspects, the story would not be held together. It is the actions of the tragic hero that lead to his downfall, and that define his characteristics and set into motion all other aspects of the work. In Oedipus the King, it is Oedipus's attempt to avoid his destiny, an overt act of hubris, that leads to his rise in power and ultimate fall. In this aspect, he completely fulfills the job of a tragic hero.
Another aspect of a tragedy is character. These are the qualities that are imbued in each character in the story. There have to be admirable traits in the characters, or the readers would not care what happened to them. Some of these characteristics can include honor, bravery, and intelligence, as with Oedipus. If readers did not care, there would be no catharsis...
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...hat it was his father whom he killed. He was also acting out of love for his parents when he tried to avoid his fate by leaving town. Due to these circumstances, it can be seen that Oedipus's punishment far exceeded the crime; but this is just one more reason why he is a tragic hero.
Bibliography
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The Complete Plays of Sophocles. "Introduction." Ed. Moses Hadas. New York: Bantam Books, 1967. p.vii-xvi
The Complete Plays of Sophocles. "Introduction to Oedipus the King." Ed. Moses Hadas. New York: Bantam Books, 1967. p.75-76
The Complete Plays of Sophocles. "Introduction." Ed. Moses Hadas. New York: Bantam Books, 1967. p.77-114
Aristotle. "Poetics". Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art. Ed. Butcher, S.H. New York. Dover Publications, Inc. 1951.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Fagles. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack et al. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1992.
The Little Ice Age is the name for the period of cooling spanning from 1400 to 1900 c.e. that took place after the Medieval Warm Period. Scientists believe that solar minimums and reversals in the Northern Atlantic Oscillation, a large atmospheric-circulation system that affects weather in the North Atlantic area including Europe, drove these changes (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). It is often assumed that the Little Ice Age had a global impact. However, in 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put forth in a climate assessment report that though there were glacial increases in other parts of the world, they were not synchronous with the glacia...
Throughout the play, there are many examples that support the argument that Oedipus is a tragic hero. By definition, a tragic hero is “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat”. Oedipus is a concerned and loving king whose people trust him explicitly. However, throughout the play, he makes choices that put him in bad situations. The play tells the story of Oedipus' journey to try and uncover the mystery of Laius' murder, as told by the oracle. Throughout his journey, he commits horrible crimes, and destroys both himself and his life. Oedipus also drags innocent people down with him. Oedipus is a tragic hero because of his fatal flaws, he was born of noble birth, he showed excessive pride and he became more self aware.
Abstract- We are going to clean up the bars and restaurants of licking county, but we need your help to do it. Many bars and restaurants don 't recycle, getting them to recycle would make a huge difference in the community. As the reader take a minute to think of all the drinks that you have had at a restaurant or barn now think of all the drinks they are selling in the bars and restaurants and how much of a difference would be made if they were to recycle all of those bottles. We are going to get them to be apart of the R&B Recycling Race. Be apart of the solution, not the problem.
Oedipus is widely known for being the man that killed his father and married his mother. After Oedipus finds out about what he has done he proceeds to jab both of his eyes out and remains blind for the rest of his life. By Oedipus doing this it means that his fate that was told to his parents at the beginning of the story had come true. With Oedipus jabbing his eyes out, this made it clear that this was a tragedy. Oedipus is the perfect fit of being a tragic hero. First of all by being born into royalty and throughout his life he held a royal persona. Also he makes some choices that leads him to his own destruction. For example, with him already marrying his mother and his mother had already had several of his kids their was nothing that he could do when he found out that his wife was also his mother. In the story as he went back to confront his mother/wife, she had already hung herself. As for being a hero, he done many heroic things throughout his life. For example, when he arrived at the city where he met his mother and father, there
Amos, Jonathan. “Deep Ice tells Long Climate Story.” BBC News. BBC News. 9/4/2006. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Recycling has been something that has always been in human society. Even before the modern era humans still used and reused natural resources to survive and develop as a society. Here in the US, recycling didn 't really make its impact until the 1940s, during the second world war and has only started to advance even further within the last 15 years as more efforts for environmental preservation are being made. From schools, and major companies down to individual homes, recycling programs can be found in most countries that are developed. As technology continues to grow many advancements have been made in renewable resources like solar or electrical power. Recycling though being around much longer has only recently made strides like collecting
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
It is possible to better understand past changes of climate by examining these written records left behind by people. The fur trade era on the North American Continent represents a period of time when people left an indelible impact on the environment, recorded significant meteorological-observations, and wrote about their journeys westward over the mountains and to the Pacific Ocean. With this in mind, an examination of the Little Ice Age (from A.D. 1793 to 1842) in the North American Cordillera was possible by conducting a narrative analysis of fur traders’ and explorers’ journals for meteorological observations, and then comparing these with the contemporary instrument-record.
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.
You know when you’re walking down the street, drinking your bottled soft drink or water; as you go to throw the bottle away in the trash, have you notice how many of the items in the trash are recyclable. Current reports show that about 80% of the trash that is thrown away is recyclable. Recycling is the third “R” of the three “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Recycling is defined as taking a product or material at the end of its useful life, and turning it into a usable raw material to create another product. According to Ivanhoe Broadcast News, each year the average American family throws out 2,460 pounds of paper, 540 pounds of metals, 480 pounds of glass and 480 pounds of food scraps. In conclusion the average American throws away more than 1,200 pounds of trash per year, far more than people in most other countries. I personally think that it is ridiculous how unaware and careless people are that they can’t throw an item into a different container, so it can be recycled. To a certain extent it is not just the publics’ fault; I personally believe that the government should set up and take control of the situation. Instead of sitting around as the world becomes more polluted. I believe there are many ways that we can improve this system.
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.
People Need to Recycle In the United Sates, where the population is inflated every year. The amount of space for landfills decreases every day. The need for recycling should not be asked, it should just be done out of habit. Everyone in America needs to recycle, to help the lamdfill problem, help the environment, and help produce new products from recycled goods. In America there is about two-hundred and eight tons of residential and commercial trash generated a year, 4.3 pounds per person a day (Prichard 1A). This is an overwhelming amount of trashed produced yearly. When people recycle this number can be drastically cut. But many people do not practice and use recycling. Consumers and businesses should use the three R’s; recycle, reuse, and recharge (Prichard 1A). Consumers and businesses are producing more garbage than ever before. As a result, we are rapidly running out of landfill space. In 1979 America had close to 18,500 landfills, and by 1991 that number was nearly cut in half (Prichard 10A). Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, and Illinois will reach their maximum limit on landfills by the year 2005 (Prichard 10A). This whole garbage problem has forced us to try other options. Many of these options have been very unsuccessful. People have tried burning their garbage, that cause pollution to the environment. Some states even resorted to dropping their trash in the ocean, only to have the very same trash float ashore later. Dumping it on other states leads to feuding neighbors. Indiana passed a law to block imports of out-of-state trash, but a federal court ruled the law illegal (Prichard 10A). Instead of trying to find new ways to dump our trash, we need to find b...
Oedipus is depicted as a “marionette in the hands of a daemonic power”(pg150), but like all tragic hero’s he fights and struggles against fate even when the odds are against him. His most tragic flaw is his morality, as he struggles between the good and the evil of his life. The good is that he was pitied by the Shepard who saved him from death as a baby. The evil is his fate, where he is to kill his father and marry his mother. His hubris or excessive pride and self-righteousness are the lead causes to his downfall. Oedipus is a tragic hero who suffers the consequences of his immoral actions, and must learn from these mistakes. This Aristotelian theory of tragedy exists today, as an example of what happens when men and women that fall from high positions politically and socially.