Greek tragedy, as defined by Aristotle, is “The representation of serious and important actions that lead to a disastrous end for the protagonist” (1493). The protagonist in this case is considered to be a tragic character. 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. He is a noble character with one major character flaw, and while having the best intentions, he is still doomed by fate.
Oedipus is a noble character who has no vices. He is a wise king, admired by all the people of his city. The sentences “As to the man surest in mortal ways a
However, Oedipus’s major character flaw is his tendency to accept circumstantial conclusions as evidence. When Teiresias confronts him with the truth about his fate, Oedipus chooses not to believe saying “You dare say that!” (923; 136). Instead, he concludes that Teiresias is lying by saying “Say what you will. Whatever you say is worthless.” (923; 147) and taking that as evidence, accuses Creon of conspiring with Teiresias against him. Later we are reassured by the Choragos that Oedipus was mistaken in charging Creon and Teiresias as shown in the sentence “There was suspicion without evidence; yet it ranked as even false charges will.” (931; 158-159)
Oedipus does everything out of the best intentions, but he is still doomed by his fate. The tragic fate, which was prophe
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