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Oedipus The King - A Tragic Hero

            Oedipus the King is a story of trials and tribulations for a man who believed he had it all. Being known as the King of Thebes that had saved the town from a killer sphinx did more than just boost his ego, it made him King. With the sudden fame and glory Oedipus became a person of high status that was admired and envied by many of the townspeople. 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.
             Oedipus was considered a high society figure in two ways, being the heir to the city of Cornith and being the King of Thebes. Thinking he was born to the King and Queen of Cornith, Oedipus was the future heir of the throne. This thought alone made Oedipus feel superior and more noble than the regular townsman. The second reason that Oedipus was considered of high status is because he solved the riddle of the Sphinx, saved Thebes from disaster, and claimed the throne of former King Lauis. Oedipus was the only person to come remotely close to solving the riddle of the Sphinx, therefore many looked at him as a superior being. Oedipus knew that the townspeople held him with such high regard and so he took advantage of that. When one feels as if they are superior to everyone it can cause a lot of damage.
             The herendous events that took place in Oedipus' life are more dramatic than one ever wishes to experience. The downfall begins with the plague of Thebes. The entire extistense of life in Thebes is threatened until the murderer of Lauis is reveled. Oedipus vows to seek out the killer and get sweet revenge. Tiresas the blind prophet bust Oedipus' bubble with the news that he is not what he seems to be. Tiresas can see things clearly even though he is blind. The downfall of Oedipus seems to improve with the news of his fathers death, this means that Oedipus did not kill his father. The tables turns when Oedipus and Jocasta come to the realization that they are mother and son.


Essays Related to Oedipus The King - A Tragic Hero

1. Oedipus Rex

... enlightenment. Firstly, Oedipus" status meets that of a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as an exemplar, a paragon, and a light bearer. The tragic hero must be someone of importance, someone more important than the average character in the play. He must be above the community in some way. Oedipus passes this requirement with ease for he was a hero and held a revered position within his society. He sold the Sphinx's riddle and became the King of Thebes. He ... referred to him as "Great king" (p.16). They were not forced to love him, the voluntarily loved him. The Priest himself tell...

  • Word Count: 942
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

2. oedipus

... the hero. One of the most important elements of a tragic hero is that he must not be perfectly good, as seen with both Oedipus and Laius. In Oedipus and the Sphinx Oedipus" bravery and courageousness is shown by how he saves the town by killing the Sphinx, "Oedipus pledged to rid the country of the terror, and so he set out to find the Sphinx" (Sophocles 1), therefore setting him up to be the town hero and King. Oedipus becomes King ... , and hero of Thebes; he ... ...

  • Word Count: 1338
  • Approx Pages: 5

3. Oedipus: A True Tragic Hero

... 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 should comprise of the hero's goodness and superiority, a tragic flaw in which the hero makes fatal errors in judgment which eventually lead to his downfall, a tragic realization in which the main character understands how he has unwittingly helped to ... anything to deserve such a tragic ending, when he discovers that he had killed his father and committed incest with ...

  • Word Count: 1426
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Oedipus and Aristotle

... a tragic hero in three ways. One way that he fits the definition is the fact that misfortune was not caused by a character flaw but by a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that overtook Oedipus" intentions to find out who killed King Laius and who his real father and mother are. Secondly, Oedipus was brought from happiness to agony and he is regarded as extraordinary rather than typical. And thirdly, Oedipus accepted all the ... he ended in agony by eventually exiling himself out of his own kingdom which leads into how he took responsibility for his downfall. Oedipus told Creon to send ...

  • Word Count: 357
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Oedipus Rex

... its" plight. Oedipus must get rid of the man who killed the former king, Laius. From the beginning of the story, the reader already knows that Oedipus himself killed Laius. It is tragic because Oedipus must die to help his city. Not only does this fact create a tragic hero, but it also creates tragic irony. By definition, tragic irony is the revealing to an audience of a tragic event or consequence unknown to the character involved. The readers know ... that Oedipus was born ... ...

  • Word Count: 1207
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Tragic Heroes in Oedipus the K

... characteristic unchanged. A character that possesses all four of these fundamental traits, therefore, gives the hero's downfall greater meaning and a greater tragic effect. Playwrights Sophocles and Henrik Ibsen are two of the greatest portrayers of the tragic hero's downfall, and their works serve as vessels in carrying them to the audience. In Sophocles" Oedipus the King, the tragic hero is most certainly Oedipus. Oedipus, first of all, is a good man. When he declares, "My spirit grieves for ... these three works, there is the possibility of other tragic heroes hidden amidst the centr...

  • Word Count: 1545
  • Approx Pages: 6

7. Summary of Oedipus Rex

... of pity and fear from the audience, for the main character or tragic hero as he or she moves toward a destructive end, eventually leading the audience to "explode" at the ultimate downfall of the hero. Based on Aristotle's interpretation of tragedy, one may conclude that the theme of tragic heroism is a recurring and essential theme in the development not only of Oedipus's character but also of the play for it is ... an element that makes the work of literature a tragedy. Set in the city of Thebes, Oedipus Rex begins with the cries and pains of citizens victimized by a plague. Baffled b...

  • Word Count: 1098
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Oedipus as a tragic hero

... of both. 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. His downfall is caused by his own fault, but his misfortune is not wholly deserved. As mentioned, a tragic hero must be highly renowned and prosperous. Oedipus, the King of Thebes is ... highly renowned and prosperous. Oedipus ... had saved the city of Thebes from Sphinx and because of this, people in Thebes looked up to him. They rely on and look to ... ...

  • Word Count: 569
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Tragic Heroes of The Iliad and Oedipus Rex

... that can qualify him or her as tragically heroic. Two Grecian literary legends, Achilles from Homer's Iliad and Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, fit the description of an Aristotelian tragic hero. Achilles, from Homer's The Iliad, is a tragic hero. Achilles's quick rage coincides with a key characteristic of a tragic hero. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae takes Briseis, Achilles's prize, or woman. This act is an insult to him, as it is betraying Agamemnon as ... an Aristotelian tragic hero. The titular character from Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, also corresponds with Aristotle's idea of a tragic hero...

  • Word Count: 915
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

10. Oedipus Rex

... life is not all it appears to be. As a plague comes upon the city, Oedipus" past is revealed and his life takes a quick downfall that earns him the title of a Tragic Hero. Oedipus the King possesses all the characteristics of a Greek hero, but by his own pride and fidelity to the truth he meets a tragic end of his own making. With an intelligence superior to those around him, he has ... remained ignorant to the basic facts at hand and the warnings of those around him. His tragic flaw, hubris, gets the better of him when he meets and kills his father along the road. Oedipus rejects the wi...

  • Word Count: 925
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

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