Summary:
Oedipus demonstrates all the characteristics of a tragic hero. He occupies a high position in society by his noble birth and possesses both superior intellect and strength. However, he has several tragic flaws. He is easily angered, overconfident, and he makes mistakes.
The play Oedipus the king by Sophocles is often considered the finest play of the classical era. When Aristotle created the criteria for the tragic hero he used Oedipus as his example. In the play, Oedipus is king of the city of Thebes. He accomplishes many feats and is admired by all, but his life falls apart when he learns of his true past. He is out to find the murder of King Laius and eventually he discovers that he had unknowingly killed King Laius, his father, and married the queen, his mother. Reading Oedipus the King leads one to conclude that Oedipus fits all criteria of the tragic hero as presented by Aristotle.
Oedipus first shows himself to be a tragic hero through his birth and position in society. He displays both power and stature as King of Thebes. Aristotle says that the tragic hero must occupy a high status position and embody nobility by birth. Oedipus embodies both parts of this condition. He meets the first part of the condition through his role as King of Thebes and the second part through his noble birth. "Laius' house and the son of Polybus?" (Sophocles, 555) This quote by the chorus was referring to Oedipus as the son of Polybus who was the king of Corinth. Oedipus was born of Jocasta and Laius, the king and queen of Thebes. He grew up with Polybus and Merope, the king and queen of Corinth. Thus he was born and raised as a prince and was noble by birth. Yet he runs away from this life and becomes a king himself. He shows the town of Thebes great intelligence as he solves the riddle of the Sphinx, thus freeing the city from its oppression. For this, he is rewarded greatly with the throne of Thebes and their queen's hand in marriage.
A second way Oedipus shows himself to be a tragic hero is through his imperfection. The second of Aristotle's criteria is that the hero is imperfect and still humanlike, despite his nobility. While Oedipus demonstrates greatness, he also shows himself to be flawed. He is intelligent, but he is also quick to judge, overly prideful, and haughty. Oedipus can see only what he wants to see out of life and what others tell him. Because he is quick to judge, he often judges wrongly, this ultimately causes him many problems. Oedipus is unwilling to believe both Tiresias and Creon because of his pride. They both come to him bearing the truth, telling him that he was the murder of Laius. However, because of his pride he ignores them and accuses them of lying while plotting to overthrow him. Had Oedipus gained control over his emotions and swallowed his pride, he may never have killed King Laius in a silly squabble on the street. He would have also been able to accept the information given to him by Creon and Tiresias for its truth. The chorus says "You are my great example, you, your life, your destiny, Oedipus, man of misery - I count no man blest." (Sophocles, 1318-1319) By this they mean that Oedipus suffers as much as any other person and that he is a prime example of destiny.
We can see that Oedipus is a tragic hero through his harmatia. Aristotle says that the tragedy is often caused by the character's harmatia or character flaw. Oedipus's major flaw is the lack of knowledge he has for his own past, in addition to his arrogance.
He jumps to conclusions and is quick to accuse others. This hubris is what Aristotle claims to be the common downfall for the tragic hero. This pride adds to Oedipus's lack of perfection that as stated above, is a characteristic of the tragic hero.
Oedipus receives punishment for his crimes that are not wholly deserved which is another characteristic of the tragic hero. Oedipus unknowingly kills his father, who just happens to be king of the land, and he marries his mother. In addition to blinding himself, he is punished with exile from the city of Thebes. He says "Oh, Ohh - the agony! I am agony - where am I going? Where on earth? Where does all this agony hurl me? Where's my voice? - winging, wept away on a dark tide - My destiny, my dark power, what a leap you made." (Sophocles, 1443-1448) He is expressing his misery in his punishment, he is to be exiled but he has no say in what has happened to him. His punishment is largely his parents fault, because had he been aware of who is true parents were he never would have killed King Laius. Had his parents followed through and seen to it that Oedipus was killed he would have never been given the chance to kill his father, and would not have married his mother. His intentions are good, and he means no harm but his harmartia leads to his ultimate downfall.
When Oedipus is banished, he is given a gift through the discovery of his past. This applies to Aristotle's fifth criteria because the tragic hero must experience an increase in self-awareness. Oedipus learns that his true parents are Laius and Jocasta and that they abandoned him at birth. When he learns his true history, he is able to understand the true meaning of the oracle's prophecies. He finally understands why his life is the way it is, why he has scars on his ankles, why a drunk man told him he was adopted, and why Tiresias had mocked him saying, "that day you learn the truth about your marriage, that wedding-march that sang you into your halls, the lusty voyage home to the fatal harbor" (Sophocles, 482-484), and "You cannot imagine...I tell you, you and your loved ones live together in infamy, you cannot see how far you've gone in guilt" (Sophocles, 417-419). In both of these quotes, Tiresias is chastising Oedipus because he doesn't really know the identity of his wife and doesn't know the truths of his family. His gain of the knowledge of his past and that of his true identity not only helps Oedipus put together the pieces of his life, but it frees the city from the plague that is cursing them.
The last characteristic of the tragic hero is that the tragedy makes the audience feel pity and fear, but does not leave them depressed. In the play Oedipus the King, the audience pities Oedipus because he is punished for something that he didn't know he was doing. Yet, the audience is not left feeling depressed because the violence takes place off stage and you are not even sure that it happens. The audience is not depressed because the truth has come out and although it has been painful, it is good for the city of Thebes. The people are freed from the plague and the city can begin to prosper again. The audience fears for Oedipus because they know, unlike him, that he has committed a harsh crime and that he will be punished for it.
Oedipus demonstrates all the characteristics of a tragic hero. He occupies a high position in society by his noble birth and possesses both superior intellect and strength. However, he has several tragic flaws. He is easily angered, overconfident, and he makes mistakes. His pride and blind devotion to the truth ultimately lead to his downfall. He is punished severely for actions that are not wholly his fault. Although he committed his crimes unknowingly, he is punished with exile and death. The story evokes pity for Oedipus, but the ending does not leave the audience depressed. While Oedipus loses much, he also gains much. He gains personal understanding about his past and enables his city to regain prosperity. It is clear to see why Aristotle referred to Oedipus the King as "the ideal tragedy."
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