Oedipus the Tragic Hero Oedipus,

Oedipus the Tragic Hero

Oedipus, the Tragic Hero

Oedipus is a morally good and virtuous person, who suffers great misfortune which he does not appear to deserve, evoking the pity of the audience. Thus, Oedipus is a tragic figure as defined by Aristotle.

What is an Aristotelian tragic hero

Qualities of the character needed

Qualities of the story

Oedipus facts and background

Oedipus as a Tragic Hero

Moral Virtue

Examples before knowing he fulfilled his prophecy

Examples after knowing he fulfilled his prophecy

Mistake/Tragic Flaw

Trying to escape prophecy

Brought on by Oedipus' humanness, not by Oedipus' depravity

Downfall/Misery

Realizing he fulfilled his prophecy

Misery brought to himself and his people iii. He gouges his own eyes

Conclusion

Introduction

The ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus, delineates the tale of a Greek would-be King who self-fulfills his prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. To assess Oedipus as tragic hero, it is first necessary to define what a tragic hero is and is not. For a dramatic character to qualify as tragic hero, the character must be essentially a morally "good" person. He is of strong and righteous character, but as an effect of being human, he has free will and the power of choice. The free will leads to choice(s) which cause the character to undergo sever misfortune. This misfortune cannot have been caused by the character's own depravity, but it will result from error on the part of the character, that is, his or her humanity (Reeves, 1952).

There is ample irony in how Oedipus fulfills his prophecy, as all of the climactic events unfold in the course of Oedipus attempting to consciously avert the very prophesy. As the tragedy unfolds, it becomes evident that Oedipus is essentially a person of solid character who tries to do right in the world. He becomes consumed, however, with avoiding his prophesy and thus, he unwittingly alters the course of his life to follow the very path he is trying so desperately to avoid. As a result, Oedipus in fact is an Aristotelian tragic figure.

Definition of a Tragic Figure

In order for Oedipus to meet Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero, he must meet the criteria of being of good moral character. Is Oedipus' character and virtue such that he can be essentially regarded as a morally good person? As a precursor to this question, who determines good character from bad character? The latter question is believed to be the peers of Aristotle, his fellow philosophers and writers. Aristotle ascribed only the level of virtue that he believed he himself possessed. The immediate audience for which his works, including Poetics, was written was the literate and intellectual class of free citizens, a fairly limited group (Reeves, 1958).

Oedipus' Character

As to Oedipus' character itself, it appears from Sophocles work that Oedipus was a man of good integrity and virtue. There are numerous examples from the text to support this conclusion. First, Oedipus first abandons Corinth, a kingdom over which he will one day reign, because he loathed the idea of his prophecy coming true: Murdering his own father and developing an incestuous relationship with his mother. Secondly, he kills his birth father, Lais, only in an act of self-defense and not out of rage, hubris or other culpable intent. Third, he frees the city of Thebes from the grip of the sphinx. Finally, his reign over Thebes is (at least initially) considered to be benevolent and the city prospers.

After becoming aware that he has fulfilled his prophecy and in the process brought great suffering to his beloved Thebans and created tremendous devastation among his family and in his kingdom, Oedipus character remains strong and virtuous. He is inconsolable with grief and he gouges his own eyes, lest he enjoy the gift of sight in the midst of all the pain he caused (Knox, 1956). Therefore, the events of Oedipus life, both before and after fulfilling his prophecy strongly indicate that his character was strong and his virtue beyond reproach.

Oedipus' Mistake/Tragic Flaw

Every tragic hero must have a tragic flaw. This flaw will require the character to make choices that, while in line with his free will and not altogether nefarious in nature, will give the character a direct hand in bringing about his or her own demise. Oedipus' tragic flaw is introduced early in the play. Oedipus travels to the oracle at Delphi and learns that he will one day kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus at once endeavors to avert the prophesy and this becomes his tragic flaw.

Oedipus firmly believes that he is the son of Polybus and Merope, the king and queen of Corinth. In fact, he has been adopted by these two after his birth parents, Lais and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, cast an infant Oedipus out of Thebes. The oracle at Delphi had prophesized to Lais and Jocasta that their son would kill Lais and marry Jocasta, causing the banishment. When Oedipus is told by a drunkard in Corinth that Polybus is not his real father, Oedipus seeks counsel at Delphi, where the oracle reveals his prophecy. Oedipus at once determines to outwit the prophecy.

Attempting to avoid the prophecy is Oedipus' tragic flaw, or tragic mistake, for two reasons. First, it cannot be done, so it is therefore a futile endeavor. The audience knows this cannot be done, though it understands wanting to avoid the prophecy, as it is particularly heinous. Aristotle believed that the morally just in society could identify with the tragic hero (Reeves, 1958). No person would feel they deserve the pre-destined fate of killing their father and marrying their mother. All persons would perceive this as great misfortune. Suffering an undeserved misfortune evokes pity among the audience. This sense of pity that is developed for Oedipus is one of the earmarks of an Aristotelian tragic hero (Reeves, 1958).

Oedipus attempts to avoid his prophecy create a tragic flaw in another sense, as well. His obsession to not kill his father and marry his mother leads him to embark on a course of events that produce the very thing he so desperately sought to evade, fulfillment of his prophecy. Oedipus believed that his mother and father ruled Corinth as king and queen (Belfiore, 1992). By leaving the city of Corinth, Oedipus reasoned, he felt he could surely leave his destiny behind. Tragically indeed, this led him directly into the path of his prophecy. He crosses paths with Lais, King of Thebes and Oedipus father. The two do not recognize each other, but a quarrel breaks out during which Oedipus slays his father. Oedipus then travels on to Thebes and marries the woman he just widowed, his mother Jocasta. Thus, his prophecy is complete.

Oedipus downfall

Oedipus downfall begins when he seeks the help of the blind prophet Tiresias indentifying who killed Lais, the former King of Thebes. Only will this end the curse of famine and plague which has beset the city. Next Oedipus comes into contact with the exact truth of his past and upbringing, as well as sharing this news with Jocasta, his wife and unwitting mother. Oedipus' obsession to avoid his prophecy now becomes an obsession to learn the truth of his past and present.

Thus, Oedipus leads himself to his own downfall. He is told that it was he, Oedipus, who killed Lais, his father and took the hand of Lais' bride, his mother Jocasta, as his queen. He further learns that he must banish himself to save Thebes from plague, drought and famine. Oedipus' anagnorisis, recognition, later comes when he is told that it was he who killed the former King Lauis and that he is, in fact, now married to his own mother. The city of Thebes had been searching for King Lauis' murderer in order to drive him out of Thebes to save the city from the plague. A short time later, Oedipus comes across Jocasta who has hung herself. He immediately blinds himself with her brooches in a fit of madness brought on by the recent developments. Oedipus ultimately seeks to banish himself out of the Kingdom to escape his reality and for the good of the people of Thebes.