How Does Oedipus Satisfy all of the Requirements for a Tragic Hero?

They say Oedipus was the hero that affected Aristotle’s view on the tragedy and the tragic hero himself, and therefore, created the well-known Aristotelian tragic hero. Reading Oedipus the King, it is clear why the main hero fits the description perfectly. In this piece of literature, Oedipus is a perfect example of the Aristotelian tragic hero, who creates the sense of pity from a reader and fits all of the described requirements.

The general concept of the Aristotelian tragic hero lies in the main character making an error in judgment and later suffering from this own mistake. More specifically, to be a tragic hero, one must have “flaw or error of judgment (hamartia)”, “reversal of fortune (peripeteia) brought about because of the hero’s error in judgment”, “discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero’s own actions (anagnorisis)”, and hubris, which is defined as having the excessive pride. (Bainbridge Island, n. p.) As a result of possessing the listed features, “character’s fate must be greater than deserved.” (Bainbridge Island, n.p.) What is more, the character has to be neither bad, nor good, meaning that the reader must be able to relate to him or her.

From the beginning, the reader is shown how imperfect the life of Oedipus is. As a new-born child, he is abandoned by his parents, because his father, King Laius has heard the prophecy that states that his son will kill him, and will marry his father’s wife, his mother. Later in his life, Oedipus hears his prophecy from the oracles and decides to run away from the kingdom, in order not to hurt his family, whom he does not know is an adoptive one. Doing so, Oedipus shows one of the main tragic hero traits – the error in judgment, or hamartia. From this moment, the reader starts to fully understand why Oedipus is the tragic hero, as all of the characteristics start falling into one place.

Peripetia and anagnorisis are the characteristics that come as the consequences of the error in judgment. Oedipus reverses his fortune while trying to run away from it, and by doing so, he makes it come his way instantly. Anagnorisis is shown, when eventually, step by step, Oedipus starts to understand, who was the man he killed, and why they have the same prophecies with his wife, and mother. One of Aristotle’s requirements for a tragic hero is excessive pride or hubris. It is a trait that Oedipus possesses, and it is shown in multiple places throughout the tragic tale. The first time that Oedipus shows his excessive pride is when he runs away from his home, trying to escape the prophecy. He cares about his family, and neither wants to kill his father, nor marry his mother, but he pictures himself as a God, trying to run away from his fate. While running away, he fulfills the prophecy, killing the man on the road, who happened to be his birth father. In this part of the story, Oedipus also shoes his excessive pride, killing a man over a minor disagreement.

Oedipus is, without any doubt, the perfect tragic hero. Without being excessively perfect, he has some good traits that make the readers sympathetic to him. At the same time, he has some tragic flaws that define him as a tragic character. With his own hands, he reverses his fortune by making an error in judgment and later unravels the characteristics that are necessary for him to be the perfect tragic hero. From the very beginning of the tragedy, the author makes the reader pity the main character. Pity, and the balance between bad and good – is precisely what makes Oedipus the perfect tragic hero.

Works Cited

Barstow, Marjorie. “Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle.” The Classical Weekly, vol. 6, no. 1, 1912, pp. 2–4. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4386601.

“Oedipus as a Tragic Hero.” Bachelorandmaster.com, n.d. Accessed on October 15, 2018, https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/globaldrama/oedipus-as-a-tragic-hero.html#.W8QIxdka_IV

“Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle.”  Bainbridge Island, n.d. Accessed on October 15, 2018, https://www.bisd303.org/cms/lib3/WA01001636/Centricity/Domain/593/10th%20english%20Fall/C%20-%20The%20Tragic%20Play/Antigone.Medea/Definition%20of%20Tragic%20Hero.pdf

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
close
Haven't found the right essay?
Get an expert to write you the one you need!
print

Professional writers and researchers

quotes

Sources and citation are provided

clock

3 hour delivery

person