Exploring Oedipus' Tragic Heroism - Essay Sample

Thesis Statement

A tragic hero is the main character who faces his downfall through actions of their own and the hand of fate and in the process, causing the audience to feel fear and pity. The Greek Philosopher Aristotle explained the characteristics of a tragic hero in his book, Poetics (Aristotle, 2019). He explains that the tragic hero is a noble or intelligent man whom the audience relates to and cheers. However, the character is flawed in a manner that causes them to perform acts that they later regret (Aristotle, 2019). Apart from the tragic flaw, the hero also expresses pride that causes them to disrespect the order of nature. It then dawns on the hero that his actions have caused irreversible damage, and he or she understands the ending that they were fated to have. In the end, the character faces punishment for his actions, and this is usually a tragic death that arouses fear and empathy from the audience (Johnson & Arp, 2015). A dissection of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex demonstrates these characteristics in Oedipus. Oedipus is fated to kill his father and marry his mother, and he tries as much as possible to escape fate (Stravinsky, 2018). However, his fatal flaw, the lack of knowledge about himself, results in him first killing his father and marrying his mother. The audience sympathizes with Oedipus because his actions are controlled by fate, and therefore there is a sense of inevitability (Stravinsky, 2018). Thus, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he shows the five characteristics of a tragic hero according to the criteria by Aristotle. He is also a tragic character because he elicits feelings of fear and pity from the audience.

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Introduction

Tragedies, as explained by Aristotle, are stories in which the main character faces their demise due to a variety of factors. In these stories, the main character is referred to as the tragic hero. Aristotle defined the tragic hero as the main character who confronts their downfall that comes up as a result of either their own doing or due to fate (Johnson & Arp, 2015). The character is initially noble and intelligent, and the audience relates to them. A tragic hero, however, through his action or fate, faces a downfall which causes the audience to pity them.

Aristotle explained the characteristics that define a tragic hero. He denoted that a tragic hero can be explained by hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and nemesis (Aristotle, 2019). Hamartia is the tragic flaw that causes the downfall of the character. In essence, a tragic hero makes an error of judgement that contributes to the downfall (Aristotle, 2019). Hubris characteristic is the excessive pride that pushes the character to disregard the natural order. Peripeteia is the reversal of fate that the character will suffer (Aristotle, 2019). A tragic hero also has a moment in which they experience a realization of the reversal and an understanding that their own actions brought it. This dawning is the anagnorisis (Aristotle, 2019). The final characteristic is penance, and this is the nemesis.

When analyzing Sophocles' main character in Oedipus Rex, it is clear that Oedipus fits some of these characteristics. Therefore, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he exemplifies Aristotle's description of a tragic hero. Specifically, Oedipus shows pride which prevents him from seeing his flaws. There is also the aspect of fate, causing Oedipus's downfall that elicits pity and fear (Stravinsky, 2018). The characteristics of a tragedy and its impact on the audience are demonstrated in Oedipus Rex, and thereby it can be classified as a tragedy.

Oedipus's HamartiaOedipus's downfall, as written in Stravinsky (2018), was a result of fate that Oedipus tried as much as possible to avoid. There is a sense of inevitability in the story that will cause the audience to sympathize with and pity Oedipus (Glassberg, 2017). In the narration, the prophecy that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother results in his dismissal from his father's kingdom. This prophecy is the fate that has been edged, and therefore the eventual outcome can be seen as a factor outside of Oedipus's control.

The error in judgement in Oedipus's story is the killing of his father. Through an action of his own doing, Oedipus sets in motion a line of events that leads him to marry his mother (Stravinsky, 2018). In addition, the incestuous relationship results in him having children who were also his half-sisters. It is important to note, however, that Oedipus did not know that he was killing his father. This factor can absolve him in the eyes of the audience, and thereby gain him pity (Glassberg, 2017). However, true to the characteristics of a tragedy, the character makes the error in judgment after displaying qualities that the audience has admired. In trying to avoid confronting his terrible fate, Oedipus had run away from Corinth and towards Thebes, not knowing that his birth parents were in Thebes.

Oedipus and Hubris

Oedipus shows pride in the disregard of the advice of wise people. In doing so, Oedipus remains oblivious to the truth, and therefore he blindly makes decisions. Glassberg (2017) explains that the pride that Oedipus displayed in disregarding the advice of Tiresias also contributes to the outcome of the story. In this part, the audience fears for Oedipus as he is not aware of his origins and therefore, his actions. The aspect of fate is shown again in this instance, as Oedipus cannot remedy his lack of knowledge about his actions. He, however, has the choice of listening to Tiresias and abandoning the search, but his pride gets ahead of him and causes him to continue in that path (Edmunds, 2020). The pride causes an argument between the prophet Tiresias and Oedipus, and Oedipus mocks him about his blindness and accuses him of being paid to slander (Stravinsky, 2018). The pride sets the stage for the downfall.

Peripeteia and anagnorisisIn Oedipus Rex, the reversal of fortunes and the realization of the reversal of fate occur at the same time. The impact of these double occurrence is displayed in the nemesis. After accusing Tiresias of being compromised by Creon in a mission to undermine the king, he pushes forward with efforts to find out the killer of the king (Glassberg, 2017). The realization that the prophet was right comes when his further investigations show that the people he thought were his parents had adopted him. Therefore, the solace that he gained from their deaths were false. Instead, he realized that the messenger whom he is waiting for to provide a recount of the murder of King Laius was also the same person who has facilitated his adoption.

The realization is the anagnorisis, whereby Oedipus realizes the results of his actions. He understands the impact of killing the king in the valley and how fate had dealt a cruel blow. On top of that, there is a further realization that Jocasta, his wife, was also his mother (Glassberg, 2017). In this instance, he has his moment of anagnorisis. In summary, he realizes that the prophet was right and the folly in his treatment of him. He realizes that the person he killed was his father and that the person he was married to was his mother (Woodruff, 2018). He also realized that the fate he had been running from caught up with him.

At the same time of realization of the nature of his situation, Oedipus suffers a reversal of fate that has negative effects on him. Oedipus had good fortune until the start of the plague and the examination of the death of King Laius (Stravinsky, 2018). However, after understanding his life and his action, there is a turn in fortune. He is no longer a happy king, but instead, he is a person who murdered his father and got into an incestuous relationship with his mother. As the chorus denotes, a great man had been felled by fate.

Oedipus' Nemesis

In the end, Oedipus punishes himself by gouging out his eyes. He also requests to be exiled as he cannot fathom the magnitude of his actions (Stravinsky, 2018). This act happens after Jocasta, his mother and wife, had hanged herself in shame of the fate of her son. In this tragedy, Oedipus was doomed from the start, and upon understanding his doom, he realizes that fate was brought forth by his actions (Stravinsky, 2018). He, therefore, suffers a downfall from grace where he gorges his eyes out, and his mother kills herself.

The Audience's feelings. The audience understands Oedipus is given away by King Laius and is meant to die. He however survives, which causes the audience to root for him. Oedipus develops into a noble and intelligent man, but who has tragic flaws (Stravinsky, 2018). The flaws are that he does not know his background but instead knows of the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He is determined to avoid this fate and therefore runs away from Corinth. Fate has it that he becomes a beloved king in Thebes, married to queen Jocasta (Stravinsky, 2018). In this part, the audience fears for Oedipus as they already know that Oedipus has not escaped his fate. As they watch Oedipus coming into the realization and undergo nemesis, the audience pities him. The generation of pity and fear, coupled with Oedipus having the characteristics of a tragic hero show that this story exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero.

Conclusion

In Poetics, Aristotle explains the characteristics of a tragic hero as hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, anagnorisis and nemesis. He also explains the impact of the hero's story as one that elicits pity and fear from the audience. Oedipus, as a character, fits the description of a tragic hero since he shows all of these characteristics. He has a tragic flaw in lacking the knowledge about himself, and he shows pride when the prophet tries to guide his decision making. He later acquires knowledge about himself, and therefore his fortunes change. He later suffers punishment by losing his mother and gorging his eyes out. Therefore, Oedipus is a tragic hero.

References

Adade-Yeboah, A., & Ahenkora, K. (2016). The tragic hero of the neo-classical revival.

Aristotle, B. (2019). The Poetics. BookRix.

Edmunds, L. (2020). Oedipus: the ancient legend and its later analogues. JHU Press.

Glassberg, R. (2017). Uses of Hamartia, Flaw, and Irony in Oedipus Tyrannus and King Lear. Philosophy and Literature, 41(1), 201-206.

Johnson, G., & Arp, T. R. (2015). Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound & Sense. Cengage Learning.

Stravinsky, I. (2018). Oedipus Rex/The Rake's Progress. Alma Books.

Woodruff, P. (Ed.). (2018). The Oedipus plays of Sophocles: philosophical perspectives. Oxford University Press.