OEDIPUS REX AS A TRAGIC HERO
The Greek play, Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, is clearly a tragedy. Many things can be described as a catastrophe. However, according to the definition of a tragedy by Aristotle, there are five main criteria. First, the play has to have a tragic hero, preferably of noble stature. Second, the tragic hero must have a tragic flaw. Because of that flaw, the hero falls from grace, power, or death. Due to the fall, the tragic hero will discover something and have a moment of remorse. Finally, there must be catharsis in the minds of the audience. Oedipus clearly meets all of these five criteria, therefore, making him a classic tragic hero.
To begin with, Oedipus the King is the ruler of Thebes. He was destined to sleep with his mother and kill his father. Knowing his own fate, his parents had abandoned him when he was a baby and he was raised in a different family. Many years later, in search for the truth about his own heritage, Oedipus brings about his own downfall. He is considered to be a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. Even though he is not aware of it, he fulfills the oracle’s prophecy by killing his father, Laius, and then sleeping with his mother, Jocasta. His father was just a tragic mistake and Oedipus thought that the person he killed was just a random person that was harassing him. Using Oedipus as an ideal model for a tragic hero, it is obvious to the readers that he is an important and influential man who makes an error in judgment, who later suffers from the consequences of his own actions.
