Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King

While reading classical literature one is bound to run into many types of heroes. The different types of heroes can range in their greatness, but above all, the tragic hero is viewed as being the most alluring of them all. A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences a fall in misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

From the very beginning of the play, we can already see that Oedipus is a great but flawed man. He proves to us to be a great and courageous man because of his extreme intelligence and cleverness. At the opening of the play, the chorus attributes Oedipus with solving the tricky riddle of the Sphinx and saving the city of Thebes from the gruesome creature. Oedipus’ intelligence seems to come to him naturally yet he was “taught . . . nothing/no skill, no extra knowledge [from the Thebans], [yet] still [he] triumphed,” (46-47). Oedipus also shows the audience his greatness by demonstrating the extreme amount of passion he has for the city of Thebes. At the beginning of the play, when the city of Thebes looks to Oedipus for an answer to the ruthless disease that is plaguing the city, he replies with a compassionate voice, “Your pain strikes each of you alone...but my spirit / grieves for the city, for myself and all of you” (74-76) and that “[he] would be blind to misery / not to pity [his] people kneeling at [his] feet” (14-15). However, in spite of all of his positive qualities, he is a man that is prone to arrogance and impulsive behaviors. At the opening of the play, when he addresses the city about the plague, he tells them not to worry for “Here I am myself...the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (7-8), implying that he can solve any problem simply because of who he is. Oedipus also shows his arrogance by comparing himself to the gods. After hearing the chorus’ cries to the gods for help he tells the city of Thebes to “Let [him] grant [their] prayers...listen to [him]”(245-246). Oedipus displays his quick temper after the prophet Tireseas declines to tell him who Laius's murderer is; he hastily becomes infuriated at the prophet, telling him he is "scum of the earth . . . [a man who] would enrage a heart of stone" (381).

The heart of the story unravels when Oedipus apparently begins to suffer a reversal