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Oedipus the king analysis
Oedipus the king analysis
Oedipus the king by Sophocles analysis
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Oedipus the king analysis
Oedipus the king analysis
Oedipus the king by Sophocles analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Sophocles implements Aristotle’s definition of a Tragic Hero through the character of Creon. Creon is a good husband and a father who hasn’t down anything wrong. But as the play goes on his tragic flaw, hubris causes his downfall. Antigone, who’s brother just died by fighting in a war against each other to be the king and she wanted to bury her brothers in honor by breaking the laws. But Creon thinks that only Polynessis deserves to bury in honor because Eteocles betrayed Polynesis by not giving him the thrown to the
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero takes on many characteristics. The first of which is to be virtuous. A tragic hero must be high in the totem pole. They must be a noble citizen of society and are usually viewed as a hero. This hero must be held culpable of the responsibilities of the town.
Almost always, in Greek tragedies a “tragic hero” has a hamartia, or tragic flaw, which will cause their concluding demise. In the Greek playwright, Antigone written by Sophocles, the interesting character, Creon, is a prime example of this. According the Aristotle’s theory, to be a tragic hero you have to have three traits: a flaw, a fall, and acceptance of your current situation. Creon’s flaw is his ego, which blinds him and lures him to do rather profane activities. Due to Creon’s ego, him losing everything caused by that very hamartia, and acceptance of the series of unfortunate events that occurred; Creon is the tragic hero in Antigone
Although the tragic hero normally describes a literary character, the concept of a tragic hero can be applied to real life people in history. For example, Napoleon is military genius who brought France to the world stage as never before through his wars. Napoleon, a man who started as an average boy from Corsica rose to the highest echelons of power and nobility in France through revaluation, conquest, and talent (cite 3). However, Napoleon's hamartia,or tragic flaw, was his greatest asset and his greatest hindrance he was a general like no other at his time; a tactician who won even when He was outnumbered unfortunately, this also led to him overextending the French empire and his armies leading to his downfall (cite 2). Additionally, Napoleon's conquests led to a broken army and overwhelming
Ancient greece evoked many things, and one of them was tragic hero. Tragic hero is someone who can be noble, tragic flaw, reversal of fortune, suffers, recognition, and catharsis. Noble, is someone that is important, they have a high status, and hold an official title. Reversal of fortune is when someone’s life is good at the beginning and ends up being bad or someone life is bad and ends up good. Suffering, is someone who is feeling pain and hurting.
Aristotle’s ideal tragic hero, Oedipus, fits his model perfectly as he exemplifies the five qualities Aristotle believes a tragic hero must have. First, he possesses hubris, excessive pride that aids in his error of judgement, because of his wit: “You came and by your coming saved our city, freed us from tribute which we paid of old to the Sphinx, cruel singer” (Sophocles 1759). Oedipus’s wit allows him to solve the Sphinx’s riddle and save the city of Thebes from the Sphinx’s wickedness. This leads to Oedipus becoming an extremely prideful man. Oedipus’s pride and fatal flaw of anger lead him to kill King Laius, his biological father: “He that led the way and the old man himself [King Laius] wanted to thrust me out of the road by force.
A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a protagonist character who is relatable, has a fatal flaw, and is ultimately defeated by this fatal flaw. Oedipus 's flaw is impulsiveness. When an oracle warns Oedipus that his fate includes murdering his father and marrying his mother, he follows his impulses to run away from the man and woman who he presumes to be his parents. If he were to ask them about it, the fact that he was adopted would most likely be brought to light. Oedipus, on his way to the city of Thebes, murdered King Laius at the meeting of three roads.
When asked, “Who is the tragic hero in Antigone?,” you might automatically think of the character Antigone. The character’s name is the title of the play like in “Hamlet”. The only difference is that Hamlet was the tragic hero in “Hamlet” moreover Creon is the tragic hero in “Antigone”. It all comes down to the definition of Aristotle’s tragic hero. Aristotle states that a tragic hero is, “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience.
Aristotle theorized that a tragic hero is a literary hero who makes a bad decision, which leads to his or her down fall. A tragic hero should not be morally better or worse , so that the people can relate to him or her. He or she must discover their fate by his or her own actions, for " a man does not become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall".(Oedipus) There are five characteristics to being a tragic hero; hamartia, a tragic flaw or error in judgement; hubris, excessive pride or disrespect for tradition; anagnorisis, a discovery that the reversal was brought about by their own actions; nemesis, a fortune that he or she cannot avoid and is a result of his or her actions; and catharsis, feelings of pity brought about by the tragic hero's story. Their story should arouse a sense a fear and empathy for the protagonist.
“What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and maturity to use the power wisely” (Christopher Reeve). Superman is known to be a hero because he has certain attributes that help the audience recognize him as one. He is brave, courageous, and noble but has a weakness. The characteristics that distinguish Superman as a hero are the same traits that describe a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are found in Ancient Greek tragedy plays written by playwrights like Sophocles.
A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. Every Greek tragedy must have a tragic hero. In Sophocles's play, Antigone, that tragic hero is Creon. He possesses the tragic flaws of excessive pride and a oversized ego. This causes the tragic reversal that leads to his emotional ruin with not only himself but also his family.
A tragic hero is defined to be a hero who, despite being virtuous and great, also possesses qualities that lead to their downfall. This downfall is often predestined and is a common theme in Greek literature. Antigone is the tragic hero in Antigone because of her bravery, but also because of the dangerous loyalty and stubbornness that lead to her downfall. Antigone is a tragic hero because of her headstrong loyalty to her brother and the morals of the gods, which leads to Creon’s retaliation and her downfall.
A tragic hero is defined as a character, most likely in a tragedy, who experiences a downfall as a result of a wrongdoing, an error in judgment or a character flaw. This tragic flaw is referred to as hamartia. The role of hamartia is deeply rooted in The Oedipus Plays since each main character, Oedipus, Antigone, and Creon become victims of their hamartia. One important characteristic of a tragic hero is their hubris or excessive pride, which leads to their downfall. Both Oedipus’s and Creon’s hamartia is a result of their hubris, thus making them the true tragic heroes.
Aristotle’s idea of a tragic hero first begins with a character of noble stature. Oedipus, the King of Thebes is renowned and prosperous. Prior to becoming the king, Oedipus saved the city from the sphinx by answering its riddle because of this the people of Thebes look up to Oedipus. A second characteristic of a tragic hero is, that he is a great but not perfect human. An example of this is would be no matter what good Oedipus had done in the past (the sphinx, swearing justice for Laios death, etc.)
An Aristotelian tragic hero is a character born of noble birth and, by destiny, has a tragic flaw that inevitably leads to his or her downfall and redeems his or herself by the end of the tragedy. For one to consider a play a tragedy, the character of the play must be noble, and the play typically starts off with happiness and wealth. The play ends with sadness and the hero has a tragic flaw that causes their downfall. In The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth fits the definition of an Aristotelian tragic hero. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he starts by being loyal and trustworthy, develops a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall, and he redeems a small measure of himself before he dies.