Oedipus Rex

A detailed Summary of Oedipus Rex


All tragic heroes suffer a downfall because of their tragic flaws. In the Greek story of Oedipus, he is responsible for his downfall because of his tragic flaws and his hubris. When Oedipus was born his parents, King Lauis and Queen Jocasta, went to an oracle. They were told Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Jocasta and Lauis didn't want this so they stuck a spike into Oedipus (means swollen foot) ankles and had a servant of theirs leave him on the mountain Citheran. A Shepard brought Oedipus to the king and queen of Cornith, and they became his new parents. He grew up and soon went to an oracle like his real parents had and was told the same exact thing. Oedipus wanted to avoid this and ran away to the city of Thebes where he was born. On his way he came to three roads. There people on a horse and carriage were trying to get h


im off the road and he soon became angry and killed all of them except one. The one who lived was the servant who had saved Oedipus's life on the mountain. One of the many people he did kill was King Lauis. The gods became very angry with this. Oedipus was thought to be a hero because he got past the Sphinx. He was made king and married Jocasta. This shows a major flaw of Oedipus's life. Hamartia (tragic flaw) is shown in the story when he ran away from his fate but, was actually running towards it. This also shows Oedipus's hubris. Another major tragic flaw of his was his bad temper and how he killed Lauis. Later in the story more of Oedipus's flaws were shown. Besides his bad temper and his extensive amount of pride, he conveyed stubbornness and impulsive rashness. He showed stubbornness when he would not listen to Jocasta or anyone else. And he showed

Some common words found in the essay are:
King Lauis, Lauis Jocasta, Citheran Shepard, , Jocasta Lauis, Queen Jocasta, life meant, downfall tragic flaws, bad temper, oedipus's life, king lauis, living life, tragic flaws, tragic flaw, downfall tragic,

Approximate Word count = 578
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero in which makes the play a tragedy. According ... 872 words
  • Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex Oedipus began Oedipus Rex as a king, only to end the tale as a blinded beggar. Oedipusamp39 fall from his kingly status ... 551 words
  • Oedipus Rex There have been many tragedies throughout history, including Sophoclesamp39 play Oedipus Rex. I utterly agree with Aristotle in saying ... 547 words
  • Oedipus Rex In the play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, shows many sides of his personality when he interacts with different people. ... 611 words
  • Oedipus Rex 6 Oedipus Rex represents one of the greatest tragedies ever written. A classical ... catastrophe. Oedipus Rex begins with the exposition. The ... 1002 words
  • Oedipus Rex 2 Oedipus Rex Throughout history, writers and philosophers have expressed their views about how the life of man is ultimately defined in their works. ... 996 words

Professional Essays

  • Oedipus Rex and the elements of tragedy Oedipus Rex Introduction In Aristotleamp39s Poetics, he describes the formula of tragedy. This formula has come to be understood as ... 616 words
  • Oedipus Rex, Gilgamesh, Inferno Introduction In Dantes Inferno, Sophocles Oedipus Rex, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, each of the writers of these works attempted to convey to audiences of ... 600 words
  • Theme of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles ... This is the basic theme at the heart of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. ... Oedipus Rex. Paperback edition, Landed, WA Editor, ampamp Plumptre, EH Translator. ... 874 words
  • Speeches of 3 Characters in Oedipus Rex ... This can be seen with reference to the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and to the characters of Oedipus, Creon, and Teiresias. Waldock ... 1499 words
  • Oedipus Rex ampamp Hedda Gabler ... The pattern in Oedipus Rex is the pattern that would be set for all tragedythe hero has a fatal flaw which prevents him from seeing the outcome of his ... 2838 words
  • Use of Irony in Sophoclesamp39 Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex Sophocles utilizes irony in a number of ways in Sophocles Oedipus Rex. To a large degree, Oedipus downfall will ... 853 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.