Oedipus Rex

A detailed Summary of Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is a classic example of an Aristotelian tragic hero. Because he was a tragic hero his down fall was not due to the work of Gods or Fate but his own character flaws and personality. According to Aristotle, to be a tragic hero there are requirements a character must possess to be considered a tragic hero. One requirement is that he has to be a man of noble stature or kingship. He must also possess extraordinary powers. The tragic hero is good but must commit an act of injustice or a crime which brings them from happiness to misery. The tragedy is caused by a flaw in his character or personality.

Oedipus is Sophocles's tragic hero in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus was a man of noble stature. At first he was adopted by Polybus, the King of Corinth, and his wife, Merope. They pretended he was their son and raised him as the Prince of Corinth. Then Oedipus met with the Sphinx. After answering the riddle he killed her and became the King of Thebes. With this he was the prince of one place and king of another. He was set for a great fall to the bottom. This is the first requirement for being a tragic hero.

Oedipus possessed extraordinary powers of wit which allowed him to answer the Sphinx's riddle. In so doing, he

Oedipus was also a good-natured man. He truly cared about his people as evidenced by his efforts to lift the plague of the Sphinx. Oedipus also shows that he wanted to do good by vowing to find the killers of his father(the original King of Thebes). He hates to see his people in such ruin.

It seems to me that his basic character problems were the main reasons for the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning his mother and father.

Oedipus only saw one side of the matter at hand. If he had taken the time to sit back looking at the picture he would not have left home in the first place. He would have seen that he could have stayed with his adoptive parents and not fulfilled the prophesy. Instead he chose to run away. Later at the crossroads he should have remembered that any man he happened to kill could be his father. Had the knowledge that he was adopted by his parents in Corinth, so he knew that his real parents were out there somewhere. His blindness to the matters at hand and his uncontrolled emotions together put him in the correct places and time to fulfill the prophesies. Oedipus won't even listen to good reason because of his blindness. " I will not listen, the truth must be known ... Snaps my patience, then; I want none of it." He won't even sit back and look at the dreaded picture he is about to uncover.

He loved his Corinthian paren

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Approximate Word count = 921
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English