Tragic flaw of Oedipus Rex

A detailed Summary of Tragic flaw of Oedipus Rex

The Greeks considered tragedy the greatest form for literature. Many readers today would agree. Is a tragedy's end fate? Or is it tragic flaw? Unlike the critic's opinion being that one cannot pinpoint Oedipus' tragic flaw, I disagree. I think that we can pick out, just by carefully reading and analyzing the play, that Oedipus indeed had a tragic flaw. It is for this reason that we can say that this play is not an example of "fate", because if it were, it wouldn't matter what the characters did or said since the end would be predestined for them all. In Oedipus Rex though, we see many examples that Oedipus' tragic flaw is his excessive pride. As the play progresses, other characteristics appear and further add to the problem to such a point that it is inevitable that it will end in tragedy. Therefore the tragedies were not a result of a plot by the fates, but rather a result of the characteristics that the characters possessed.

There are several characteristics that characters in tragedies could have, but out of all of those, pride is the most prevalent of all. It seems to be the biggest tragic flaw that eventually causes the downfall of one or more of the characters. As mentioned before, the tragic f

>From the very beginning of the play, Oedipus opens by addressing the people of Thebes as "my children." He also calls the priest "old man", which is not only looking down at him, but also being very disrespectful. Continuing after the priest's reply in the beginning, Oedipus calls them "pitiable children" (line 57). In lines 141 and 142, we can clearly see Oedipus' tragic flaw. He says, "Now quickly, children: up from the altar steps, and raise the branches of the suppliant!" Here we can see, once again, how he views the people as well as himself. He talks to them as if they are so inferior to him.

If Oedipus had not been so determined to escape and prevent the prophecy, he would not have fulfilled it. Possibly, he was doomed to fulfill the prophecy because he believed he could avoid it. Nevertheless, his fate was sealed by his actions of pride and determination. His pride of conquering the Sphinx led him to the marriage of Jocasta, his mother. When avenging Jocasta's previous husband, and his true father, King Laius' death, he was blinded by his pride to the concept that perhaps he was the murderer. Not knowing the truth, he cursed himself to exile (lines221-280). Of course at that time, Oedipus failed to realize his connections to Jocasta and Laius, but recognition of the truth brought him to his downfall. When the blind prophet Tiresius stated that Oedipus was the murderer of King Laius, Oedipus' pride prevented him to believe. However, other events opened his eyes to the tragedy, which had taken place. When his final realization came, and he recognized the truth of !

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what he had done, Oedipus stabs his eyes with brooches - a mere physical suffering compared to the torture of his soul. He had fulfilled the prophecy because of his own actions, which he had

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Approximate Word count = 1247
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English