King Oedipus as The Classical Greek Tragic Hero Essay -- Oedipus Tragi

King Oedipus as The Classical Greek Tragic Hero In his Poetics, Aristotle define the term tragedy as a man non preeminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity, but by some error in judgement the change in the heros fortune must not be from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery. From this definition, he further expanded it by delineate the profile of the Classical Greek tragic hero, basing it on what he considered the best tragedy ever written, Sophocles Oedipus Rex. He felt that a tragedy should comprise of the heros truth and superiority, a tragic flaw in which the hero makes fatal errors in judgement which eventually lead to his downfall, a tragic realisation in which the principal(prenominal) character understand how he has unwittingly helped to bring about his own destruction and the absence of freewill in the tragic heros liveliness. Oedipus was a good prescript just, compassionate and sy m lineetic. When the priests of Thebes approached him, pleading for help on behalf of the people of Thebes who were suffering from death and famine. Oedipus immediately agreed and promised them that he would do his best in solving the problems, state that his heart bore ?the weight of his own? and ?all of his people?s sorrows?. He promised to ?bring everything to light?. Oedipus was also a filial son. When he premiere learnt about the prophecy in Corinth, he was unwilling to stay and left immediately, in case circumstances would ever lead him to kill the King and link up the Queen of Corinth, whom he had then thought of as his natural parents.Oedipus? superiority was also evident in the play, not only through his ran poove of the king of Thebes, which automatically placed him far above the nobles, priests and common people, but also through his intelligence. When the Sphinx ?plagued? the city by blocking the city gates and eating those who could not answer its riddle, which was w hat is it that goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at midday, and three feet in the evening? Oedipus was the only person able to chase the Sphinx away with the excoriate answer of ?man?. This led to him becoming the king of Thebes which in turn led to his superiority of ranking.However, Oedipus was not a perfect man. His tragic flaw was that of stubbornness, impulsiveness and almost of all, his grandiosity (wh... ...d that Oedipus find Lauis? killer. This sparked off a whole chain of events which led to Oedipus finding out the truth, Jocasta killing herself, Oedipus blinding himself and finally leaving Thebes. The man who at a time was envied and respected was now an outcast, despised and hated. A tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is shade in itself. In other words, the story must be realistic and narrow in focus. A good tragedy would evoke pity and cultism in its viewers, causing the viewers to experience a feeling of catharsis. C atharsis, a Greek word in origin, means purgation or purification. caterpillar tread through the gamut of these strong emotions would leave viewers feeling elated, in the same way we often claim that a good cry would make a person feel better. Oedipus Rex is a perfect example of what Aristotle meant by a tragedy. It talks about a man who has no say in what path his life would take, a man who once had everything. He was a king, a good husband and father, a man contented with his lot in life who eventually lost his status, wife, children and home. He evokes sympathy simply because he was not evil or foolish, just human and fallible.