Oedipus The King: A Tragic Hero

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Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a man or woman of high standing who is capable of great suffering. The tragic hero must possess many great qualities, but will display a single fatal character flaw which will bring his downfall. The audience should accept the death of the hero because of their flaw. With this being said Oedipus can be considered a tragic hero. Oedipus is of high standing because he became king of not only one town, Thebes, but two, Corinth. With king in his title it makes him a man of high standing. He was born with respect because he was born into royalty. Oedipus was born into royalty, and married Jocasta, the queen and wife of late King Laius. Oedipus suffered in his life by being told by his prophecy that he would …show more content…
Oedipus is greatly respected by the citizens of Thebes. He is very loyal to Thebes, for example when the messenger came to tell him he became the ruler of Corinth he stayed in Thebes. He shows great exasperation when he finds out Jocasta has died. He shows loyalty to Thebes and all the people in Thebes. When he finds out about mistakes, he makes up for them and tries to make things better. He makes his own decisions throughout the harder times of his life. Oedipus also has many great, but not so great character flaws. First of all he gets upset and leaves Corinth so he would not end up killing his father and have children with his mother. Little did he know that on his way to Thebes he kills his father, becomes king of Thebes, and has children with his mother. Then he finds out Jocasta kills herself, and makes himself go blind. This is a flaw, because he could have handle all of the news a little differently. Oedipus can be considered a tragic hero. He can be considered this because he is a man of high standing. He has many great qualities, with one major character flaw. The audience should accept his downfalls. With this being said, and these qualities in mind Oedipus can be considered a tragic

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