Oedipus example is used by Aristotle as an example of what a hero should be. He said that a hero should be someone like Oedipus or other men of such greatness, who are highly prosperous and renowned (Eden, 2014). It is seen that Oedipus is not a common ruler but a great king.
Actually, the gods seemingly lead Oedipus astray purposely, through foretelling him his grievous deeds of future but not his true heritage which he was adopted by Merope and polypus.
Teresias put …show more content…
Tragedy, according to Aristotle is an imitation of an act of high importance, which is acted through means of pity and fear (Edmunds, 1985). A tragic hero is should be a noble character who exhibits some flaws leading to his downfall. This is the situation referred to as hamartia by Aristotle. He also explains that a good hero experiences peripetia. This is a situation in which there occur reversal fortunes due to hero’s flaws. The tragic hero engages in activities which increase self- knowledge and awareness. Reader’s pity and fear for the hero. This is what exactly readers feel in the Oedipus story. The shocking situation of Oedipus marrying his mother and killing his father unknowingly makes the readers to pity the character (Edmunds, …show more content…
It is said that he is too proud and gets angry easily as seen his response to Teiresias, who is a blind prophet; another situation where his quick anger is seen is with his brother in law, Creon. It is depicted that he is also quick to make judgment and make haste conclusions. This may be misinterpreted as a moral error and that they occurred for the moral reasons that are right. On the other hand it may be intellectual errors, whereby he is just acting out of for the sake of his kingdom, just like when he killed his father unknowingly, this is under him been pressured by provocation and in what he may think is self-defense, this thus is not and cannot be said to be a moral error but an intellectual error. Another tragic flow of Oedipus is fate (Kim, 2010). In the beginning before he is conceived it was said to his father king Laios by an oracle that any son born to the him and his wife would come at a point in future to rise up and kill him and sleep with his mother. Oedipus inquired from the oracle and was told the same thing that he shall rise and kill his father and sleep with his mother. The inscrutable gods are seen exerting their power on the unjust and just, who come to suffer under the god’s