Oedipus Rex

I wrote this for my Honors English class. I think that it's pretty thorough.

Oedipus Rex, a Greek tragedy, tells the story of how an admired king, Oedipus, suffers a harsh downfall after learning the truth about his birth and his parents. Oedipus follows the path of a tragic hero which starts with being in a position of authority, highly respected, and depended on, but having a fatal flaw or hamartia, usually hubris, which causes tragic and horrible deaths. Others try to convince the hero that he is doing something wrong, but the hero refuses to accept responsibility. In the end, the hero finally sees the error of his ways and tries to fix things, but it's too late and the tragic hero endures a bitter life afterward. Oedipus takes all of these steps, making him a tragic hero.

Oedipus meets the first requirements of a tragic hero because he is noble, powerful, and respected. This can be seen near the beginning of the story when a priest says, “Great Oedipus, O powerful King of Thebes! You can see how all the ages of our people cling to your alter steps...” (ll. 16-18) The people obviously love Oedipus and are depending on him to save them. He had saved them before from a sphinx and they expect him to liberate them from the plague on the city which, ironically, was also caused by him.

A hamartia is the next step on Oedipus's journey. He is very proud, self-righteous, and firmly believes that it couldn't possibly be him who is at fault. He thinks very highly of himself and shows it in his words, “And therefore I have come myself to hear you – I, Oedipus, who bear the famous name.” (ll. 7-8) In another instance, Oedipus puts himself above others by saying that he has suffered more than they have – “I know that you are deathly sick; and yet, sick as you are, not one is a sick as I. Each of you suffers in himself alone his anguish, not another's; but my spirit groans for the city, for myself, for you.” (ll. 62-66) Here, Oedipus is trying to make himself appear more loving and kind than he his. Earlier, when Oedipus was wandering his way to Thebes where he would become their leader, he was shown to be so prideful and stubborn that he would not allow a king to tread the path between them first. Oedipus's fatal flaw is hubris.

Oedipus is warned throughout the story that he is to blame and that he needs to fix it. The first time is by the augerer, or seer, Tiresias who tells him, “I say that you are the murderer whom you seek... I say you live in hideous shame with those most dear to you. You cannot see the evil.” (ll. 347, 351-352) Tiresias is referring to how Oedipus unknowingly killed his father, the previous king and the one Oedipus would not let go before him on a path, and married his mother. Oedipus, being very arrogant, accuses the prophet and Creon, his brother-in-law, of conspiring to take the throne. The city continues to suffer because of Oedipus's ignorance – “Now our afflictions have no end, now all our stricken host lies down and no man fights off death with his mind; the noble plowland bears no grain and groaning mothers cannot bear...” (ll. 172-176)

Having ignored and denied all accusations, Oedipus finally reaches a point of reconciliation. A messenger arrives in the city and tells Oedipus how he, Oedipus, was abandoned as a child by the previous king, Laius, his father. A shepard adds this this testament by saying that he was the one who found the child and later recognized him for who he was as Oedipus murdered his father, Laius. In response to this enlightenment, Jocasta, Oedipus's wife and mother, kills herself. When Oedipus discovers this he gouges out his eyes fulfilling another prophecy. He begs Creon to cast him out of the city – “I pray you in God's name, since your courtesy ignores my dark expectation, visiting with mercy this man of all men most execrable: give me what I ask—for your good, not for mine... Drive me out of this country as quickly as may be to a place where no human voice can every greet me.” (ll. 1377-1380, 1381-1382) Oedipus had finally realized his sin, but it was too late. The city suffered, Jocasta died, and he lost his sight.

Oedipus reached the end of the path of a tragic hero when he left Thebes. He began as a powerful, beloved, and influential king and was diminished to a blind sinner. Oedipus Rex conveys the fact that even the greatest and most powerful can fall and are not perfect. The Greek gods had total control of Oedipus's life and he could not escape it. Oedipus is an ideal example of what a tragic hero is.