Can we classify Oedipus a tragic hero?

The great Greek philosopher Aristotle penned intriguing ideas about the nature of drama and tragedy in his work Poetics. Though the phrase “tragic hero” is not used, Aristotle does propose several key characteristics of the protagonist in a tragic play. Furthermore, Aristotle considered King Oedipus in Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, written in 430 B.C., to be an accurate representation of his ideas, since he cites the play no less than 11 times in Poetics (Aristotle, 330 B.C.). Reading Oedipus Rex in light of Aristotle’s ideas, the modern student will gain a deeper appreciation of Sophocles’ artistry and Aristotle’s insight into tragedy. Oedipus is a model of Aristotle’s tragic hero: he is a part of the nobility, his character flaws exacerbate his poor judgment, he loses his kingdom, and he discovers truth through his downfall.

What is a Tragic Hero?

Aristotle’s description of the tragic hero in Poetics can be summarized by four key traits. First, according to Perrine’s Literature, the character is of noble birth (Johnson & Arp, 2018). The protagonist could be an emperor, a king, a queen, a prince, or a princess. Second, the character has a hamartia, which is traditionally defined as a fatal flaw but is more accurately a “missed mark”. Jules Brody, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, counters the “tragic flaw” definition of hamartia:

Hamartia is a morally neutral non-normative term, derived from the verb hamartano, meaning “to miss the mark,” “to fall short of an objective” [. . .] Hamartia may betoken an error of discernment due to ignorance, to the lack of an essential piece of information. (Brody, 2014, p. 23)

Third, the character experiences a reversal of good fortune because of his hamartia, as explained by Perrine’s Literature (Johnson & Arp, 2018):

The hero’s downfall, therefore, is his own fault, the result of his own free choice — not the result of pure accident or someone else’s villainy or some overriding malignant fate. Accident, villainy, or fate may contribute to the downfall but only as cooperating agents: they are not alone responsible . . . .(p. 1253)

Fourth, the character discovers some truth about himself, his situation, or the world through his downfall; this is called anagnorisis. Perrine’s Literature’s (Johnson & Arp, 2018) argues that this discovery:

“ . . . is accompanied or followed by [. . .] an increase not only in knowledge but in wisdom. Often this increase in wisdom involves some sort of reconciliation with the universe or with the protagonist’s situation. He exits not cursing his fate but accepting it and acknowledging that it is to some degree just. (p. 1253)

The definition of an Aristotelian tragic hero is a character who is part of the nobility, has a hamartia, falls from his high position, and discovers some truth at the end of the play. King Oedipus fulfills each of these requirements.

Oedipus’ Nobility

First, Oedipus is of noble birth and is a mighty ruler. He is royal in three ways: he was born into the Theban royal family, he was adopted into the Corinthian nobility, and he becomes King of Thebes by marring Queen Jocasta. Oedipus is not only royal by blood, but he also acts as a powerful commander. When Thebes suffers under plagues, the people turn to King Oedipus for help because he was able to defeat the Sphinx:

. . .[W]e have come to you to make our prayer

As to the man surest in mortal ways

And wisest in the ways of God. You saved us

From the Sphinx [. . .]

A god’s touch, it seems, enabled you to help us. (Prologue.36–42)

Despite the praise of the people, Oedipus is a harsh, jealous ruler, argues playwright and theater critic Dr. Roy Glassberg. When Oedipus hears the words of the prophet Teiresias, Oedipus becomes furious and threatens to kill the innocent Creon for sabotaging his rule, and according to Glassberg, shows some paranoia (Glassberg, 2017). Oedipus is the heir of royal authority and acts as a tyrant.

Oedipus’ Hamartia

Second, Oedipus has a hamartia, which causes him to lose his status and power. The cause of Oedipus’s downfall is twofold: he unknowingly murders his father and sleeps with his mother (his hamartia or error), but he worsens the situation by believing that he is innocent and that he has escaped his fate. Oedipus pronounces a royal decree that exiles or kills the person who murdered his predecessor, King Laius: “As for the criminal, I pray to God / — Whether it be a lurking thief, or one of a number — / I pray that that man’s life be consumed in evil and wretchedness” (Scene 1.232–234). The dramatic irony is that he is the criminal he seeks to eliminate. Additionally, Oedipus believes he has outrun the Delphic prophecy by leaving his “parents” in Corinth:

I heard all this, and fled. And from that day

Corinth to me was only in the stars

Descending in that quarter of the sky,

As I wandered farther and farther on my way

To a land where I should never see the evil

Sung by the oracle. . . .(Scene 2.752–757)

The audience knows that by fleeing to Thebes, Oedipus has fulfilled the terrible prophecy, another example of dramatic irony. Glassberg explains that Oedipus’s errors and poor judgment, coupled with his flaws of jealousy and rashness, create his tragic downfall (Glassberg, 2016). King Oedipus’s hamartias are his immoral actions against his parents, while his belief of innocence and his character flaws punctuate the tragedy of his fate.

Oedipus’ Downfall

Third, King Oedipus experiences a reversal of good fortune. He finally discovers that he has fulfilled the Delphic prophecy of murdering his father and sleeping with his mother and that he must be exiled. When the truth about his identity as Laius and Jocasta’s son is revealed, Oedipus’s world is shattered. He realizes that Laius and Jocasta tried to kill him as an infant, and his reunion with his mother is blackened with the realization that he has sexually defiled her. Anders Zachrisson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Oslo, writes about Oedipus’s search for truth as the driving element of the play: “In the tragedy, Oedipus represents more than the figure we all know, the protagonist of the Oedipus complex. He is also determined to discover the truth about himself. The main theme of the tragedy is this quest” (Zachrisson, 2013, para. 3). Oedipus’s downfall is not simply a reversal of position, but a deeply personal shock about his true parents and his crimes against them.

Oedipus’ Truth

Lastly, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he discovers truth through his downfall: that fate is inescapable and that human understanding is limited. In an earlier scene, the Choragus mourns Oedipus and Jocasta’s disdain for the gods: “Our masters call the oracle / Words on the wind, and the Delphic vision blind! / Their hearts no longer know Apollo, / And reverence for the gods has died away” (Ode 2.861–864). More than mocking his fate, Oedipus has been figuratively blind to his sins against his parents, and he physically blinds himself at the end of the play. Oedipus recognizes that his fate was controlled all along by the gods: “. . . Dear / Children, the god was Apollo. / He brought my sick, sick fate upon me. / But the blinding hand was my own! / How could I bear to see / When all my sight was horror everywhere?” (Exodus.1285b-1290). Additionally, Glassberg (2016) points out that the audience experiences catharsis (a purging of emotions, especially of pity and fear) in this play by seeing Oedipus’s tyrannical and violent behavior toward Teiresias, Kreon, and the Herdsman, which absolves some of the pity they feel for his tragic end. Oedipus’s discovery of truth at the end of the play confirms him as an example of a tragic hero.

Parting Thoughts

When measured against the standards set forth in Poetics, King Oedipus fits Aristotle’s picture of the tragic hero. First, as a mighty king, he holds the land of Thebes in the palm of his hand. Second, when his flaw of jealousy is combined with his hamartia,ignorance of his role in the prophecy, Oedipus engages in tyrannical behavior. In a twist of dramatic irony, Oedipus threatens to harm and kill the loyal Kreon, Teiresias, and Herdsman, when he, in fact, is the defilement contaminating Thebes. Third, Oedipus finally realizes that he has fulfilled the Delphic prophecy that he would commit patricide and incest, and he must flee his kingdom and family. Lastly, Oedipus learns truth through his tragic fall: though he once disdained the gods and prophecies, he finally grasps that humans cannot outrun their fate. Oedipus’s fall from high position makes the audience experience catharsis, a purging of pity and fear. As Aristotle (330 B.C.) writes in Poetics, “[P]ity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves” (para. 47). Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex compels the audience to question whether they could be blind to a truth that will lead to their downfall.

(2020)

References

Aristotle. (2007). Poetics. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. (Original work published ca. 430 BC). Retrieved February from www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19033.

Brody, J. (2014). Fate, philology, Freud. Philosophy and Literature 38(1), 1–29. doi:10.1353/phl.2014.0007.

Glassberg, R. (2016). Oedipus the tyrant: A view of catharsis in eight sentences. Philosophy and Literature 40(2), 579–580. doi:10.1353/phl.2016.0039.

Glassberg, R. (2017). Uses of hamartia, flaw, and irony in Oedipus Tyrannus and King Lear. Philosophy and Literature 41(1), 201–206. doi:10.1353/phl.2017.0013.

Johnson, G., & Arp, T.R. (2018). Perrine’s literature: Liberty University English 102 custom e-book.

Sophocles. (2016). Oedipus the king. In G. Johnson and T. R. Arp (Eds.), Perrine’s literature: Liberty University English 102 custom e-book. Boston, MA: Cengage. (Original work published ca. 425 BC).

Zachrisson, A. (2013). Oedipus the king: Quest for self-knowledge — denial of reality. Sophocles’ vision of man and psychoanalytic concept formation. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 94(2), 313–31. doi: 10.1111/j.1745–8315.2012.00655.x

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