Oedipus Rex

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great and noble individual. Oedipus is not an evil man but a good, upright, man who suffers a downfall. Aristotle also says that this person begins to become fallible and eventually is doomed by their own “tragic flaw.” We see this with Oedipus when he displays hubris. Oedipus begins to think he can out do the gods and prevent Apollo’s oracles from being fulfilled. His downfall is that he marries his mother and kills his father. He is blinded by his hubris and is the agent of his own destruction. The completion of Oedipus’ downfall is realization of his folly. He is then led to blind himself by his own hand and be banished from his own children and city according to his own decree. Oedipus is a victim of the Greek’s most powerful force – fate.
Aristotle says that a tragic hero will be sympathized and pitied. He says that they “excite pity and fear.” This is true in most respects for Oedipus in that he was once a greatly respected and revered man. As the tragedy begins to ...

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