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Oedipus Rex: Classic Tragic Hero - Online Term Papers

Oedipus Rex: Classic Tragic Hero

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero. According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self, but neither the grandiose nor the depressive "Narcissus" can really love himself (Miller 67). All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according to Aristotle's ...

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destroy you" (Sophocles line 428), Oedipus still does not care and proceeds with his questioning. The tragic hero must learn a lesson from his errors in judgment and become an example to the audience of what happens when great men fall from their lofty social or political positions. According to Miller, a person who is great, who is admired everywhere, and needs this admiration to survive, has one of the extreme forms of narcissism, which is grandiosity. Grandiosity can be seen when a person admires himself, his qualities, such as beauty, cleverness, and talents, and his success and achievements greatly. If one of these happens to fail, then the catastrophe of a severe depression is near (Miller 34). Those actions happen when the Herdsman tells Oedipus who his mother is, and Oedipus replies "Oh, oh, then everything has come out true. Light, I shall not look on you Again. I have been born where I should not be born, I have been married where I should not marry, I have killed whom I ...

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Oedipus Rex: Classic Tragic Hero. (2005, December 4). Retrieved November 20, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Classic-Tragic-Hero/37473

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"Oedipus Rex: Classic Tragic Hero." Essayworld.com. December 4, 2005. Accessed November 20, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Classic-Tragic-Hero/37473.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/4/2005 02:18:28 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 910
Pages: 4

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