Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Oedipus Rex - Tragic Hero - Online Term Papers

Oedipus Rex - 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 ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

Oedipus still does not care and proceeds with his questioning as if he did not understand what Teiresias was talking about. 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 ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.

Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE:

APA
MLA
Chicago
Turabian

Oedipus Rex - Tragic Hero. (2004, April 21). Retrieved January 22, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Tragic-Hero/6630

"Oedipus Rex - Tragic Hero." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 21 Apr. 2004. Web. 22 Jan. 2025. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Tragic-Hero/6630>

"Oedipus Rex - Tragic Hero." Essayworld.com. April 21, 2004. Accessed January 22, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus-Rex-Tragic-Hero/6630.

JOIN NOW

Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays

PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/21/2004 07:21:17 PM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 914
Pages: 4

Save |

Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS

Save and find your favorite essays easier