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What Is The Tragic Flaw of Oedipus The King
What Is The Tragic Flaw of Oedipus The King
What Is The Tragic Flaw of Oedipus The King
Of your two choices, pride or anger, it is pride that comes nearest to identifying
the tragic flaw of this character. The ultimate cause of Oedipus' downfall is his
unwillingness to accept his fate.
The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness. ...
Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he/she is not perfect. ...
The hero's downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own fault, the result of free
choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate.
That totally depends on your definition of "tragic hero". The definition of tragic
heroes and of tragedy itself is a hugely contentious issue about which very
few scholars agree - and so, of course, you have to define your terms before
you can even begin to answer this question.
If you go by Aristotle's "Poetics" (the most famous text written about Greek
tragedy), Oedipus (in Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex") is given as an exemplar of
Obviously, Oedipus conforms more to the ideal tragic hero in that he is born into nobility:
he is both prince and king of Corinth and Thebes. Othello, on the other hand, is a former slave
who achieves greatness through military and oratory means.
Both heroes are involved in domestic tragedies: their tragedy comes from within their
marriages. Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother, while Othello kills his wife. As such,
beds are very important symbols. In Oedipus Jocasta hangs herself on the bed, while
Desdemona is strangled there. However, the bed never appears on the Greek stage (that is
sacrilege). In Othello, it is a major stage prop.
Both heroes suffer a reversal, but Oedipus' is caused by himself. Othello has a villain that
causes Othello's reversal. Iago is the major difference here. Oedipus has no villains,
and Othello clearly does. As such, Iago's role drives the action of the play in Othellomore than
the tragic hero. He serves as the role of fate and the oracles. He also plays the role of Chorus, as
he talks incessantly to others and the audience.
Obviously, the endings are vastly different. Oedipus achieves a kind of nobility in his
tragedy: he chooses to blind himself instead of suicide. Because of this, he achieves a victory
over fate. Othello's suicide is both an admission of guilt and a refusal to suffer or take
responsibility for his crimes.