What Is Oedipus Downfall

It is often said that pride comes before a down fall, but pride must first trip over the truth The downfall of Oedipus is due to flaws in his character. Throughout the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, Oedipus’s character has led him to make judgements that were not in his best interest. These flaws are pride, leading to overconfidence and having poor judgement. Oedipus character also show determination which throughout the play also became a flaw as well. The character of Oedipus is ruled by fate. The tragic hero is unable to escape his fate that was spoken over his life to happen. Even though Oedipus has chosen his own actions, the consequences he is sure to face have become undeniable and cannot be changed. Due to the flaws in his character, the king will fall from the good graces of those who once believed in him.

Oedipus’s selfishness and temper eventually lead to his downfall. Oedipus selfishness made everyone else mad at him for him not believing them. He kept digging and digging himself into a deeper hole. This eventually made his punishment at the end worse for him. He also could not handle the truth so this made him disrespect the gods. He told Tiresias that he was lying and was just trying to help Ceron become ruler. Oedipus also had too much pride this also contributed to his downfall. He was telling the people that they would find the murderer and have him exiled. He was too blind to see that he killed the king.

Who is Oedipus? Ignorance is bliss. However, in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, Oedipus is a complex character that seeks the truth but not the truth about himself. Throughout the story, his character’s behavior brings many conflicts and struggles between the characters. Each time the King is confronted by a challenge, his choice in behavior causes him more problems than it resolves.

Oedipus is human, regardless of his pride, his intelligence, or his stubbornness and we can recognize this in his reaction to his wrongdoings. With this, the audience is affected to feel both pity and fear. There is pity for this broken man and fear that his tragedy could be our own, as well.

Oedipus’ impetuous behavior is another trait that eventually leads him to his downfall. While having a rash and short-tempered manor it seemed to have caused him to make bad judgment calls. Including when he accused Tiresias of being a part of the murder. The reason why being because Tiresias would not answer the questions the Oedipus asked. Oedipus then goes on, over exaggerating his speech towards Tiresias saying, “Did you rise to the crisis?

Oedipus Rex was born with the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. His parents try and get around the prophecy by giving away their son. Oedipus grows up not knowing not knowing anything about this he has his big prophecy over his head. and h He travels back to the city of Thebes where he then soon fulfills the prophecy. While he becomes the King of Thebes, he starts the long his journey unraveling the truth. He is a very blind man at first but he changes throughout the play. In the end, Oedipus opens his eyes and turns out to be an accepting man.

First his denial of being the source of the plague. Second, his egotistical abilities that will form his plot to change his fate. And lastly, the consequences of his denial that will lead him to his physical and emotional destruction. It would seem that in this case, Oedipus’s fate is his own enemy.

Oedipus Rex essay Final draft Oedipus certainly deserved his fate. Oedipus and his actions are clearly disrespect to the gods , he faces the fate he deserves. He was doing things that would eventually lead up to the unfortunate event of his death , he was even warned by the great and wise Teiresias , but he being himself was to stubborn and did not listen. All the things Teiresias said would happen became the truth. He killed his father, married his mother, yet he tempted his fate , he deserved everything that came his way .

Oedipus, the tragic hero of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, has a flaw that causes his downfall. Aristotle, in his Poetics, says that “Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery” (135). This tragic flaw is what causes Oedipus’ fate to hurt him and is why he loses everything. Oedipus’ tragic flaw is his blindness, which is seen in the play when he argues with the blind seer Teiresias, when he ignores the messenger from Corinth, and when he does not connect the evidence from Iokaste.

I struck, for I was angry. The old man saw it, leaning form the carriage, waited until I passed, then, seizing the weapon” (48). The nature of Oedipus’ knowledge is the vaguest element in the play. This vagueness is then naturally interpreted as ignorance, which would then justify his actions while creating a sense of pity towards Oedipus’ life. However, the horrific nature of his actions create some responsibility.

Every character in stories or in plays has their flaws and strengths; Oedipus is no exception to this. Oedipus has his strengths and weaknesses that shape him into the character he is perceived to be in the play. He is intellectual which is why the city looks up to him, he is caring, and tenacious. Like any other character Oedipus also has his flaws, he jumps to conclusions and makes rash decisions, he has anger issues, and hubris which eventually leads to his downfall.

Oedipus’ inner blindness causes his status to become a static character and make him have his downfall because of his character flaws. Since he is a static character, meaning he doesn’t change his personality throughout the whole story, he has the same flaws during the beginning to the end of the story. These many flaws range from Oedipus’s arrogance to his selfishness. Oedipus’s flaws don’t just cause his downfall, but also many other conflicts in the story as well. One of his flaws that was listed earlier was his selfishness.

In a tragic play, the tragic hero does something that will destroy himself. In the play Oedipus The King, Oedipus is the main character. Oedipus The King prevails mediated by many to be the impeccable tragedy and the perfect archetype for all tragedies. The well-built reason this play is abiding remains constructed with the idea that tragic events will happen if you don 't hark your destiny. As the play progresses, we see Oedipus running from his destiny as he runs right into it.

Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

Greek theatre was formed back in 500 BC by the Greek civilisation that used performing, miming and dancing as ways and means to tell stories, imitate others and for their rituals. They were two forms of plays that were showcased in the City of Dionysia; tragedy and satyr. The City of Dionysia was the festival celebrating the God Dionysus. Throughout this essay I will be describing the characteristics of Greek tragedy while using Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus the King’ as a reference.