from "The Oedipus Trilogy: Critical Essays. The Power of Fate in the Oedipus Trilogy." http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-100,pageNum-135.html. Viewed 5 December 2006.
According to Aristotle, theater offers its audience the experience of pity and terror produced by the story
of the hero brought low by a power greater than himself. In consequence, this catharsis—a purging of high
emotion—brings the spectator closer to a sympathetic understanding of life in all its complexity. As the
chorus at the conclusion of Antigone attests, the blows of Fate can gain us wisdom.
In Greek tragedy, the concept of character—the portrayal of those assailed by the blows of Fate—differs
specifically from modern expectations. Audiences today expect character exploration and development as
an essential part of a play or a film. But Aristotle declared that there could be tragedy without character—
although not without action.
The masks worn by actors in Greek drama give evidence of this distinction. In Oedipus the King, the actor
playing Oedipus wore a mask showing him simply as a king, while in Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus appears in the mask of an old man. As Sophocles saw him—and as actors portrayed him—Oedipus displayed
no personality or individuality beyond his role in the legend. The point of the drama, then, was not to uncover Oedipus’ personal motivations but to describe the arc of his fall, so as to witness the power of Fate.
In his plays, Shakespeare also created tragedy that revolved around a heroic character who falls from
greatness. But Shakespeare’s heroes appear fully characterized and their tragedies develop as much from
their own conscious intentions as from Fate. Macbeth, for example, pursues his goal of the throne ruthlessly, with murderous ambition. When the witches’ prophecies, upon which he has based his hopes, turn
out to be just as misleading as any oracle’s pronouncement at Delphi, the audience is more likely to blame
Macbeth for his heartless ambition than to bemoan his fate with him.
In contrast, Sophocles’ hero—even with his tragic flaw (as Aristotle terms it)—maintains the audience’s
sympathy throughout the drama. The flaw of his character represents less a vicious fault and more a vulnerability, or a blind spot. Oedipus’ brilliance, then, is matched by his overconfidence and rashness—a
habit of mind that makes him prey to the very fate he wishes to avoid.
Significantly, Oedipus’ desperate attempt to escape Fate arises not from ambition or pride, but from an
understandable and pious desire to live without committing heinous offenses. Prudently, he decides never
to return to the kingdom where the people he believes to be his parents rule. But when an overbearing man
on the road nearly runs him down and then cuffs him savagely, Oedipus rashly kills his attacker, who turns
out be his father. So, just as he thinks himself free of his fate, Oedipus runs right into it—literally, at a
crossroads.
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus displays his characteristic brilliance and overconfidence in what he regards
as his heroic search for the murderer of Laius. He pursues the mystery relentlessly, confident that its solution will yield him the same glory he enjoyed when he answered the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus’ selfassurance that he has taken care of his fate blinds him to it and begins the fall that will end in his literal
blindness. Thus he becomes the victim—rather than the conquerer—of Fate.
My own feeling about the story is that Oedipus is an inspiration for mankind: he must find out the truth at whatever cost, and
then accept the full responsibilty for the knowledge he has discovered. Knowledge + pain is better than Ignorance + bliss.
Friedlander, Ed. "Enjoying 'Oedipus the King', by Sophocles." http://www.pathguy.com/oedipus.htm#aristotle. Viewed 5 December 2006.
ADVANCED ENGLISH 3-4
Ms. LeCren, La Jolla High School Name:________________________________________
Period:____ Date:______________________________
Oedipus the King Discussion Topics
Directions: Read the text/opinions on this handout and be
prepared to discuss: What is Oedipus' tragic flaw?
from The Classics Page
Wilson, Andrew.. "The Classics Pages: Letters." http://www.users.globalnet.
co.uk/~loxias/letter4.htm. Viewed 5 December 2006.
People always think that because Aristotle said a tragic hero's downfall should
be due to a "tragic flaw" (hamartia), and Aristotle admired King Oedipus above
all tragedies, therefore Oedipus must have a "flaw". [This is a false premise
under Aristotle's very own logic.] And so they have struggled to find one!
Could it have been his bad temper? (No, he was quite justified in his rage
at Creon and Tiresias, having good reasons to suspect them of plotting against
him)
Could it have been his murderous temperament, in killing an old man in a
chariot? (No, he had good reason once more, and any Greek would have criticised him for NOT killing the irritating old boy)
Could Laius have been under divine protection as he was going to Delphi?
The hamartia would then be killing a divinely protected person (Nothing in the
text to indicate this)
Could it have been his carelessness - surely anyone told about killing his father and sleeping with his mother would have avoided killing ANY man and
sleeping with ANY woman? (No - Oedipus knew who his parents were - as he
thought, and took all reasonable precautions to avoid "accidentally" doing deeds
which no sane person could imagine himself doing anyway)
Could it have been his pride and arrogance - fueled by his success with
the Sphinx? (no - he includes himself in the curse he made, and is more than
anxious to find the truth)
Could it have been his fatal curiosity, inquiring into matters best left unexplored? (Surely not - neither Greeks of 5th century BC nor ourselves would
have seen this as a fault - "the truth is out there". The truth may be unpalatable
or dangerous, but it is better than ignorance).
Concusion? Forget Aristotle - a scientist trying to find a scientific analysis for
the unanalyzable. How many plays actually conform to his rules? Only King
Oedipus comes near - and not even that has a tragic hero with a tragic flaw!
I wrote this a while ago to someone asking about Oedipus' flaw: the same applies to Creon and Antigone. The whole business of "tragic flaws" is something
that English and Drama teachers have got hold of from some book they read
when they were students - no one these days who has actually studied Greek
tragedy believes there is any such thing. Do you worry about tragic flaws when
you see a movie? Of course not - there are more important things (which Aristotle correctly identified) - plot and character. Each character in tragedy is unique,
and the reasons for their suffering are unique to them. Read Antigone again
trying to find her uniqueness, and you'll start to understand the reasons why we
feel for her.
-Andrew
P.S. No Greek would understand "pride" as a flaw! Just as in Black Pride or Gay
Pride - the Greeks saw pride as a positive thing. The nearest is hybris - which
means believing you are free to abuse those weaker than yourself (i.e. behaving
like a god!).
A Greek drama by Sophocles first produced
about 429 BC, Oedipus Rex, more properly
called Oedipus Tyrannus, was praised in the
Poetics of Aristotle as the model for classical
tragedy and is still considered a principal example of the genre.
from Aristotle's Poetics
Now since in the finest kind of
tragedy the structure should be
complex and not simple, and since
it should also be a representation
of terrible and piteous events (that
being the special mark of this type
of imitation) in the first place, it is
evident that good men ought not
to be shown passing from prosperity to misfortune, for this does not
inspire either pity or fear, but only
revulsion; or evil men rising from
ill fortune to prosperity, for this is
the most untragic plot of all–it lacks
every requirement, in that it neither
elicits human sympathy nor stirs
pity or fear, since the first is felt for
a person whose misfortune is undeserved and the second for someone
like ourselves–and hence neither
pity nor fear would be aroused
in this case. We are left with the
man whose place is between these
extremes. Such is the man who on
the one hand is not preeminent in
virtue and justice, and yet on the
other hand does not fall into misfortune through vice or depravity,
but falls because of some mistake;
one among the number of the highly
renowned and prosperous, such as
Oedipus...
(Prentice Hall World Masterpieces 430).