Oedipus: King, Tragic Hero - An essay on Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" (Oedipus the King).

Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, contains a very prominent tragic hero: Oedipus. A tragic hero, by Aristotle's definition of one, must possess six traits. One of them is that the tragic hero must be of noble stature. Another trait of a tragic hero is a tragic flaw. A third trait defined by Aristotle is that a tragic hero must have a period of recognition of his crimes. Oedipus strongly displays each of the three aforementioned, …

…strongly evident in Oedipus. He is either the adopted or biological son of two kings; one of Corinth, and one of Thebes. Oedipus has a very fatal flaw, that being his anger. It unquestionably causes his downfall. Oedipus recognizes his crimes and gains insight regarding the events of his life, whereas he was previously ignorant. Without room for debate, Oedipus is obviously a tragic hero. Work Cited: Sophocles. Oedipus the King. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.