Let's first consider the primary characteristics of a 'tragic hero,' as defined by Aristotle in his Poetics. The hero usually possesses excessive pride (hubris); he undergoes a reversal of fortune (peripeteia); this reversal of fortune comes about by the hero's agency; the hero usually has a flaw in judgement (hamartia). The tragic hero is usually a balanced character — one the audience can relate to and pity — who eventually suffers great misfortune because of some 'tragic' flaw. The tragic hero's outcome is inevitable, as is his tragic flaw, but, importantly, he is not responsible for possessing the flaw. The hero suffers greatly and often dies, but all this suffering is not in vain and typically imparts an important lesson. Now let's see how well Sophocles' Oedipus fits these criteria.
Oedipus is a balanced character — he is caring, compassionate, and popular among the people, but he is also short-tempered and impulsive. He is a virtuous man who is not without faults.
His greatest flaws are his impulsiveness and his pride, and these eventually lead to his downfall.
He leaves his adoptive parents after hearing Tiresias' prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother — and then goes on to kill an older man and marry an older woman! Had he been less impulsive and less sure of himself, he might have acted differently.
However, he did not knowingly commit patricide and incest; what happened to him was not his own fault, but borne out of ignorance about his identity. Since he is not wicked, he does not deserve the fate that he is given.
Once he learns the truth, he undergoes a reversal of fortune (he was the king of Thebes, happily married) and blinds himself in his misery and shame; he is then exiled.
The prophecy also makes Oedipus' fate inevitable, even though he railed against it.
So, as you can see, he exemplifies quite well Aristotle's characterization of a tragic hero.
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