Aristotles Idea of a Tragic Hero - Essay Example

 Aristotle’s Idea of a Tragic Hero Introduction Writers often look to depict their opinions and ideas regarding different issues in society. Works of literature is often used to present social issues and concepts that have led to the shaping of cultures, norms and customs within the society. One such contributor to sociology and philosophy through writing is Aristotle. Some of his best works have led to the development of educational approaches, democratic principles that are implemented in many countries around the world. Literature is also used to propagate ideas based on history, therefore, preserving the cultures of different period for future reference and study. Aristotle developed a categorization of literature and storytelling. Tragedy is one of the areas he explicitly defined and provided requirements that work as guidelines for classification of this type of work. This essay will be looking into Aristotle’s categorization of tragedy; specifically the definition of a tragic hero. It will also analyze the play ‘Oedipus the King’ and its relevance to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero (Sophocles, Storr, & Parker, 2005). Aristotle’s Idea of a Tragic Hero Aristotle believed that for a character to be considered a hero he must have several predetermined characteristics. These characteristics included a high level of pride that would eventually lead to the development of poor decision making. The character must have a flaw in decision making that would determine his fate. The life of the character must have a reversal effect through which the storyline will take an opposite route than what was originally expected. There must be a moment where the character discovers that the reversal of occurrences is caused by his prior actions. The repercussions of the entire turn out of events should be much more than what the character deserves (Sophocles, Yeats, & Curtis, 2008).  It is however important to note that the decision making flaw does not result from any fault of the hero character. The personality of this character is generally good but the bad decision making alters people’s perception towards him. Furthermore, in many cases, nothing can be done to avert the course of events. Events are often determined by supernatural powers such as the gods and prophecies. Therefore, according to Aristotle, the definition of a hero relies on the different characteristics that contribute to his role in the story. A hero is generally a person with good characteristics but makes a bad decision that alters his fate towards a drastic ending (Aristotle 350 B.C.). Oedipus the King in Relation to Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Oedipus the King is a story about a King (Oedipus) who tries o free his kingdom from a curse. However the king is required to solve the murder of his predecessor and punish the murderer as the main condition for the curse to be lifted. The disaster of the story takes place when the Kind discovers that he was indeed responsible for the death of the King from his past many years before. The misfortune, however, does not end here but leads to the discovery that Oedipus had fulfilled a previously foretold prophecy of killing his biological father and marrying his own mother. The devastation of this discovery then led him to gouge his eyes out and plead to be banished from his own kingdom (Sophocles & Bagg, 2004).  Oedipus the King upholds Aristotle’s ideology of the characteristics of a hero. Oedipus displays some of the major requirements provided by Aristotle. Oedipus showed a flaw in judgment when he made the decision to kill seven men during a disagreement during his earlier years. Bad decision making is also evident when he ignores the counsel of different characters including his wife, his prophet and the shepherd who found him as a child when they advised him to stop the search for the previous King’s murderer. Had he listened, he would have avoided his disgrace and the loss of his wife’s life. Oedipus also posed a character of pride when he assumes an insulting attitude towards the blind prophet when he declines to divulge the secret of his marriage. He also demonstrates pride when he threatens to have his brother in law killed for accusing him of being the murderer that the entire kingdom was seeking (Bloom, 1988).  The course of events surrounding Oedipus shows a reverse of fortune. This is evident because Oedipus previously has a successful life as a king and had even previously overseen the lifting of another curse over the land. He was therefore a reputable king with a successful ruling era and a good family as well. The reverse of fortune comes about when the origins of his birth are revealed. He is proved to be the son of the previous king and therefore became the murderer that had brought the curse upon the kingdom. This declared him a liability to the community as his removal, or even death, was necessary for the survival of the rest of the community. Similarly, the reverse of events is also evident through the destruction of his family. The discovery that his wife, with whom he had two children, was actually his wife made his entire family a product of sin. These events bring about the destruction of his life both as a husband and as a king. The nest factor demonstrates that the unfortunate turn of events result from the actions of Oedipus. His action of killing his father, though he did not know his identity, brought about the curse that eventually led to the destruction of his future family, his era and also his own life as he gouged out his eyes and faced possible death (Hölderlin, Constantine & Sophocles, 2001).  Conclusion The above analysis shows that the play, Oedipus the King indeed supports Aristotle’s idea of a hero within a story. The main character of the story plays the role according to the provided guidelines and greatly contributes to the achievement of a successful tragedy according to Aristotle’s standards. A tragic hero is a good person whose decisions spell out their doom. It is however important to note that a tragic hero must not necessarily die but their actions must indeed lead to a dramatic and sympathy wielding end to the story. References Aristotle. (350 B.C.). Poetica XIII. Translated by Butcher, S. H. Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.2.2.html Bloom, H. (1988). Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. Hölderlin, F., Constantine, D., & Sophocles. (2001). Hölderlin's Sophocles: Oedipus & Antigone. Tarset: Bloodaxe. Sophocles, Storr, F., & Parker, P. M. (2005). Sophocles' Oedipus trilogy. San Diego: ICON Classics. Sophocles, Yeats, W. B., & Curtis, J. R. (2008). Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus: Manuscript Materials. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Sophocles & Bagg, M. (2004). The Oedipus plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the king, Oedipus at Kolonos, and Antigone. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. Read More