Elements of a Tragic Hero Found in Oedipus and Creon in...

Oedipus and Creon Sophocles demonstrates Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero in his brilliant trilogy of plays, The Oedipus Cycle. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a character of high status who experiences a fall from great social status. This character also exhibits a tragic flaw and takes responsibility for their actions and accepts the punishment. Oedipus, son of Laios, and the King of Thebes, tried to escape his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother, displays all of Aristotle’s attributes for a tragic hero. Creon, Oedipus’ brother in law and uncle, also displays the personality traits present in a tragic hero. Although both characters fit Aristotle’s definition for a tragic hero, Oedipus better displays the characteristics of a tragic hero than Creon. In order to follow Aristotle’s designation of a tragic hero, the character must start at a high position in society and fall due to a tragic flaw that the character exhibits. Oedipus follows this definition very well. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, a very powerful city. Oedipus’ tragic flaw, pride, is shown throughout the story in his stubbornness and interactions with other characters. Oedipus’ pride causes him to get angry at Teiresias when he suggests that Oedipus may be in fact the killer of Laios: â€Å"Am I to bear this from him? –Damnation / Take you! Out of this place! Out of my sight!† (23). Oedipus thinks that he is better than Teiresias and thus does not listen to his advice. Oedipus