Oedipus

Greek tragedy is characterized by the emotional discharging brought about by the suffering of a heroic figure. In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, the agony of pain attacking the protagonist is a result of his tragic flaw. Sophocles often uses a characters hamartia to alter or influence the future or outcome of the hero, in this case, Oedipus. Oedipus' hubris traps him into fulfilling the vision and intensifies his punishment.

Oedipus' pride is an inherited characteristic. Even before his glory and power as King of Thebes, he allowed his conceit to affect his judgment and rule his actions. Unknowingly, Oedipus fulfills Apollo's oracle, which is a vision, when he encounters a group of men at a crossroad. The driver offends Oedipus as he goes by brushing against Oedipus, intensifying Oedipus' anger. Although the contact, is just a slight intrusion, Oedipus, outraged that someone would have the nerve to trouble him "paid them back with interest" and "killed every one of them, every mother's son". As he recounts the incident to Jocasta he is not remorseful for the loss of life or for his part in the crime. Instead, Oedipus' tone is one of satisfaction that he got revenge. Had his arrogance not interfered, Oedipus would not have made the rash decision to kill all of the party and would not have ended up making the vision come true.

Oedipus' self-confidence blinds him to his fate predestined by the gods. This is another example of Oedipus’ hubris getting in the way. Dramatic irony is present when Oedipus tries to bypass the horrible prophecy of him killing his father and being romantic with his mother, because he is taking steps that will make the prophecy come true. Again his overconfidence contributes to the impending trouble because he believes that he has outwitted the gods and by doing this he is challenging his fate. Although he has enough idolization to the gods not to assume himself to be an equal with them, it is clear through his words that Oedipus perceives himself to be of a greater importance than the lesser people that surround him. He is conceited to think that he can shape his own destiny and the gods punish him for this arrogance.

Once Oedipus is made aware of the importance of the situation in Thebes he assumes to be the savior. In addressing his people, Oedipus regards them as his children - his pride in his abilities enables him to take on the task of leader. His faith in himself results in a lack of discretion on his part. Although Creon hints at bad news, Oedipus eagerly insists that Creon announce the oracle's words publicly, so that he will be thought of as an open, honest leader, and he did not pick up on Creon's hesitation. Oedipus later assumes the role of a mortal god, "Let me grant your prayers". He is now arrogant, believing that he has divine power to solve a city's problems. Oedipus again proves to be confident of his abilities, "if I'd been present then, there would have been no mystery". When Oedipus makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, he loses patience, hostily condemning the murderer, and cursing him to a terrible death. "Now my curse on the murderer... let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step" Ironically, his curse is a foreshadowing of his own impending doom.

In the heated exchange between Oedipus and Tiresias, Oedipus' excessive irrationality and recklessness is revealed. Although, Oedipus wishes Tireisas to disclose the identity of the murderer to end the plague he is also annoyed with Tiresias for not being submissive. When Tiresias withholds information to protect Oedipus, Oedipus is blind to the subtle hints and instead is caught up in Tiresias’ disobedience. Oedipus’ angry temperament gets out of control and he says "you scum of the earth, you'd enrage a heart of stone...you've lost your powers, stone blind, eyes blind as stone". Ironically, Tiresias is the one who possesses insight, while Oedipus is blind to reality because of his excessive pride. Oedipus falsely makes illogical accusations against Tiresias, "given eyes, I'd say you did the killing single-handed". He resorts to fake bragging to deal with the overpowering fear mustering up inside of him, "I stopped the Sphinx! With no help from the birds, the flight of my own Intelligence hit the mark". In this statement, Oedipus considers himself a self-made man, forgetting that the Gods were with him and helped him succeed. With Tiresias, one can see the rashness, irrationality and blindness that are products of Oedipus' excessive pride.

Once he is announced the guilty one, Oedipus' pride is again transferred into excessive irrationality as he confronts Creon. While on a conscious level Oedipus fights for the truth about Laius, subconsciously, he rejects the idea that he is murderer. He attempts to turn the city against Creon.