A Character Analysis of Oedipus the King

Who is one of the most famous tragic heroes in the world of literature? It can be none other than the main character in Oedipus Rex: Oedipus the King. This is an inspired play written by Sophocles. In the duration of the play, a prophet has told that Oedipus is going to kill his father, and then marry his mother. Because of this, Oedipus faces many problems through the course of his life. But his doomed fate is not the only thing that causes him to fall. Oedipus has three main flaws that make him struggle during the course of the play: Pride/arrogance, impulsive temper, and a lack of common knowledge.

Oedipus the King is a proud and arrogant man. An instance of his arrogance is shown when he says: “Here I am myself- / you all know me, the world knows my fame: / I am Oedipus” (7-9). From this line it can be seen that Oedipus has a lot of pride, because he is the one and only Oedipus. Also, the way that others speak to him must have an effect on the way that he views himself. For example, when the priest speaks to him he says: “Oh Oedipus, king of the land, our greatest power” (16). Overall, the Sphinx is Oedipus’ greatest form of pride, because he is the only one who could solve the riddle. Regardless of these signs of pride and arrogance, Oedipus fails to see his flaws within.

From his pride comes his impulsive temper that causes him to make many mistakes that he could avoid. He becomes very upset when Tiresias, the blind prophet, does not answer his questions in the way that he prefers. Oedipus begins to accuse Tiresias of things that are untrue, and eventually mocks his blindness. When speaking of Tiresias he says: “..eyes peeled / for his own profit- seer blind in his craft” (450-451). Kreon, Oedipus’ brother in law, is another character that feels the wrath of Oedipus’ impulsive anger. From these examples it can be concluded that Oedipus shows impulsive anger towards anyone who tells him anything that he does not want to hear. The best example of Oedipus’ anger and how impulsive it becomes is the death of his father. When he was a young man, he had been traveling and came upon a chariot that blocked his path. On impulse he became severely angry, and then he progressed to kill all the servants and the man inside as well, not knowing that this man was his father.

Oedipus’ third and final flaw is his inability to understand the riddle of his own life. His lack of common knowledge may come from his pride, because he is trying to save himself. He is given clue after clue that he is the man that killed the great king Laius before him, and that this king was indeed his father. Sadly he never truly understands until he converses with the shepherd. The shepherd does not want to be the one to give such horrible news so he begs by saying: “No, dear god, don’t torture an old man” (1270). After Oedipus comes to the knowledge that he has, in fact, killed his father and married his mother; he blinds himself with the brooches of his dead mother and wife. The irony in this shows the true blindness that Oedipus was suffering with and now is he physically blind as well.

Oedipus suffers with many problems during the course of his life and these all seem to spawn from his pride, temper, and ignorance. He thinks of himself as brilliant and stunning, while he was really quite ignorant and full of pride and anger. If he would listen to a voice of reason other than his own, he could solve himself a world of problems. He might have even been able to change his own doomed fate if he had opened his eyes to the truths that surrounded him.

Works Cited:

1. Meyer, Michael. “Oedipus the King.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Karen S. Henry. Eighth Edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2008. 1425-1468. Print.