Does Oedipus Make A Big Mistake

Oedipus the King is a play of tragedy written by Sophocles. Aristotle says that tragedy is “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude.” A tragedy is meant to evoke both pity and fear unto the reader or audience. An example of this would be when Oedipus gouges out his eyes; you feel pity for him and also afraid. Aristotle wrote that tragedy should afflict a mostly good character who makes a big mistake. For instance, if the character is bad and makes a big mistake there is no pity for the character. A perfect character isn’t satisfying to the audience and shows that the universe doesn’t reward the good and punish the evil, which is very unsettling in the mind. Is Oedipus a good character? Does he make a great mistake? Oedipus is considered a great king by everyone in the kingdom of Thebes. In the beginning of the play, the priest calls him “the first of men in all the chances of this life (36).” The priest tells Oedipus of the suffering of the city, but Oedipus is already on the predicament and replies “I have known the story before you told it (67).” In fact, Oedipus sent out Creon, his brother-in-law, to an oracle to find the source of the city’s suffering. Because Oedipus is known as the savior of Thebes, he has a “big head” and accuses Creon of plotting against …show more content…
The terrible consequences that Oedipus suffers are not from a moral flaw in his character because he didn’t know that he had killed his father and married his mother. Only the audience really knows the story before it is told. I don’t believe he deserves the consequences at all. Oedipus was a good king and tried to stay so even when Jocasta repeatedly told him to stop looking, but he couldn’t help himself because of the type of person he