As defined by Aristotle, hamartia is the tragic flaw that leads to a character’s downfall. Oedipus, the tragic hero of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, is a man whose hamartia is that he is not self-aware; he believes that he is the birth son of Polybus and Merope. Then, as the king of Thebes, he wants to bring King Laius’ murderer to justice without realizing he is searching for himself. Lastly, after answering the Sphinx's riddle and saving the citizens of Thebes, he marries the Theban queen, Jocasta, not knowing that she was his true birth mother.
Oedipus demonstrates his hamartia at the beginning of the play when he believes that he is the true son of Polybus and Merope in spite of the myriad of evidence. For example Choragos tells the audience …show more content…
In the story, Oedipus does not question Jocasta when she recounts the same prophecy Oedipus received from the oracle. Furthermore, he still fails to recognize his true relationship to her even after the shepherd had already alluded to that fact multiple times by replying, “My wife! – Did she give it to you...an unspeakable mother!” (Sophocles 249) in regards to the child Laius and Jocasta sent away. The shepherd tells him that he had been ordered to drive a stake through the child’s ankles, but rather than killing it, he delivered it to the Corinthian king and queen. By failing to draw the connection between himself and the infant, Oedipus exhibits his lack of self-understanding; although Oedipus must still carry the physical signs of abuse, he omits the detail and he does not identify the infant’s bound ankles as his own. He also fails to associate the similarities between Jocasta’s rendition of the prophecy and the one he had received from the oracle. This aspect of his hamartia is caused by his innocence; because he is disgusted by the idea of an incestual marriage, he does not even consider the possibility that the prophecy had already come true. This innocence caused his hamartia in not knowing himself and not realizing sooner the true nature of his
Oedipus demonstrates his hamartia at the beginning of the play when he believes that he is the true son of Polybus and Merope in spite of the myriad of evidence. For example Choragos tells the audience …show more content…
In the story, Oedipus does not question Jocasta when she recounts the same prophecy Oedipus received from the oracle. Furthermore, he still fails to recognize his true relationship to her even after the shepherd had already alluded to that fact multiple times by replying, “My wife! – Did she give it to you...an unspeakable mother!” (Sophocles 249) in regards to the child Laius and Jocasta sent away. The shepherd tells him that he had been ordered to drive a stake through the child’s ankles, but rather than killing it, he delivered it to the Corinthian king and queen. By failing to draw the connection between himself and the infant, Oedipus exhibits his lack of self-understanding; although Oedipus must still carry the physical signs of abuse, he omits the detail and he does not identify the infant’s bound ankles as his own. He also fails to associate the similarities between Jocasta’s rendition of the prophecy and the one he had received from the oracle. This aspect of his hamartia is caused by his innocence; because he is disgusted by the idea of an incestual marriage, he does not even consider the possibility that the prophecy had already come true. This innocence caused his hamartia in not knowing himself and not realizing sooner the true nature of his