OEDIPUS ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Write an essay that evaluates the effect of Dramatic Irony, Hubris and / or Symbolism on
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. You may choose to envelop your argument within a thesis that
discusses a particular character, moment or exchange between characters. Be careful not retell
the Oedipus myth. You must do more than that. Discussing the thesis will not do. Use the text to
prove it.
Excerpted and Adapted from:
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms: Second Edition
Dramatic Irony: The term dramatic irony may be used to refer to a situation in which the
character’s own words come back to haunt him or her. However, it usually involves a
discrepancy between a character’s perception and what the reader or audience knows to be true.
The reader or audience possesses some material information that the character lacks, and it is the
character’s imperfect information that motivates or explains his or her discordant response. The
character may respond to a statement or situation in three ways: by making a statement, forming
an expectation, or taking some action. A verbal response involves dramatic irony when a
character fails to recognize the true import or his or her words; characters with partial
information may thus assign meaning to their words that differ from the meanings assigned by
the reader or audience. Expectation and action involve dramatic irony when they are
inappropriate under the circumstances that actually exist. Characters may even accurately assess
a situation without realizing it, attributing to someone or something a truth they do not recognize
as such.
Hubris: Greek for “insolence,” excessive pride that constitutes the protagonist’s tragic flaw and
leads to a downfall. Disastrous consequences result when hubris causes the protagonist to ignore
a wise warning from a god or other important figure, to violate some moral rule, or try to
transcend ordinary limits.
Symbolism: Something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stands for or suggests
something larger and more complex—often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and
practices.
A symbol may be defined as a metaphor in which the vehicle—the image, activity, or concept
used to represent something else—represents many related things (or tenors) or is broadly
suggestive.
Other terms that may prove useful:
Aristotelian Tragic Hero:
Aristotle once said that "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own
downfall." An Aristotelian tragic hero must have four characteristics:
1.Nobility (of a noble birth) or wisdom (by virtue of birth).
2.Hamartia (translated as flaw or error of judgment, not an Elizabethan tragic flaw).
3.A reversal of fortune brought about because of the hero's Hamartia.
4.The discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own
actions
Some other common traits characteristic of a tragic hero:
Hero must suffer more than he deserves.
Hero must be doomed from the start, but bear no responsibility for possessing his flaw.
Hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in
him.
Hero must have discovered his fate by his own actions, not by things happening to him.
Hero must see and understand his doom, as well as the fact that his fate was discovered
by his own actions.
Hero's story should arouse fear and empathy.
Hero must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his
death.
Ideally, the hero should be a king or leader of men, so that his people experience his fall
with him.
The hero must be intelligent so he may learn from his mistakes.(Answers.com)
A tragic hero usually has the following sequence of "Great, Good, Flaw, Recognition,
Downfall." and more often than not dies at some point in the story
Tragic Flaw: A character trait in a tragic hero or heroine that brings about his or her downfall.
Traits like arrogance or hubris are common tragic flaws, but a protagonist’s tragic flaw is not
necessarily a “bad” character trait; rather it is simply the characteristic from which the reversal of
the tragic hero’s fortune ensues. Courage or jealousy may equally be the trait whose expression
leads to the direst of consequences.
Hamartia: From the Greek word for “error,” an error in judgment made by a tragic hero, whether
resulting from a lack of knowledge or a moral flaw, that brings about the suffering, downfall, and
often death of that hero. The term is often used synonymously with tragic flaw, but the usage is
not strictly correct – the error involved with hamartia need not be one inherent in the tragic hero
(a character flaw, such as hubris) but may instead result form the hero’s ignorance of certain
crucial facts or from something as simple as an accident. Sometimes the hamartia may even
result from the exercise (with disastrous consequences) of a virtue (such as bravery). Thus,
although the hamartia may and often does result from a tragic flaw, the two terms are not
technically equivalent.