The Greek drama Oedipus Rex is clearly a tragedy. It definitely meets the five
main criteria for a tragedy: a tragic hero of noble birth, a tragic flaw, a fall from grace, a
moment of remorse, and catharsis.
Oedipus Rex clearly meets the first of these five criteria. Oedipus is the son of
Laius, who was king of Thebes. Even at the beginning of the story, when we are told that
Oedipus is the son of Polybus, he is still of noble birth; Polybus is king of Corinth.
The tragic flaw, or mistake that a character makes, in Oedipus Rex does not
actually take place during the story. We only watch as Oedipus and the rest of the
characters discover this mistake that was actually made long, long ago and cannot be
reversed. This tragic flaw is of course Oedipus killing his father Lauis, and then marrying
Jocasta, his mother.
Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's teeth, by Maxfield Parr...
Oedipus and the Sphinx of Thebes, Red Figure Kylix...
Oedipus complex: Oedipus explains the riddle of th...We realize that these actions have taken place much earlier in the
story than the characters do. However, both of these events actually took many years ago.
The fall from grace in Oedipus Rex is when Oedipus, Jocasta, and all the other
characters in the story realize that Oedipus actually did murder Laius and that Jocasta is
indeed his mother as well as his wife. This occurs rather quickly, very close to the end of
the play.
The audience sees this coming long before it actually does, however. In one of the
passages of Oedipus speaking with Jocasta, just about everything is spelled out for us.
Jocasta speaks of Laius leaving the castle with just a few servants and his being killed
where three roads meet. Oedipus claims that he killed somebody where three roads met,
who had a few servants with him. As though this isn't enough, Jocasta...