Examining the Tragic Protagonists of Oedipus Rex and...

Tragedy can be defined as the downfall of a protagonist through some fatal error or misjudgment, producing suffering and insight on the part of the main character and arousing pity and fear on the part of the audience. Of all the characteristics of tragedy, one is most important: the tragic hero must be essentially admirable and good. In both the common tragedies, â€Å"Oedipus Rex† and â€Å"Hamlet†, both main characters are generally good. In either play, both Hamlet and Oedipus make a flaw that will cost them an extreme suffering, and in â€Å"Hamlet†, that concludes in many deaths. A tragic protagonist is usually one of noble authority, who upholds a position high in society. In a tragedy, the protagonist falls from high to low, through the†¦show more content†¦Like in â€Å"Hamlet†, Sophocles writes a tragic play, about the downfall of King Oedipus. Oedipus holds the authority of King of Thebes, though as the story evolves, Oedipus suffers great losses, such as the death of his wife, as well as his mother, Jocasta, and the gouging of his own eyes. Both Hamlet and Oedipus are generally â€Å"good† characters, though when they see the error of their ways; it is already too late to save themselves from the cruel fate that has been set upon them. Both Hamlet and Oedipus face great struggles during their fall. Hamlet, after confronted with the true reason how his father had died, by the hand of his Uncle Claudius, in coercion by the spirit, reckons to kill Claudius. Though it only seems as single death to Hamlet, fate enacts a terrible consequence; killing the king will only bring about more suffering. This â€Å"simple† action morphs into the death of his mother, again by the hand of the King, who spikes wine with poison, though intended for Hamlet, finds its way to Gertrude, the suicide of Hamlet’s love, Ophelia, the killing of Polonius, the stabbing of Laertes by the poisoned sword, and ultimately the death of himself. Oedipus, too, brings about his own ruin. Oedipus, though generally good, was graced by the flaw of stubbornness; he is stuck in his own ways. When told of his fate by the blind seer, Teresias, Oedipus commits to his stubbornness and figures that Teresias is foolish. As the play progresses,