According to Aristotle's view of tragedy in his
Poetics, a work which has dominated critical thinking since it was
written, the protagonist's misfortunes result not from character deficiencies but from
what Aristotle terms hamartia, a criminal act committed in
ignorance of some material fact or even for the sake of a greater good. The criminal
act that Oedipus commits is the killing of the man who blocks his way on a road, a man
who, unbeknowst to Oedipus, is his father. This act may be motivated by arrogance as
Oedipus desires to show his superiority to the other man; however, his downfall is the
result of hamartia, and neither pride nor
arrogance.
This arrogance of Oedipus is evident in his
thinking that he can solve the riddle of what causes the plague from which Thebes
suffers. But, at the same time, Oedipus is a good king and a sound ruler who feels
confident in his problem-solving abilities since he already has solved the riddle of the
Sphinx.
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