No it is wrong to say that because:
It is against the very concept of Aristotelian concept of the tragic hero. An ideal tragic hero:
is an essentially a good (though not noble) character
But, at the same time, he has common human weaknesses and commits an error of judgment or suffers from a fatal flaw (hamartia), causing his peripeteia (tragic and drastic fall from prosperity into adversity).His fall arouses pity and fear in the audience and provides an opportunity to them for catharsis (process of release of emotions)
We equate ourselves with the tragic hero and his fall because, firstly, he morally belongs to the average humanity like all of us and, secondly, his fall is caused, not by any of his evil actions, but by his fatal flaws which affect each and every single one of us and, that, too, because of the working of destiny and fate.
If tragic hero is evil, why would the spectators equate themselves with him and why pity and fear would be aroused in them
In case of evil tragic hero, the spectators would feel relieved at his fall as they would do in case of seeing the murderers and rapists and robbers fall
But why does he call himself ‘the worst of men’? It actually refers to the weaknesses of which he actually was ignorant and only came to know them after his fall e.g.
• Oedipus committed patricide and incest which are unpardonable crimes but he came to know these when it was too late
• He falls at the hands of his indomitable pride and ambition, but this is true of all tragic heroes who have weaknesses. For instance look at the weaknesses of other tragic heroes: Hamlet, procrastination; Lear, arrogance and ignorance; Othello, jealousy; Julius Caesar, arrogance; Macbeth, ambition; Faustus, his ambition and pride in his unlimited knowledge.
So what is really to blame is the tragic Irony of fate and destiny. Oedipus knows all and is the only person in the world to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, but we know that the discovery of truth is not going to help him. So ironically, he remains ignorant of his own crimes of patricide and incest and the moment truth is revealed, he starts hating himself. That Oedipus is not the worst of men can be proved even by his decision to leave Thebes for fear of the fulfilment of the prophecies but it the evil and tragic irony of fate that somehow ends up in the same country of his birth and commits what he is so bent upon avoiding but what is destined to happen.
It is against the very concept of Aristotelian concept of the tragic hero. An ideal tragic hero:
is an essentially a good (though not noble) character
But, at the same time, he has common human weaknesses and commits an error of judgment or suffers from a fatal flaw (hamartia), causing his peripeteia (tragic and drastic fall from prosperity into adversity).His fall arouses pity and fear in the audience and provides an opportunity to them for catharsis (process of release of emotions)
We equate ourselves with the tragic hero and his fall because, firstly, he morally belongs to the average humanity like all of us and, secondly, his fall is caused, not by any of his evil actions, but by his fatal flaws which affect each and every single one of us and, that, too, because of the working of destiny and fate.
If tragic hero is evil, why would the spectators equate themselves with him and why pity and fear would be aroused in them
In case of evil tragic hero, the spectators would feel relieved at his fall as they would do in case of seeing the murderers and rapists and robbers fall
But why does he call himself ‘the worst of men’? It actually refers to the weaknesses of which he actually was ignorant and only came to know them after his fall e.g.
• Oedipus committed patricide and incest which are unpardonable crimes but he came to know these when it was too late
• He falls at the hands of his indomitable pride and ambition, but this is true of all tragic heroes who have weaknesses. For instance look at the weaknesses of other tragic heroes: Hamlet, procrastination; Lear, arrogance and ignorance; Othello, jealousy; Julius Caesar, arrogance; Macbeth, ambition; Faustus, his ambition and pride in his unlimited knowledge.
So what is really to blame is the tragic Irony of fate and destiny. Oedipus knows all and is the only person in the world to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, but we know that the discovery of truth is not going to help him. So ironically, he remains ignorant of his own crimes of patricide and incest and the moment truth is revealed, he starts hating himself. That Oedipus is not the worst of men can be proved even by his decision to leave Thebes for fear of the fulfilment of the prophecies but it the evil and tragic irony of fate that somehow ends up in the same country of his birth and commits what he is so bent upon avoiding but what is destined to happen.
Thanks for sharing ur knowledge with us . Allah bless you.
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