‘Oedipus Rex’ & ‘Doctor Faustus’ as Tragic Heroes

In the words of Aristotle; “A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that serious and also, having magnitude, complete in itself; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, each kind brought in separately in parts of the work; in dramatic, not in narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” Describing the qualities of a good tragic hero, Aristotle said: “A tragic hero must not be from these three forms: A good man must not be seen passing from happiness to misery, a bad man from misery to happiness an extremely bad man seen falling from happiness to misery.”

In other words, Aristotle said that “tragedy is an imitation (mimesis) of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude…through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation [catharsis] of these emotions.” (Britannica). This means that according to him a tragedy is the philosophy of an infinitely serious action that induces feelings of catharsis, purging emotions of terror and sympathy, in the audiences. He also distinguished six major elements of tragedy namely, “plot, characters, verbal expression, thought, visual adornment (scenic value), and song-composition”. The Aristotelian description of a tragic hero suggests that the tragic hero should belong to a high social and financial status, but is later on found to be the propeller of his own misfortune and goes through the insufferable consequences of hamartia (his tragic flaw which is usually his error of judgement, deed or behaviour).

In the light of the definitions explained above, both, Oedipus from the Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Faustus from Renaissance-Age tragedy, Doctor Faustus written by Christopher Marlowe, were bonafide tragic characters who somehow welcomed their own doom and gloom through their actions and also, ill-fate as a competent motivator. Both tragedies depict the fall of pioneers of greatness and supremacy. Both suffer in the end. Both plays come to an end with the main character losing their all, even their life. In the light of the six elements for a tragedy, both Oedipus Rex and Doctor Faustus consist of a solid plot and characterization where both heroes are introduced to the audiences as beacons of perfection and might, both playwrights ensured excellent verbal expression as can be seen in the following lines: “How dreadful knowledge of the truth can he” from Oedipus Rex and “Pluck up your hearts, since fate still rests our friend” from Doctor Faustus. As we can see, both these lines exhibit depth of meaning and are fragrant with the artistic prowess of their scribers. The thought that drives both the narratives is pretty similar in nature too. Both plays have choruses who sing songs and provide the audience some scenic attraction to savour upon.

In terms of differences between the two characters, there are a lot of ways that they are completely opposite to one another. Both of them have different goals and purposes. While Faustus fell prey to his gluttonous pursuit of attaining knowledge, Oedipus had to bear the burden of a prophecy about him becoming true. Oedipus, after knowing about the truth was exiled from the earth where he once ruled as king, Thebes, while Faustus was ought to seek eternal refuge in hell. In terms of the tragic aspect of their lives, we should not forget the fact that Oedipus was not at liberty to choose his fate. Instead, he somehow fell prey to it, making his ignorance and innocence his tragic flaw that led him to his ruin by marrying his own mother. Faustus on the other hand, was fully aware of his wrongdoings, his undesirable conduct and in fact, chose to sell his soul to the devil.

Irrespective of what happened in both the plays, Faustus and Oedipus both ensue cathartic emotions within the audiences. While we petrify over the deplorable grandeur of their misery, their doom also seemed to stimulate our empathy towards them. Lines like “Even the greatest of men can crumble to ruins” in Oedipus Rex can leave the audience in shudders for how unanticipated life can be. The theme of “all men are subject to suffering and pain” is true for both sole characters. Faustus, a German intellectual prodigy and renowned professor, studied the rules of necromancy in his pursuit to take over the world while Oedipus proved the age-old prophecy to be true by unknowingly marrying and producing offspring with the same woman who gave birth to him. Both these plays end in an exceedingly haunted fashion, with Oedipus bursting his eyes open at the sight of his mother/wife having committed suicide and Faustus asking for mercy from Jesus from his despicable crime; his wish and actions to become like God.

In my humble opinion, Oedipus is more convincing as a tragic hero. While I deplore his doings, I also give him the edge of grabbing my sympathies because he was not aware of the truth. Faustus on the other hand, was fully aware of what he was doing and what the repercussions of his actions would be. He knew from the very beginning what his actions are going to lead him to. Even in the iconic lines of Mephistopheles where he insists “Why this is hell, nor am I out of it. Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God, And tasted the eternal joy of heaven, Am not tormented with ten thousand hells, In being deprived of everlasting bliss?” Faustus, absurdly and blithely insists that he does not believe in hell, even though he is corrected by Mephistopheles when he is informed that hell is very real and terrible. Even when presented with these words of caution by Lucifer’s assistant himself, he chooses to walk on the path that lead him astray. According to Charles G. Massinton, “Faustus is a typical Renaissance tragic hero because his tragedy occurs because of possessing too much knowledge”.

Oedipus on the other hand, was completely unaware of what the future held for him. Although he was aware of the undesirable prophecy, his actions towards me, were always driven by good intentions, whether it was his decision to leave his foster parents to nullify the prophecy or to save the land of Thebes by doing whatever it takes. He always proved to be of greater worth than Faustus. Oedipus’ decree was utterly out of innocence (whether it was killing his father or getting married to Jocasta, his mother and wife) while Faustus invited his wrecked fate despite knowing the consequences. Hence, I feel a greater jolt of compassion and pity for Oedipus than Faustus who did everything in a state of consciousness and unshakable will.

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