Aristotle presents plot, character, thought, diction, melody and spectacle as the main components of tragedy. These six elements are divided into three parts as f ollows: diction an d melody as t he m edia o f mimesis; s pectacle as the mode of mimesis; and plot, character and thought as the object of mimesis. O f these, p lot, t hought a n d character, w hich a re t he o bjects o f mimesis, are related to the person. The object of mimesis is directly con n ected w ith the person in t hat in the c ase of t he p lot, t he v irtuous or t he wicked should not fall into misfortune, and the action of the person changes according to the thought and the character. Aristotle regarded Oedipus the King by Sophocles as the best tragedy. Therefore, from the main character of this tragedy, we will find a typical tragic figure. Oedipus, with his noble lineage, is neither a particularly virtuous nor an evil person in view of his thought and character. The character of Oedipus, which cannot be considered to have any particular flaws, is a universal one that anyone would have.
Nevertheless, the reason he falls into bad luck is due to hamartia rather than thought and character, and it would be an ignorance of oneself caused by hybris. The reason why Oedipus the King is a real tragedy is that the main character, who solves the Sphinx’s riddles, does not know who he truly is himself at all. Thus, Oedipus punishes himself not by killing himself ― which means the end of the world for him ― but by physically stabbing out his own eyes which had prevented him from looking at things clearly. In summary, this study argues that Oedipus’s hamartia is the true cause of his falling into misfortune, and the character of Oedipus the King, rather than plot or thought, prompts his hybris that provokes his ignorance, which is the essence of his hamartia.