Oedipus: Aristotelian or Formalist Theory

Sophocles, .The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. N.p.: Harcourt, Inc., 977. 43-73.

Throughout the tragedy by Sophocles, the king Oedipus relies on his personal glory to attain long lasting fame and balks when confronted with anything that might shatter this perception that he is the best. While both characters have done marvelous deeds in the past, their inherent arrogance, which is part of the tragic flaw of each of the characters,

“Oedipus” written by Sophocles and “Odysseus” written by Homer both are Greek poets. Both stories share the same themes in ways where both of the epic heroes endure a conflict. The characters in these plays are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The characteristics suggested by the authors are intrinsic to the audience. They both have a complete and subjective understanding of work. Their characteristics are displayed through the characters actions, what the writer says about them, and what they portray on themselves. This will be the focus of the essay. Both Oedipus and Odysseus, spoken by others, they describe character traits.

Sophocles has a harsh and tragic style. He is a master at dramatic tragedies and irony. Oedipus Rex is scattered with ironic and very tragic moments. He also uses the chorus as a way to comment on a subject in the play. Foreshadows using various methods. He also uses imagery, rhetoric questions and metaphors.

The main criteria set by Aristotle involves the plot and the plays main character. According to Aristotle, for a tragedy to be both successful and effective there must be a reversal, a "change from one state of affairs to its exact opposite", and there must be recognition, "a change from ignorance to knowledge" on the part of the main character. The plot should not be

In the play, “Oedipus Rex”, many ironies took place, as well as fate playing a huge part in the story. “Oedipus Rex” is a story about a man that tries to overcome adversity but cannot escape his prophecy. His parents took him to a hillside as an infant, sliced his Achilles tendons and left him there. A shepherd soon came to his rescue. “King and Queen of Thebes, gave their infant to a shepherd in with orders that he be left on the side of the mountainside to die” (Johnson 1205). As he grew older and much wiser, he went to see the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle informed him that his destiny was to kill his father and marry his mother. The main ironies in the play are the killing of Oedipus’s biological father, the odd relationship with his mother, and the inability of Oedipus to avoid his fate.

The authors of this article place a focus on Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and its containing of a lethal plague that profoundly affects this work of drama. In attempting to unravel the factors and descriptions of this plague as depicted in the work, the authors attempt to trace the plague throughout the text as well as search for a possible underlying cause. In comparing the plague within Oedipus Rex to the historical plague of Athens, the authors of this article allow the reader a more in-depth look at the time that Sophocles' writing sought to portray.

"Overview: Oedipus Rex." Drama for Students. Ed. David M. Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. Vol. 1.

When he talks you can feel a sense of trust as Michael Pennington presents Oedipus as such a loud fluent speaker, but the use of Sophocles puns add a tone of dramatic irony to the play for instance his last line ‘I see it all’ just before he plunges his own eyes out..

From the very beginning, what makes Oedipus ' actions in his quarrel with Teiresias and also throughout the play so dramatically compelling, is the fact that the audience knows the outcome of the story. We know Oedipus ' fate even before he does, and there is no suspense about the outcome itself, instead, the audience anxiously awaits Oedipus to reveal his fate unto himself in his desperate quest to rid his city of the terrible plague, or maybe even more so, to simply discover his own unfortunate tale. Oedipus is relentless in his pursuit of the truth, and his determination is commendable. There is nothing that compels him to act in this way, instead he freely chooses, with much zeal, to initiate the chain of events that will ultimately lead to his downfall. It is this interplay between Oedipus’ own free will and his fated eventuality that is the crux of the play, and constitutes the main dramatic power.

Language, or diction, is fourth on the list of a tragedy major points. Aristotle points out that metaphors are the most useful form of language in a tragedy. The main metaphor portrayed in “Oedipus Rex” is that of sight and blindness. The king things he sees all but in reality he is blind to the truth. Ironically the only one who can see the truth is the blind seer Teiresias. Oedipus begins the play able to see but is blind and ends the play blind but able to see.

In the Poetics, Aristotle provides an outline of how the artist is to portray or represent the perfect Tragedy. A Tragedy, of course, was nothing more than a drama, in which the characters appeared "better" than in real life (in a comedy, they appeared "worse," according to Aristotle). Aristotle's Poetics makes several references to other dramatic works to illustrate his points, but he most commonly calls upon The Odyssey to support his argument for how a dramatic structure should be designed. However, along with the Odyssey, Aristotle extensively references Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Both poetic works were enormously popular in their time (the former had been passed down orally for generations, and the latter won the top prizes at the dramatic festivals). Therefore, Aristotle is comfortable using both to support his viewpoint concerning Tragedy and the Tragic Hero. This paper will analyze the standards that Aristotle sets out concerning the definition of the Tragic Hero and show how Sophocles' Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a Tragic Hero.

Over two thousand years ago in 400 B.C. Sophocles, a Greek dreamer, wrote the story, “Oedipus the King”. One might think that a story that old may be boring or poorly written, but in fact it is very descriptive and entertaining. Sophocles even employs different literary devices to enhance the themes throughout the story. Some of these techniques includes: metaphor, personification, imagery, symbolism, tone, meter, setting, and diction.

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

The tale of Oedipus and his prophecy has intrigued not only the citizens of Greece in the ancient times, but also people all over the world for several generations. Most notable about the play was its peculiar structure, causing the audience to think analytically about the outcomes of Oedipus’ actions and how it compares with Aristotle’s beliefs. Another way that the people have examined the drama is by looking at the paradoxes (such as the confrontation of Tiresias and Oedipus), symbols (such as the Sphinx), and morals that has affected their perceptions by the end of the play. Nonetheless, the most important aspect is how relevant the story is and how it has influenced modern ideas like that of Freud and other people of today.