Tragic plays back in Ancient Greece were very popular. Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed the heart through pity and terror, purging individuals of their petty concerns and worries by making them aware that there can be nobility in suffering. He called this experience 'catharsis'. Oedipus Rex has so much irony, ignorance and fate plays a big role; combine all those elements and one has a recipe for a tragedy. The play, Oedipus the King, was an importance to the society of ancient Greece beyond just being entertainment for the people who saw it because Oedipus was indeed a tragic hero. Aristotle has cited that the Oedipus trilogy is a great example of Greek tragedy, noting the tragic scenes, choral odes, and simple poetry. Aristotle has …show more content…
Psychologically, the audience feels purged, as if they had gone through these events themselves and learned the edification from firsthand experience. This is supposed to cleanse their souls. One can learn so much from others mistakes, for in which case it is understandable why tragedies were very popular back in Ancient Greece. Tragedies are a form of art that questions the role of a man in this universe. At the beginning of this play, Oedipus was very sure of who he was but at the end he has no idea and is blinded by his own ignorance of his past. According to Yue-hua, “the myth of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is revolved on the three interactive perspectives of fate, truth and self-will, making the play a most remarkable one in the fifth century Greece when all the plays focused on the manifestation of Gods’ will under which man’s behavior was undoubtedly directed. What gives the play its tragic intensity is not the horror it arouses of patricide or incest but the meaning of fate that God bestows to Oedipus in his endeavor of truth seeking. What is most important, it is the sentimental self-will of Oedipus that makes the play distinguished from other plays during the age of Sophocles’ and makes him an outstanding figure in the fifth century Greek” …show more content…
Oedipus was oblivious when he killed his father and married his own mother, so there is no demonstration of Oedipal Complex in this play. He never meant to eliminate his father and possess his mother; matter of fact, he attempted to escape his destiny, thinking that Polybus and Merope were his biological parents. According to Jeffrey B. Rubin, “I do not doubt that there are some children who wish to be more closely aligned with their opposite sex parent and feel antagonistic toward the one who is viewed as a threat— or mistuned—to them. But Freud misread Oedipus Rex—which does not illustrate the Oedipus complex— and distorted its meaning to suit his theoretical preconceptions.” (Rubin). Of course, Freud’s Oedipal Complex psychoanalytic theory was born from the play Oedipus the King, but the theory does not play a role in the play itself. Had that been the case, Oedipus would have stayed with Polybus and Merope because he thought they were his biological parents. If Freud’s Oedipal Complex were to have played a role in this play, Oedipus would have eliminated Polybus and married Merope. Fate is
As Aristotle has posed, tragedy is formulaic and imitative, composed of distinct parts that inspire pity or fear which ultimately culminate into a depressingly satisfying ending. Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King in particular, incorporates Aristotelian characteristics as detailed in the Poetics. Through its manner, the play presents a singular yet complex plot and, an imperfect main character dealing with the consequences of his actions. Given the various rules to tragic aspects, Oedipus the King embodies the elements of a perfect tragedy holistically.
During the Ancient Greek period, Aristotle, a great philosopher, wrote a book called the Poetics to describe what makes a great tragic play. Using the Oedipus Rex by Sophocles as the basis for his book, Aristotle goes into great detail about plot, character, and much more, breaking up the components of a tragedy. Since Oedipus Rex had a huge part in the creation of Aristotle’s book, it fulfills many of the Greek philosopher’s requirements for a tragic play.
“The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves”, quote by Sophocles. Sophocles is a ancient Greek writer who created multiple plays including the tragic and heartbreaking play called Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King is a tragedy about a young king, Oedipus, who tries to help his land from disease by finding the murderer of the former king. But by solving this mystery Oedipus unravels a tragic truth about his family and fate. Over past years, they’ve been controversy of whether Oedipus is known as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who makes a mistake or error that eventually leads to someone's downfall. Although there are many ways supporting Oedipus as not a tragic hero, there are multiple characteristics that define Oedipus as a
In Aristotle's work, the tragic hero can get caught up by hamartia which ends up leading him to his downfall. In Oedipus the King, which is a tragic play that is written by Sophocles it shows King Oedipus having many different flaws that are under the protection of hamartia that include madness, stubbornness, and pride that soon that end up leading to his final death. Oedipus shows an attitude of stubbornness during the progression of the play. Oedipus' stubbornness is uncovered early in the play when Tiresias who is a prophet of Apollo, mentions to Oedipus to terminate the investigation of Laius' killer. Oedipus quickly disagrees with him, he wants to find the man who murdered Lauis and brought the plague upon Thebes. Oedipus states, "By all the gods, do not deny us what you know. We ask you, all of us, on bended knees." Tiresias' persistence to withhold the truth is demolished by Oedipus' stubbornness and madness. Tiresias surrenders to Oedipus' stubbornness and states the truth which outrages Oedipus; "...The murder of the man whose murder you pursue is you." Oedipus stubbornness is so overpowering that he disregards Tiresias' bluntness without even a slight thought. Oedipus' statement, "To your heart's content. Mouth away!" which obviously shows his stubbornness when he disregards Tiresias' prophecy and regards it as gibberish. Oedipus' stubborn persistence will ultimately lead to his mother's death. At the end of the play Oedipus becomes aware that he was adopted and instantaneously investigates his origin. Jocasta, Oedipus' wife hesitantly encourages Oedipus to end his identity search, fearing that Oedipus would learn of his shameful sins of killing
Tragedies are defined by their morose plotlines, and Oedipus Rex is no exception. Throughout the course of the play, Oedipus’s world crumbles around him. At the most climactic moment, Oedipus learns that his family tried to kill him as a baby, he murdered his own father, and he has been sleeping with his biological mother, which fulfilled one of the many prophecies in the present in the play. After learning about this, Oedipus proceeds to stab his eyes out when he finds his wife/mother hanging. This plotline follows the traditional guidelines of a tragedy, wherein a powerful and influential protagonist is reduced to ruins via the hands of fate.
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.
Oedipus the King by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, “Oedipus the King” contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his/her own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia or a tragic flaw which causes his/hers’ downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape.
Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex is arguably one of the greatest tragedies ever written. Written and performed in Ancient Greece, Oedipus is a character well known to the Greeks, forever known as an example of one’s inability to escape their fate. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, a tragic hero faces a change in fortune “from good to bad”, as a result of “frailty in character” – otherwise known as hamartia or a tragic flaw (Aristotle’s Poetics 3). In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus follows the paradigm of a tragic hero, specifically through his tragic flaws of ignorance and anger, and is utilized by Sophocles’ to evoke feelings of fear and pity from the audience. Although Sophocles’ intended for Oedipus to relate to the audience of Ancient Greeks, a modern
Charles could see Erik giving up as sharply as he felt it, the small spark that he’d come to label in his own mind as ‘life force’ dwindling to an ember and extinguishing. He was stepping forward before he could stop himself, blooding rushing in his ears against time as he spoke. “Dēsístite!“
There are many characteristics that make someone a tragic hero. In the story Oedipus The King, there are several characteristics that benefit Oedipus as a ruler. In the play Oedipus The King, Oedipus displays three heroic characteristics: he is a man of action, caring, and trustworthy.
In the play “Oedipus The King” the hamartia or the tragic flaw is that Oedipus try to defy the prophecy of the gods, which lead down the path of what he feared most, completing the prophecy. Oedipus ran away from home avoid to prophecy, but he ran into his real father killing him and took the throne leading him to marry his mother. All of it happen without him knowing that the prophecy have been completed.
Oedipus the King The Greek period, in the fourth and fifth centuries of B.C., evolved from a small city called Athens, Europe. In this era, a sweep of talent and creativity placed a historical advance on theater, that will dominate for years to come. This spirit most likely emerged from the defeat of the Persian Empire, along with the sense of freedom and expression from the Athenian democracy. Four great writers derived from this ancient astonishment. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were three writers of tragedy, whereas Aristophanes was a famous comic dramatist. From these original works came the play festivals using masks and boots to accommodate for the
Throughout history there have been many diverse works of true literary brilliance. Many of these scholarly texts have withstood the test of time and have been evaluated and critiqued over the centuries. One such example is the tragedies that originated from Ancient Greece. Greek historians have preserved the manuscripts of numerous and now famous tragedies, which have been taught for generations in English classes around the world. Through the tragedies, the readers or observers learn from the emotions evoked by the story being told. In feeling these emotions and witnessing the plight of the protagonists, the audience will gain knowledge from personifying these plights and reflecting into themselves. The tragedy of Oedipus exemplifies
exercising his free choice by making bad decisions . Oedipus certainly meets these portrayals of a tragic hero. The dialect of tragedy consists of two circles: one is a relative point and the other is impacted and the effect on its audience. Sophocles and Aristotle’s achieve that task with absolute clearness. The modern reader, coming to the classic drama not entirely to the enjoyment, will not always surrender himself to the emotional effect. He is apt to worry about Greek ‘fatalism’ and the justice of the downfall of Oedipus, and, finding no satisfactory solution for these intellectual difficulties, loses half the pleasure that the drama was intended to produce . In dramatizing stories, there will dependably blends of passionate sentiments, suspense, and fervor to discover what’s
A clever woman once said, “Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.” The story of Oedipus is a genuinely complex one, including inexplicable accounts of patricide and incest; malefaction. Oedipus was a ruler, a king, he was a driven and motivated man who put his all into all that he did, but is a social status enough to cover a crime?