Recognition And Tragedy In Oedipus Rex, By Sophocles

Aristotle says, “Oedipus is the ultimate sacrifice for self-knowledge. Oedipus is a defective tragedy written by Sophocles a master playwright of his time. Aristotle describes a tragedy as a telling of a person of noble stature falling from greatness and Oedipus is a great example. It is a tale of a child prophesied to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Then after learning that the prophecy is true he begins to descend from greatness.

This brings the audience to the third and fourth characteristics of Aristotle’s tragic hero: the reversal of fortune and the recognition that it was self-inflicted. In a rush of realization, Oedipus sees the truth that was in front of him and the audience throughout entire play. Oedipus, in utter agony, cries out and starts cursing the shepherd who had freed his ankles as a child. (lines 1481-1487) He then sees the correlation that marks him the killer of King Laius. The most horrifying realization to Oedipus was that he in fact had wed and procreated with his own mother. At this point heroic Oedipus has been

Many people believe that fate has planned out their lives and despite efforts on their part what was meant to happen, will eventually happen. This belief has been handed down over the centuries from some of the first civilizations, such as the Greeks. However, not all Greek citizens wanted destiny to take control of their lives. Some decided to choose freewill over the will of the gods. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles writes a cautionary tale meant to warn the doubters in Greek society that regardless of their beliefs in gods and prophecies, it is necessary to heed their warnings. Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius are Sophocles’ characters that prove that escaping one’s fate is not possible, as each of their predicted fates is realized despite extensive efforts to thwart them.

In the trilogy of Oedipus, Sophocles constructed an enthralling family dynamic that induces central themes throughout the play. In numerous works of literature, family relationships engage in the central message of a piece of work. In Sophocles three plays, specifically interconnection between siblings and parent relationships create, refines, and complicates themes of power, love family, pride, and extreme fate.

plague of Thebes, a historical epidemic in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex." Emerging Infectious Diseases, 18(1): pp. 153-157. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3310127/. [Accessed on 24 September 2012].

“Oedipus Rex” was a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles in the fifth century BC. It was the first of a trilogy of plays surrounding the life of Oedipus. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays approximately 100 years before Aristotle even defined a tragedy and the tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is “… an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some amplitude; in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties; acted not narrated; by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (Kennedy and Gioa 2010). According to Aristotle there were six elements to a tragedy: the plot, the character, the

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.

Oedipus is one of the most famous tragic heroes in drama history. His bizarre fate leads him to a tragic defeat that leaves the audience and reader feeling emotionally overwhelmed. According to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus’ story makes him as a tragic hero. Oedipus is the personification of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to maintain and keep his virtue and wisdom, despite his shortcomings and situation in life. Aristotle’s observation of a tragic hero does not reveal the lack of morality or the evil of the character, based on an error in judgment. The tragedy and drama fit the Aristotelian characteristics of Oedipus.

The Greek tragedy of Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, was able to generate such a noteworthy impact as a result of the audience’s previous knowledge of the characters and their fate. As a result of this circumstance, Sophocles was able to make a compelling use of irony and allusion. All throughout the play, Oedipus the King, Sophocles builds the entire story using dramatic irony. Despite Oedipus’s unawareness of his identity and his fate, Sophocles uses dramatic irony to let the readers know who Oedipus truly is and to foreshadow the events which unfold throughout the story. Sophocles uses many different scenes throughout the play that portray dramatic irony. Although, the three most important are Oedipus’s curse towards himself, Oedipus’s insult to Tiresias, and the fortune-teller’s prophecy about Oedipus.

Sophocles's Oedipus Rex is probably the most famous tragedy ever written. Sophocles's tragedy represents a monumental theatrical and interpretative challenge. Oedipus Rex is the story of a King of Thebes upon whom a hereditary curse is placed and who therefore has to suffer the tragic consequences of fate (tragic flaws or hamartia). In the play, Oedipus is the tragic hero. Even though fate victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own heroic qualities, his loyalty to Thebes, and his fidelity to the truth ruin him.

Over the extensive history of the theatre arts, most of the many plays and productions fall into unique categories in regards to structure. The two most simplest of the structural categories are climactic and episodic. A climactic structure, or alternatively known as an intensive structure, contains a play in which all components are restricted as the main conflict in the story commences late into the play and only a little time passes until the story occurs. Everything is restricted to a few components. There are not as many characters, scenery change and very limited amounts of action. climactic structures focuses heavily on the climax in contrast to other structures. One notable example of a climactic performance is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The story of Oedipus is that of tragedy and despair as Oedipus and his family are unable to escape the fate that Oedipus has had since birth. The exposition and starting action (in this case, the events that led up to him to being king of Thebes) occur before the play and is only ever talked about. The play only takes place in the castle and has only four primary characters. Ultimately, Oedipus Rex only takes place within a day and primarily focuses on the realization and aftermath of the story of Oedipus and his sins, or the climax. All these components that define a climactic structure of production are found in the aforementioned play by Sophocles, strengthening what a climactic structure is and the vast potential a climactic play

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

Tragedy as an element of the human experience has been the subject of many of the great works of literature written in the Western tradition. For some, tragedy embodies the highest form of humanity. It is through suffering that we are able to reveal ourselves most completely. Others see tragedy as an element of morality where we are to learn well the lessons of those who tempt the gods. The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, outlined a theory of tragedy as archetypal drama in his classic work, the Poetics. He uses the play by Sophocles, Oedipus the King (hereafter "Oedipus"), as the standard model by which all other tragedies are measured. In Aristotle's view, a perfect

Tragic hero could be said to be someone that has had a tragic flaw that leads to the hero's death and also helps the reader to sympathize with the character. Oedipus is a classic example of a tragic hero who had many flaws on the surface, such as the lack of self-knowledge, curiosity and pride, and the wisdom gained at the end.

Throughout Poetics, Aristotle describes what traits a tragedy must have to be successful. To support these choices, he makes use of a small analysis of many tragedies, including many of Sophocles’ plays; Oedipus Rex is one of the plays mentioned in Aristotle’s Poetics. Some of these traits include a successful plot structure, recognition scenes, and a correct choice for its hero. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles fulfills all of these requirements.