Application of Aristotle's Nature of Tragedy to the Tale of Oedipus

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Out of Aristotle’s apprehension of tragedy, four out of the six ideas are used in the tragic drama, “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles. These ideas are tragic hero, hamartia, peripeteia, and anagnorisis.

The tragic hero is a person of greatness, and noble stature who usually contributes to their own downfall. Oedipus has greatness and noble stature; he’s sublime, in the way that he cares for his people. What leads to his own downfall is his own pride, which came out when he solved the riddle of the Sphinx and was praised by marrying the queen of Thebes, making him feel untouchable, “Here I am myself- you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus. (7-9)” His almightiness caused him to feel obligation into saving his city, causing his rejection of reality, thus causing mistakes throughout the play. The prestige he has causes him to find the killer himself, because no other man other than himself can fix this problem causing a quarrel with Creon and Tiresias. Instead of helping, he ruins himself by cursing the killer, which is his own self saying,” I’ll rid us of this corruption. Whoever killed the king may decide to kill me too,” (157-158). Also he denies what Tiresias is telling him, which is the truth, but Oedipus insults him by calling his prophecies “riddles, murk and darkness. (500)” “Here I am myself- you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus. (7-9)” .By being in denial he ignores why he left Polybus and ignores Jocasta’s warning that “if you love your own life, call off this search!” (164), but with the greatness he has, he feels that no knowledge can be kept away from him. “Steals against me… so hungry to overthrone me. (439)” out this situation of against his own friend thinking that Creon was pl...

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...ood for, as a nuisance for everyone, in Thebes. “My father’s murderer”, (1492) he also recognizes the fact that he is the murderer that he was looking for, and realizes the situation that he can’t handle that leads him in the streets “free of pain at last” (1684). He has an internal struggle when he finally knows the truth, because he can’t believe that he killed his father and that he has slept with his own mother. And he accepts the accusations and the messengers words, because he remembered he killed some one of nobility on the way to Thebes, and the coincidence that he had his ankles “pinned together (1133)”.

Oedipus looses honor, and respect from many and especially his own self when he finally sees clearly. So of all of Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy, this tragic play acquires four, and they’re interconnected in the way that makes a good tragic play.

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