Analysis Of A Hammartic Tragedy Of Oedipus The King

You are blind, your ears and mind as well as eyes” (Sophocles 23). Oedipus judges Tiresias immediately to keep him below him in his mind and thinks he is far more superior to him. Oedipus hubris makes him avoid Tiresias’ advice and blinds him from the truth which is that he is the threat that harms the city of Thebes. Oedipus accuses Creon for conspiring with Tiresias so that they can take his throne away from him. He becomes jealous and fearful that they were trying to take away his title of king.

If Creon is not so narcissistic, he could escape his downfall by listening to Teiresias’s advice. Instead, Creon decides to ignore the warning signs because he feels that the “prophecy is for sale” (v 60) In disregarding Teiresias, Creon forces the Gods to act by punishing him for his wrongdoings. Creon’s punishment is one of much peril that forces him to rethink his views and the views of the Gods. “Fortunate is the man who has never tasted God’s vengeance! Where once the anger of the heavens has struck, the house is shaken forever” (Ode 2 1-3).

By having the predictions made by the oracles come true; it led to the downfall of Oedipus. The oracles coming true created catharsis in the audience by causing them to have pity and fear for the fallen king. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is: It is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in the different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear the catharsis of emotions. (1149) The story begins by having the audience feel pity for the people of Thebes. The Priest tells Oedipus, “Plague blackens our flowering farmland, sickens our cattle where they graze.

The gods, particularly Apollo, takes great offence to this and decides to put Oedipus back in his place by punishing him and his state. (Mannani 2005) The punishment of the state is a se... ... middle of paper ... ...his blood cannot be cleansed by anyone but the gods and his religion. In conclusion, Oedipus's fate is his destruction in the chain of being, the ultimate cleansing of the state, the household, and himself. His rejection and persistence to ignore the power of the gods and religion is the cause for his great demise. Oedipus, a character too proud and knowledgeable, is seen as a threat to the gods.

After his violent argument with Teiresias, Oedipus summons Creon to confront him about his plot to over throw him. He has no proof in this accusation and even has the audacity to tell Creon: “You are evil incarnate” (Scene 2. 975). Oedipus assumes he has the power to rightfully accuse and judge Creon as an enemy of the gods as if he were a god himself. The chorus echoes this sentiment: “Prove his heroic mind!

Dionysus knows that due to being a foreign god, the Greeks do not accept him and are ignorant of his rank. Instead of taking this information into consideration, Dionysus instead decides to prove his superiority by destroying Pentheus for disrespecting him. He seethes stating that the “city has to learn…making mortal man endorse the fact that [He is] a god.” (The Bacchae 397). This blatant challenge to humankind conveys Dionysus’ desire to forcefully correct those who are ignorant of his reputation as a god and force their respect through fear and violence. This is further proven when he succeeds in his plan, by driving Agave to conduct sparagmos on her own son, and becomes distraught at losing their son.

His dreadful downfall was inevitable, as well as the demise of Athens. In conclusion, the Greek idea of tragedy embodied in Sophocles' Oedipus plays is consistent with Thucydides' idea of history. Both included foreshadowing, irony and tragic demise. Works Cited Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Anitgone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus.

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was in fact a tragedy by Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. Aristotle defined tragedy as a tragic hero with a serious flaw leading to their downfall, bringing with it emotions. The events in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar follow Aristotle’s tragedy definition. In the play, Caesar’s character’s belief of self-immortality and ambition to rule Rome in a tyrannical governing form led to his downfall. Brutus also suffered a downfall that would classify him as tragic hero according to Aristotle.

There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth. Greek Tragedy Theater rose to its peak in Athens around the 5th century BCE. This history of the theater came from the citizens wanting to honor their gods with traditional stories, however, the tragedies were most often based off of early Greek mythology. These dramas were most likely written by one of the famous Greek authors, Aeschylus, Euripides, or Sophocles. According to The Ancient History Encyclopedia, tragedy plays were based on serious topics that taught a moral of right and wrong.

The Fool attempts to show the king the folly of his ways. He is essentially calling Lear a bitter fool, insinuating that his foolishness will be the cause of such bitterness. This comment is taken lightly, but only because the Fool is a satire of the king himself, and thus is the only one allowed to criticize him. Lear has a preconceived notion that he will be able to give up all of his land and his throne, and yet still somehow hold on to the power that he is so accustomed to. Alas, the king does not listen.