Analysis Of Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

Oedipus reveals the truth and now the feeling of anxiety is replaced by grief and sorrow. This release of tension causes an overwhelming emotion, a relief of emotion that marks the catharsis. Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error).

“The plot should be so constructed that even without seeing the play anyone hearing of the incidents happening thrills with fear and pity as a result of what occurs.” Aristotle also stated, “the one [pity] being for the man who does not deserve his misfortune and the other [fear] for t... ... middle of paper ... ... character that was to go through it and wondering why does it have to happen like that. The feeling of fear then comes over the audience. The fear of falling into the same fate as the hero. In order to bring about such dramatic responses from the audience, the story has to be set up in a very effective and efficient way. Aristotle has defined this manner so easily for us in The Poetics.

The term tragedy is applied broadly to literary, and especially to dramatic, representations of serious and important actions which turn out disastrously for the main character. Aristotle defined tragedy as ‘the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having multitude, complete in itself.’ Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is still the first tuning point today. His idea of defining the form by referring to its effects on the audience is controversial – especially his idea of catharsis – the ‘purification’ of the emotions of those in the audience. This is the effect that leaves the audience feeling not depressed at the hero’s suffering and defeat, but relieved and even inspired at the end of the play. A major feature of tragedy is the use of a tragic hero.

Oedipus is endowed mostly all tragic characteristics that qualify him for a model tragic hero. He is the son of the queen Iokaste and King Laios, whi... ... middle of paper ... ...milarly, if we take Oedipus' downfall as fated, the tragic value of the play will be enriched since the Catharsis will be intensified. Catharsis means the evocation of two elements in the spectators: pity and fear. A natural audience has more pity for a man whose tragic end is to a great extent fateful rather than for a man whose bad deeds bring about his downfall. Intensifying pity means a Catharsis with a stronger effect and naturally a bonus for the success of the play since achieving Catharsis is a major purpose of any tragedy.

Oedipus personifies the ideal tragic hero. While he is a kind, caring and noble man, because of his impulsiveness and quick temper he makes a series of bad decisions that, if they had been thought out, he could have avoided. =Oedipus exemplifies what a tragic hero is, a person who tries to be the best person he can be but has one flaw that eventually will bring him down. Now that Oedipus has been established as a tragic hero does his journey follow a pattern that is similar towards what Joseph Campbell describes in the hero’s journey? In the previous paragraph Oedipus was defined as a tragic hero.

Throughout time, the tragedy has been seen as the most emotionally pleasing form of drama, because of its ability to bring the viewer into the drama and feel for the characters, especially the tragic hero. This analysis of tragedy was formed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, and also noted in his Poetics (guidelines to drama). As a playwright, Shakespeare used Aristotle’s guidelines to tragedy when writing Othello. The play that was created revolved around the tragic hero, Othello, whose tragic flaw transformed him from a nobleman, into a destructive creature, which would inevitably bring him to his downfall. This transformation follows an organic movement of the complex plot from the beginning, middle, to the end of the drama while keeping the tragic hero consistent and also real.

Such was the case in Oedipus’s story. The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.

The Tragedy of Othello There are several essential elements that must be presented in a Shakespearean play in order to classify the piece as a true tragedy. Most importantly the tragedy must have a virtuous, noble protagonist who possesses a flaw, not a character defect, which will ultimately lead to his downfall or death. Another important detail is that the audience will have an emotional catharsis of pity and terror as the events of the play unfold. The work must also embellish language, and the tragedy will be presented as an action with a realistic plot. Shakespeare's Othello brilliantly encompasses all of these essential elements and introduces the world to perhaps the greatest tragic hero of all time, Othello, the Moor of Venice.

Clearly, Romeo and Juliet is an Aristotelian tragedy because it makes the reader feel pity and fear. All in all, Romeo and Juliet is a true Aristotelian tragedy because of the characters, plot, and the fact that it triggers the emotions of pity and fear. All these concepts are outlined by Aristotle and need to be present in a tragedy. Because, all of the aspects of an Aristotelian tragedy are present the play is truly a tragedy. The tragedy has the perfect characters that experience an anagnorisis, peripeteia, and catastrophes.

But the best of Comedy and the best of Tragedy will produce the same affect: catharsis. Catharsis is the purgation and purifying of the emotions, specifically fear or pity. (“Catharsis”) The plays that manage to produce catharsis in their audience are the ones that we return to time and time again. Although catharsis is one of the main objectives of Greek Tragedy (Jacobus 34), Comedy done well will shape and move its audience in the same way. These two classic genres use characters that are co... ... middle of paper ... ...steful, Works Cited Aristophanes.