Oedipus Rex as a Great Greek Tragedy
The reader is told in Aristotle's Poetics that tragedy "arouses the emotions of pity and fear, wonder and awe" (The Poetics 10). To Aristotle, the best type of tragedy involves reversal of a situation, recognition from a character, and suffering. The plot has to be complex, and a normal person should fall from prosperity to misfortune due to some type of mistake. Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is a great example of a Greek tragedy. Its main plot is Oedipus' goal to find out his true identity, the result being his downfall by finding out he has married his own mother and killed his father. The three unities, noble character, and complex plot, are what make Oedipus Rex a good example of a tragedy in relation to Aristotle's Poetics.
As defined by Aristotle, the three unities are the time, place and action of the tragedy. Oedipus Rex fits the time duration that Aristotle says a good tragedy should have "for tragedy is especially limited by one period of the sun, or admits but a small variation from this period" (Poetics 10). The play takes place at one main site, the palace in Thebes, and has action that has no subplot. Throughout the play, Oedipus is trying to find out his true identity. Subsequently his search for a cure to end the plague that has struck the city is related to Oedipus' goal.
Aristotle mentions Oedipus Rex in his Poetics to demonstrate how recognition of a character is best with a reversal of a situation. The main character, Oedipus, learns that he has done the unthinkable by killing his father and marrying his mother. This reversal of a situation adds to an effect central to a tragedy, where one who was once superior is brought down to an inferior leve...
... middle of paper ...
...iticism. Ed. Bernard F. Dukore. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1974. 31-55.
"Antigone." In The Encyclopedia Americana, edited by Dudley, Lavinia P. et alii. New York: Americana Corporation, 1957. vol. 2.
Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Translated by R. C. Jebb. The Internet Classic Archive. no pag. http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html
Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1994
"Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Sophocles: A collection of critical essays edited by Thomas Woodward: Oedipus at Colonus. Whitman, Cedric H. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1966.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Bagg. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. Ed Peter Simon. 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2014. 666-706
Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997.
The author reviews different credible sources and comes up with the idea that the blame is not on the Japanese alone. Looking back in history, Japan chose to be an isolated country until the westerners invaded and forced trade
In 1987, the FCC responded to public complaints by adopting measures to restrict the use of explicit language about sex and bodily functions from the broadcasting media. Station operators voluntarily adhere to a code, designed by the ...
Imagine not being able to reach into your refrigerator and pull out a snack. Think about those mornings when you forget to eat breakfast and your stomach is growling the whole morning. Now imagine not being able to suppress that feeling. Imagine feeling that hunger day after day. This is reality for almost a sixth of the world’s population. Is there any good news? Yes there is. There are many ways for us to reduce world hunger. This essay will look at the causes of world hunger as well as short-term, and long-term, solutions. World hunger can be solved using a combination of ideas and people working together.
Sophocles. "Antigone." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Knox and Mack. New York: Norton, 1995.
...ction thus elimination world hunger. Argued by the author of Life on Earth is Getting Better, Not Worse, Julian Simon claims the per person food production in the world in up over the last 30 years because of advances in technology. It is thought that as long as technology can keep up with the world’s population there will be no fear of over-population. It is thought that the long-run overview of the world is one of a more pleasurable, material life rather than one increased with scarcity (Simon, 415).
"Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him within a quagmire of spiraling tragedy. Sophocles uses the riddle of the Sphinx as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus' entangled life, the three phases of human life, and to describe how every life-changing action or decision can influence other lives.
So, if Japan does not “belong” to Asia, does it belong to some other amorphous collection of nations, namely Europe or the West? Certainly in the modern post-WWII era Japan has seen phenomenal economic growth, even to the point of threatening the US as the primary global economic power during the height of the “bubble economy.” Some credit this success to the changes implemented during the US occupation. Undoubtedly without US assistan...
Another of Aristotle’s elements of drama were the three Units: The unity of time, which puts a limit on the action in the story; unity of place, which limits the taking place of events to around one general; and the unity of action which limits events to being related as cause and effect. The setting for Oedipus Rex takes place in the city and palace and does not leave that location, however if anything happens elsewhere the messenger relays the information. The time frame for this story also only appears to be about roughly a day or so, which was as prescribed in the unity of time. As for unity of action, the whole tragedy of Oedipus sprouts from the news that his supposed father, Polybus, has just died; the rest is all cause and effect action.
Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion).
The implication of this is that if individuals in the rich countries can implement principles that minimize the amount of wasted food, global hunger can be greatly minimized. For instance, the savings from waste can be donated to the people living in the poor countries or to people under natural disasters like draught, wars and earthquakes.
The country of Japan has a rich history from which many of their cultural values and traditions maintain their roots; however, they have certainly evolved over the course of the millennia. Japan has absolutely looked to their neighbors of Asia for influence in their modern day culture, but further continents such as Europe and even North America have had a significant impact as well. So much has changed for them throughout the years socially and economically, as well as their military powers.