... ideas within literary criticisms. Freud read Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and it immediately determined that the underlying ideas in this drama would become a large part of his studies. The tragedies and misfortunes of Oedipus Rex opened new doors to the applications of his theories and the subject of his definition of an Oedipal Complex that still is studied today. The theory dictates that all children feel sexual desire ... for the parent of the opposite sex and the death of the parent of the same sex ... family of origin unwittingly plans his life so that as an adult he is repeatedly unsee...

• Word Count: 1933
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a drama in which a major character undergoes a loss in order to gain a new perspective. In Sophocles" Oedipus Rex, the reader sees the epitome of Aristotle's tragedy described in Poetics, the first section of his major critical work. In it, Aristotle defines the three key elements that consist of the tragic plot ("muthos"): the reversal of the situation, the recognition ("agnorisis"), and the scene of suffering ("pathos"). The story of Oedipus begins with Laius, King of ... order will be restored. The reversal of the situation occurs when Creon returns with a message stating the plague ...

• Word Count: 696
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate