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Oedipus the King - A Model Tragedy

He kills the man partly responsible in creating him and marries the woman who gave birth to him making him the son and husband of his mother and brother and father of his siblings and children! These events cause the audience to empathize with Oedipus and feel pity for him as no one would want these horrific events happening to them. .
             Aristotle also mentions that a tragedy should possess magnitude. According to the philosopher, to possess magnitude means the plot should flow together and all parts of the plot must fit together to form a complete idea. This fitting together helps express universal themes. A man's struggle against his destiny forms the magnitude of this play. All the events in the play revolve around this main idea. The plot is unified on one theme that a person cannot escape fate no matter how hard he tries and it is his character that determines his destiny. Oedipus tries to escape fate when he finds out about the prophecy, but ends up fulfilling the horrific foretelling. His selfish and short-tempered attitude is the reason why he is a victim of such cruel fate.
             Other than the magnitude and seriousness of the play, Aristotle believes the language and the melody used in the play must also be appropriate for the drama. The play must not be narrated, but must be acted out. Oedipus does not find out he is the murderer of Laius directly from Tiresias, but has to struggle to find out about his origin. He goes through lots of troubles and finally learns about his history by the herdsman that had given Polybus and Merope Oedipus when he was young. His struggle raises sympathy and pity for Oedipus by the audience. The audience lets go of all the tension when Oedipus blinds himself and when his mother/wife kills herself. The audience goes through catharsis, a purging or cleansing of emotions or a release of tension that usually happens after the hero experiences his downfall and teaches the audience a lesson.


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1. Oedipus the King

... they see him as a well-respected role model. Hence they wish to deny the accusations, and try to ignore the bad that has been brought upon their king. This can be shown from quote #13 on the handout, which reads: "Never will I convict my king, never in my heart." This basically shows that they will never turn upon Oedipus, and hence will deny all accusations turned to ... and depth of all human life", yet still keep the truth hidden. Another issue discussed in the text is "Elements of a Greek Tragedy". Three elements of a Greek Tragedy discussed in the 1st Stasimon are hamartia, peripet...

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2. Oedipus

... reported or foretold. Lastly, Aristotle explains the importance of the chorus in a tragedy. According to him, it should be regarded as one of the actors. Therefore, the chorus should be integrated into performance and be considered as part of the whole. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he ... ; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self, but neither the grandiose nor the depressive "Narcis...

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3. Aristotle and Oedipus

... reported or foretold. Lastly, Aristotle explains the importance of the chorus in a tragedy. According to him, it should be regarded as one of the actors. Therefore, the chorus should be integrated into performance and be considered as part of the whole. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he ... ; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. Oedipus is in love with his idealized self, but neither the grandiose nor the depressive "Narcis...

  • Word Count: 1311
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

4. oedipus

... if Laios did not question the Oracle, the prophesy would have been different because he would not have sent his child away. However one could never know this, because the prophesy would be an untold tale. Commentary It would be hard to find a play that has been more universally praised than Oedipus Rex ("King Oedipus"). Aristotle considered it the model tragedy, and that opinion has ... been widely held to the present day. No drama before or since has managed to so successfully ... combine a rapid, compelling plot, superb characterization, and elegant poetry into such a tight bundle. Th...

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5. Oedipus at Colonus analysis

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6. Irony in Literary Dramas

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7. Chilren are victims of all ages

... either dreaming of money or fame. Therefore, we always realize that the children are trying to cling to their lives alone. Several people have had the dream to correct the sins and errors of the human society. Hamlet Prince of Denmark, a Shakespearean tragedy, tells the story of a young man, by the name of Hamlet, who gained the knowledge of a terrible incident that his kingdom had suffered. Hamlet is ... forest without shoes, and hungry, beaten by many rains tired by the sun; yet she rejected the sweet life of home so that her father should have sustenance" (Fitzgerald 104). Because sh...

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8. Criticism Of Shakespeare And His Drama

... of his mother makes Claudius into somewhat of a father figure and no longer the ideal parent that a child would take as a model, but as the parent hated because of the place he occupies in the Oedipal triangle (Bates 212). Many productions of Hamlet have included the Oedipus theme as a central part of the play. Some directors strongly believe that Hamlet had a secret desire for his own mother, which ... speculation. Yet no other playwright has ever face such criticism as Shakespeare has for his plays and sonnets. Perhaps this is due to the frankness and honesty with which he writes. Eve...

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9. Medea - A Feminist Perspective

... manages to expose the chauvinistic trends of the Greek society and uses his artistic genius to lay bare the inherent imperfections in the supposedly perfect' Greek Civilisation. Let us scrutinise how Euripides manages to portray Medea as the first notable precursor of the feminist perspective. A keen reader of the Greek Tragedy may argue that ... recall in this context that the status of women in the Greek society was equivalent to slaves. At best these women rouse our sympathy for being the victims of the patriarchal cruelties. Medea on the other hand sends shivers down the spines of th...

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