Oedipus Rex
Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" is the most famous of his tragedies in which Greek dramatic irony reaches an apex (Sophocles1 pp). Aristotle was a great admirer of Sophocles, and considered Oedipus Rex to be the perfect example of tragedy (Outline pp). According to Aristotle, tragedy is an imitation of action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, in which language is embellished with each kind of artistic ornament of several kinds found throughout the play (Outline pp). A tragedy is in the form of action, not of narrative, and incidents arouse pity and fear, "wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions ... every tragedy therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality -- namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody" (Outline pp). And for Aristotle, Oedipus Rex contained every element of the perfect tragedy (Outline pp).
According to Aristotle, tragedy is higher and more philosophical than history because history merely relates what has happened while tragedy dramatizes what may or could happen, thus history deals with the particular, while tragedy with the universal (Outline pp). Moreover, events that have happened may be the result of an accident or coincidence, and may also be particular to a specific situation rather than part of a clear "cause-and-effect chain" and have little relevance for others, while tragedy, on the other hand, is rooted in the "fundamental order of the universe and creates a cause-and-effect chain that clearly reveals what may happen at any time...
Thus, his thirst for knowledge prompts the tragedy to a certain degree. His wife and mother at the same time attempts to dissuade him from the further pursuit of truth, hinting in a very interesting phrase that such 'fantasies' as the wedlock to one's mother is a constant appearance in dreams and should simply be ignored: "This wedlock with thy mother fear not thou. / How oft it chances
It is this lead character's outrage that drives the plot, rather than any journey of self-discovery or some fateful intervention. This is seen when Antigone declares her defiance of the king: "I will bury him myself. / and if death comes, so be it. / There'll be glory in it. / ... The gods will be proud of me." Rather than placing the importance of the gods first, Antigone
His nephew turned against his own country and he got what he deserved. but, in king Creon's view, death is not enough. He believes in setting an example and uses the occasion as an opportunity to make a point and warn all those who dared to defy their country of the fate that was expecting them, too. In this case, King Creon is wrong, because he will eventually pay
His physical loss of sight is penance for the lack of insight he had at the start of the play. He has exchanged physical sight for mental insight into the truth. 4. Rhetorically, Oedipus uses the diction of a king at the beginning of a play. He plays the role of one in power, and of a person in full control of and with confidence in himself. When his people
Q: There is a good deal in the play about seeing and blindness. What purpose does this serve? How is Oedipus contrasted with Teiresias? How does Oedipus at the beginning of the play contrast with the Oedipus at the end? Why is his blinding himself dramatically appropriate? A: The physical conditions of sight and blindness in the play serve symbolic functions, particularly as these conditions manifest themselves in Oedipus himself. Oedipus
When the play opens, a plague has overcome Thebes, and so Oedipus has sent Creon to consult the oracle of Apollo to seek a solution. Creon reports that the oracle has declared that Laius's murderer must be found and banished from Thebes, only then will the plague be lifted. Oedipus sends for the blind prophet, Teiresias, to tell him who killed Laius. Teiresias names Oedipus as the killer and says
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