Oedipus the King an Aristotle’s Tragedy Essay - 633 Words

Oedipus The King The Greek drama Oedipus is clearly a Aristotle’s tragedy. It definitely meets the five main criteria for a tragedy: a tragic hero of noble birth, a tragic flaw, a hero‘s downfall, a moment of remorse, and a catharsis. Aristotle in his Poetics defines Oedipus as being a definite example of the form and purpose of Aristotelian tragedy. In tragedies the Greeks dramatized climactic events in the lives of heroes, and Oedipus story is no different. By using many different literary devices it brings moral dilemmas of action and motive to the public stage. The action is set out over the timeframe of one day, which will according to the prophet Tiresias will bring Oedipus birth and death. Oedipus clearly meets the first of†¦show more content†¦In one of the passages of Oedipus speaking with Jocasta, just about everything is spelled out for us. Jocasta speaks of Laius leaving the castle with just a few servants and him being killed where three roads met. Oedipus claims t hat he killed somebody where three roads met, who had a few servants with him; indicating that he was the killer of his father. He goes on to make absolutely sure, even though it is obvious that he was Laiuss killer. The moment of remorse comes at the end of the story, when one of the servants who had accompanied Laius on his final journey came to speak to Oedipus. He was the only one who survived the attack, and told that contrary to rumor, Laius was killed by one man, not robbers. He then pointed out this one man, Oedipus. We are told soon after that Jocasta hung herself upon hearing this. When this news reaches Oedipus, he takes the pins from her dress and stabs his eyes out. The catharsis, or emotional release of the audience, comes at the same time as the remorse. The audience suddenly feels sorry for this poor man who has unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, for the people of this land who have been suffering from an awful curse because of it, and for the unfo rtunate Jocasta, who was basically an innocent bystander in the whole confusing disaster. Despite constant denial of his fate he cannot deny the work of theShow MoreRelatedOedipus And Aristotle s Definition Of A Tragic Hero1466 Words   |  6 Pageshow Sophocles’ Oedipus exemplifies or refutes Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Thesis Statement: Oedipus is the personification of Aristotle’s characterization of a tragic hero through his ability to maintain and keep his virtue and wisdom, despite his shortcomings and situation in life. Introduction I. Tragic Hero A. Definition of a tragic hero B. Oedipus’ Character II. Tragedy A. Language of Tragedy B. Tragedy and its affects on audience III. Plot A. 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