Aristotelian Tragedy

587 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The use of language in sophocles antigone

Aristotelian Tragedy

One may argue that the Greek playwright, Sophocles modeled his play Oedipus Rex on Aristotle's definition and analysis of tragedy. Since according to Aristotle's definition, a tragedy is an imitation of action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished artistic ornaments, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not narrative with incidents that evokes pity and fear of a persons emotions. Also Aristotle identified the basic six parts a tragedy as being plot, character, thought, melody, diction and spectacle which he considered the least important. Therefore the controversy of Sophocles modeling his play Oedipus Rex on Aritotle's analysis of tragedy can be argued out since the play Oedipus Rex is a classic Aristotelian tragedy. However this conception is totally fallacious since it is a well known fact that Aristotle lived a century after Sophocles.

According to Aristotle's explanation of character, a basic element in every tragedy, he defines character as what makes as "ascribe certain moral qualities to agents" ( Sophocles 240). The issue of character is evident in the protagonist, King Oedipus, in the play Oedipus Rex. Using King Oedipus in the play as an ideal model it can be deduced that he is very rash and makes very hasty decisions. For example his rashness can be seen from manner in which he pronounces judgement on the person responsible for the plague of the city of Thebes after Creon returns from consulting with the Delphic Oracle. He pronounces judgement on no other person but himself since he is the cause of all the city's woes. His hastiness can also be seen in the manner in which he forces Teiresias to rev...

... middle of paper ...

...ee Oedipus about his fear of parentage actually does the opposite. Suffering which is also a part of an Aristotelian tragedy is show in how Oedipus ends up miserable in the end as a poor blind man

The other three elements of tragedy as defined by Aristotle that is Melody, Diction and Spectacle can all be traced in the play. With regards to Melody Sophocles makes the chorus know the story line of the play hence making it very easy for the audience to understand the play. Diction that is the style of Oedipus and spectacle which includes the visual effects and stage appearance makes the audience appreciate the play wholeheartedly.

Therefore from the manner in which the Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex contains all the six basic elements of poetics: plot, character, melody, diction, thought and spectacle, Oedipus Rex can be described as a classic Aristotelian Targedy.

Show More
Related

  • Why The Ending of Jez Buttersworth's Jerusalem Disqualifies it as a Comedy

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ods come for the free drugs that he offers. Johnny is a man for whom we feel pride, shame and pity all at once but such a contradictory character would be unstable and unpredictable. Aristotle defines tragedy according to seven characteristics. These are that it is characterized by mimicry, it is serious, it expresses a full story of a relevant length, it contains rhythm and harmony, the rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy, it is performed not narrated and that it provokes feelings of pity and fear then purges these feelings through catharsis the purging of the emotions and emotional tensions. The composition of a tragedy consists of six segments. In order of relevance, these are plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and performance. For a comedy the ending must be merry. Instead Jerusalem ends in death.

    Read More

  • AP Open Response, Oedipus Rex

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Insuring the portrayal of his theme, Sophocles targets the tension of his tragic play, Oedipus Rex, through the growth of the main character, Oedipus, rather than the mystery. Utilizing literary devices such as dramatic irony, soliloquies, and foreshadowing, Sophocles reveals to the audience the conclusion to the mystery of Oedipus before the hero has solved it himself; forcing the audience’s attention towards character growth of the hero, over the actual development of the mystery.

    Read More

  • King Parpus: A Tragic Hero In Oedipus The King

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oedipus is cursed by a terrible change in fortune when he goes from believing that his “father’s death has lightened up the scene” (52) to realizing that Polybus is not his father and, in reality, he has killed his father and then that he has had children with his mother. Oedipus goes from believing he is finally free from his cursed fate to suddenly realizing his treachery; this dramatic turn of fortune leads Oedipus in undergoing a severe transfiguration. In his transformation, Oedipus who was once supremely prideful and confident becomes a man “deluded, lost and damned” (60), “that deepest damned and god-detested man” (73). Oedipus sees himself as a “monster” (73) and blinds himself in shame. Oedipus is changed from a revered king to a sinful outcast. The audience fears this impending change of fortune and pities Oedipus after his grotesque transformation. Instead of blaming his actions on ignorance, which would likely have been a somewhat acceptable response to his people, he self-inflicts a punishment that is far too severe. In blinding and condemning himself an abominable exile, Oedipus impacts the audience and his country by evoking a sense of pity within them. “Oh, the pity and the horror!” (71) the Chorus cries, summarizing the emotions that Oedipus’ turmoil

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: The Tragic Flaws Of Oedipus

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.

    Read More

  • Tartuffe: An Excellent Example of a Neoclassical Drama

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Neoclassical writers emphasized the importance of the Poetics of Aristotle, as well as the unities of place, time, and action that they extracted from his works. In Poetics, Aristotle laid out the six essential elements of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and song (McManus). Each of these components held certain value to what Aristotle believed to be a successful play, however, plot and character held to be the most important.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Is Not a Tragic Hero

    2026 Words  | 5 Pages

    With this in mind, many believe that King Oedipus in Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, is the perfect example of Aristotle’s tragic hero. Does he, however, truly fulfill all the “requirements” described in Poetics or is there something we miss in the depths of his fascinating and multi-faceted character that does not fit into Aristotle’s template? Without a doubt, Oe...

    Read More

  • Tragedy In Death Of A Salesman

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aristotle defines tragedy in his respected piece Poetics and many other forms of literature. Many tragic heroes such as Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet fit well into this mold of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. For example, they were flawed but well intentioned and their lives ended in a catastrophic death. Those plays, and many others in the genre, had all the elements of a tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. They were fantastic displays of misery that aroused pity and fear in the audience.

    Read More

  • Aristotle's Analysis of Oedipus the King

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aristotle is the most influential philosopher in the history of Western thought. A Greek drama by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, was praised in the Poetics of Aristotle as the model for classical tragedy and is still considered a principal example of the genre.  In this essay I will analyze Oedipus Rex using Aristotle's concepts praxis, poiesis, theoria.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King and Aristotle's Poetics

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is complete in itself among many other things. Oedipus is often portrayed as the perfect example of what a tragedy should be in terms of Aristotle’s Poetics. Reason being that Oedipus seems to include correctly all of the concepts that Aristotle describes as inherent to dramatic tragedy. These elements include: the importance of plot, reversal and recognition, unity of time, the cathartic purging and evocation of pity and fear, the presence of a fatal flaw in the “hero”, and the use of law of probability.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Tragedy In Death Of A Salesman

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotle defined tragedy in his respected piece Poetics that defined the tragedy and many other forms of literature. Many tragic heroes such as Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet fit well into this mold of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. For example, they were flawed but well intentioned and their lives ended in a catastrophic death. Those plays, and many others in the genre, had all the elements of a tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. They were fantastic displays of misery that aroused pity and fear in the audience.

    Read More

  • Medea Greek Tragedy

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    One example of these elements in Greek tragedy is the play Medea, written by Euripides, which represents the theme of justice and revenge. Medea felt devastated by the Jason’s actions when he marries another woman, which leads her to retaliate by seeking vengeance. This play clearly includes the six elements of a tragedy Aristotle discussed in Poetics although in different order. Characterization was mostly featured in the plays hence, why the element of characters was the prime focus of this play. For example, Medea’s wicked actions came about because of her malevolent personality traits. Euripides writes, “Her heart is so proud, there is no way to stop her, / her soul has been pierced by these sorrows” (Medea 115-116). This line states how

    Read More

  • Suffering In Oedipus The King Essay

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play, Oedipus the King, fulfills each of the 6 elements of tragedy according to the Aristotelian Dramaturgy. The play has a complex plot in which the protagonist has a reversal in his situation, a scene of recognition, and a scene of suffering. There are also characters in Oedipus the King that perform imitative actions to reinforce the plot. For example, the plot of the play includes a scene of suffering. For this scene of suffering to be manifested, the character, Oedipus, must first imitate the action of blinding himself.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Tragedy Analysis

    1733 Words  | 4 Pages

    Greek Drama had three main categories The Comedy, Satyr Plays, and The Tragedy. The most popular of the three is The Tragedy, its themes are often such as loss of love, complex relationships between men and the gods, and corruption of power. These dramas taught the people of the city the difference between good and bad behavior and the ramifications of going against the gods. According to Aristotle, the perfect tragedy consisted of the downfall of the hero through a great misunderstanding, causing suffering and awareness for the protagonist meanwhile making the audience feel pity and fear. The prominent writer who Aristotle based his perfect tragedy theory was Sophocles, his drama Oedipus the King had all the elements of a perfect tragedy.

    Read More

  • The Perfect Aristotelian Tragedy: Oedipus the King

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error). Oedipus also evokes both pity and fear in its audience, causing the audience to experience catharsis or a purging of emotion, which is the true test for any tragedy according to Aristotle.

    Read More

  • Aristotle’s Elements of Tragedy

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Aristotle’s book, Poetics, he defines tragedy as, “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in the different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear” (Aristotle 1149). Tragedy creates a cause and effect chain of actions that clearly gives the audience ideas of possible events. The six parts to Aristotle’s elements of tragedy are: Plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody. According to Aristotle, the most important element is the plot. Aristotle writes in Poetics that, “It is not for the purpose of presenting their characters that the agents engage in action, but rather it is for the sake of their actions that they take on the characters they have” (Aristotle 1150). Plots should have a beginning, middle, and end that have a unity of actions throughout the play making it complete. In addition, the plot should be complex making it an effective tragedy. The second most important element is character. Characters...

    Read More

More about Aristotelian Tragedy

Open Document