Oedipus and the Perfect Tragedy

The Golden Standard of Tragedies: Oedipus the King

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, a former student of Plato, and teacher in philosophy. As an important Western philosopher, he influenced many scholars and philosophers work. Aristotle wrote The Poetics in 350 B.C., which lists and explains the requirements for a good tragedy.

Aristotle mentions several plays in The Poetics; however, it is clear Oedipus the King stands alone in Aristotle’s estimation because it fulfills most of Aristotle’s criteria for a good tragedy.

In his poem, he elaborates on the importance of a quality character, and explains the four themes that must be achieved for a successful tragedy: [the character should be] consistent, realistic, good and appropriate. The main focus will be on how the smallest details such as consistency and realistic effects the audience emotions in a tragedy. Aristotle uses his famous play, Oedipus the King, as the standard to explain how details in character development are critical in producing a perfect tragedy.

Oedipus stays consistent by reassuring his kingdom to rest on his wisdom. ” Tell me, old man, yours is the natural voice for the rest, what troubles you? You’re terrified? Looking for reassurance? Be certain l’Il give you all the help I can” (Sophocles 486).

From the beginning to the end of the play, Oedipus is adamant for taking care of his citizens, unfortunate this embarks him to his downfall of solving the murder of the previous king because it is his father. Being a consistent character throughout the play allows the audience to understand characters emotions, mindset, behavior, and motives.

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This is important because it allows the audience to relate to the character and his or her life, as well as flaws. Aside from the consistency the character must also be realistic. For example, Oedipus reacts with a bad temper and defensiveness once excused by the oracle, a realistic emotional response. As the plot unfolds, and Oedipus metaphrases, he develops as a character. Oedipus “Oh, truth has strength, but you have none. You have blind eyes, blind ears, and a blind brain.” Tiresias “And you’re a desperate fool- throwing taunts at me.”

Oedipus “You survive in the grip of black unbroken night! You can’t harm me or any man who can see the sunlight” (Sophocles 442). Oedipus proves to be realistic by acting upon his raw, unfiltered emotions. mistakes and other flaws throughout the discovery of who he is. In addition, he gets offended when he is accused by the oracle. This is important because it assists and responds with rude, offensive remarks towards the oracle for the audience. To further connect with the character, it anticipate his emotions if he is perceived as realistic, because realistic allows for predictability. Another example, it is critical to have a realistic character is when Oedipus begins grieves. “What grief can crown this grief? It’s mine alone, my destiny I am Oedipus!” (Sophocles 609).

As Oedipus discovers the truth, it upsets him to accept the oracle was right all along. Oedipus’ grieving is a natural emotional reflex that helps the audience relate to his tragedy. Without the breaking point for Oedipus, as a character, he would not be the perfect character. The character shows how he is imperfect and has emotional flaws as well. Sophocles wrote the play Oedipus the King, as an example to show how details such as a realistic character may have an impact in a tragedy story. action is not performed before spectators, one who merely hears the incidents that have occurred both shudders and feels pity from the way they turn out.” (Aristotle 51). When Sophocles creates conflict in the play, it tells the audience what emotions they should anticipate to feel, such as fear or pity.

Sophocles does in various ways, such as by having the chorus emphasize the emotions dramatically that hints to what the audience should be feeling. For instance, “O the terror the suffering, for all the world to see, the worst terror that ever met my eyes, what madness swept over you?” (Sophocles ). Sophocles achieves catharsis in this scene through the specific words. This purposely suggest to the audience the current state of mood. The chorus creates this in a dramatic and sympathetic way for the audience to pity Oedipus. This is important to creating a good tragedy because the audience is guided to help understand and connect with the character.

Although the play, Oedipus the King, was written years ago, it had a major impact on the audience. It provokes the emotional aspect of the plot by letting the audience feel a deeper connection to the character. Aristotle developed requirements that helps produce the perfect tragedy. If it weren’t for his requirements the audience would not understand the character. By developing the the themes throughout the story made the audience grow a deeper level of connection with the character. Including if it weren’t for Aristotle’s requirements, modern literature would have been different. Without the basic foundation, the perfect tragedy would not exist. From Oedipus the King, the main focus is a person’s fate can not be changed. It would not make a difference if a person knew their destiny or not. Oedipus was the king that solved all riddles, and the tragedy was discovering he never escaped his fate.

Work Cited:

Golden, Leon. Aristotle’s Poetics. N.p.: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Print.
Sophoclis. “Oedipus The King.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature, By Martin
Puchner Shorter Third ed Vol 1 New York- WW Norton 2013 N pad Print