The Tragic Tragedy Of Oedipus Rex - 1161 Words

Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex exemplifies the psychological conflicts that arise as an individual undergoes a drastic realization of character, ultimately leading him on a search to recover his true identity, and along the way bringing to light the darkest demons of his past. The play unfolds through a calamitous tone, which foreshadows the impending downfall of the ruler of Thebes, Oedipus, and the consequences that this downfall will bring to him and all of those around him. The calamitous tone deepens through the regal imagery of the play, in which the main character, Oedipus, lives his life along the ideals of a king, thus fraying his once trustworthy vision by his constant need for control and power. The calamitous tone and regal imagery conjure up a restive mood, which belies melodramatic atmosphere of the play as a whole. As a modern audience we experience the dramatic irony that a play like this brings forward, and we struggle to watch these tragic events unfold b efore us. Throughout the play, Oedipus’ ego grows larger as his need for power grows larger. He once said, â€Å"You child of total night! I would not touch you; neither would any man who sees the sun.† (Act II Scene 1 Line 156) However this quotation proves false as Oedipus does anything but see the â€Å"sun† for the entirety of the play. Towards the beginning of the play, Oedipus appears as a great leader, who shows genuine concern for his people and tries his hardest to find the murderer of the fallenShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"Aristotle’s Definition of the Tragic Hero and Irony in Tragedy† Oedipus Rex, Othello, and Death of a Salesman3217 Words   |  13 PagesClassification and definition of tragedy are among many things widely disputed in the all too equivocal realm of composition and literary studies. These erroneous concepts happen to be directly correlated in Aristotelian theory which leads us to his definition of the tragic hero. Aristotle’s co nceptualization of tragedy and all that it encompasses is widely revered and accepted; setting the standard previously and contemporaneously. The interpretation of his definition of tragedy is ambiguous, but generallyRead MoreOedipus Rex and Aristotle Essay example894 Words   |  4 PagesThe Six Elements of a Tragedy in â€Å"Oedipus Rex† Aristotle’s â€Å"The Poetics† describes the process of a tragedy. It is not the guide per se of writing a tragedy but is the idea’s Aristotle collected while studying tragedies. A tragedy, according to Aristotle, consists of six major points. The first and most important is the plot, which is what all the other points are based on. Such points are: character, language, thought, melody, and spectacle (Aristotle). 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Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother. The irony is that the reader knows this from the very start of this Greek drama. There is also irony in the fact that Oedipus is theRead More Comparing A Dolls House and Oedipus Rex Essay1672 Words   |  7 PagesComparing A Dolls House and Oedipus Rex Ibsens drama A Dolls House, serves as an example of the kind of issue-based drama that distinguishes Ibsen from many of his contemporaries. The plays dialogue is not poetic, but very naturalistic, and the characters are recognizable people. Given the sense of modernity which the play possesses it seems unusual to compare it to a Greek tragedy produced more than two-thousand years previously. 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It also prompted the Aristotle Poetics that discussed the value of six specific traits in every tragedy. It has even encouraged the usage in other fields of study, the most notably the existence of the Oedipus complex. The inclusion of different narr atives, and symbolisms helpRead MoreAnalysis of Oedipus As an Aristotelian Tragic Hero in Sophocles Oedipus Rex1799 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Oedipus as an Aristotelian tragic hero Although one might be inclined to express uncertainty concerning the role of Sophocles Oedipus as a tragic hero (when regarding matters from a general point of view), the character perfectly fits Aristotles definition of a tragic hero. The protagonist in Oedipus Rex is noble and can be appreciated for his greatness, considering that he embodies a series of virtuous attributes. 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Throughout the play Oedipus makes a few profound decisions for which he is condemned to plentiful suffering;