In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, a dramatic tragedy stars Oedipus guilty of hubris and his mother/lover, Jocasta, in a windstorm of the truth beginning to unleash. Many prophecies have been told that the characters played tricks on their fate. However their fate soon becomes a reality. Oedipus’ worst fear of murder and an affectionate relationship with his mother came to be. Aristotle’s theory explained what a tragedy really is and how this play follows his theory. As the audience begins to read the play, the key factors in Aristotle’s theory starts to come into place in the main protagonist.
To begin with, the audience already know of what is to become of Oedipus and his tragic downfall. Even when the reader starts to read the play, the …show more content…
Oedipus never bothered to recognize intimate details on what he has done and claims to be a man with good skills on unraveling mysteries. Never once has Oedipus been interested on Laius’ whereabouts or story and the more information gained from the mysterious murder, the more the anxious king had put each piece together. For example Oedipus told his life story and the encounter of men on a place where three highways meet, the same place where the murder happened, where the ruthless Oedipus killed every man there after being hit, leaving one survivor. No one really knew the real story on what happened and Oedipus became shaken on the similarity between the two conspiracies and left the survivor to draw the true murderer. Oedipus stated, “You said his story was that several robbers killed Laius. Well, if he speaks of the same number as you- then I am not the killer. For one could never be equal to many. But if he speaks of one man alone- then clearly the balance tips towards me as the killer” (47). The story, in just a short amount of time, reveals Oedipus as being the source of all the destruction occurred in the town of Thebes. Oedipus’ whole world was turned upside down in just one atrocious day whilst having the audience experience the entire scene. Oedipus unleashes a whirl of emotions after everything flows back, resulting in catharsis, or the release pent-up emotions. The anger of the king’s fate coming true after years of avoiding the outcome ultimately left nothing but shame. Formerly, Oedipus regaining knowledge from his downfall, the plot unfolding in one day, and the audience’s experience with catharsis reflects Aristotle’s
To begin with, the audience already know of what is to become of Oedipus and his tragic downfall. Even when the reader starts to read the play, the …show more content…
Oedipus never bothered to recognize intimate details on what he has done and claims to be a man with good skills on unraveling mysteries. Never once has Oedipus been interested on Laius’ whereabouts or story and the more information gained from the mysterious murder, the more the anxious king had put each piece together. For example Oedipus told his life story and the encounter of men on a place where three highways meet, the same place where the murder happened, where the ruthless Oedipus killed every man there after being hit, leaving one survivor. No one really knew the real story on what happened and Oedipus became shaken on the similarity between the two conspiracies and left the survivor to draw the true murderer. Oedipus stated, “You said his story was that several robbers killed Laius. Well, if he speaks of the same number as you- then I am not the killer. For one could never be equal to many. But if he speaks of one man alone- then clearly the balance tips towards me as the killer” (47). The story, in just a short amount of time, reveals Oedipus as being the source of all the destruction occurred in the town of Thebes. Oedipus’ whole world was turned upside down in just one atrocious day whilst having the audience experience the entire scene. Oedipus unleashes a whirl of emotions after everything flows back, resulting in catharsis, or the release pent-up emotions. The anger of the king’s fate coming true after years of avoiding the outcome ultimately left nothing but shame. Formerly, Oedipus regaining knowledge from his downfall, the plot unfolding in one day, and the audience’s experience with catharsis reflects Aristotle’s