Pitiful Oedipus
A tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in the viewing. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus endures many tragic events that lead to the to the downfall and suffering of his character. For a Greek tragedy to be a tragedy if must have a certain magnitude, pity and fear, and a complex plot according to Aristotle. A certain magnitude of good to bad fortune should be used in the play. In Oedipus’s search for his true parents, he uncovers the dark truth about his past. He believes that he is the luckiest man in the world for finding the man that can tell him about his past, but he would discover something horrific. “O God! It has all came true. Light let this the last time I see …show more content…
Oedipus went from thinking it was the best day of his life, to uncovering a terrifying secret. Oedipus does not take the new well and blinds himself after seeing his wife/mother had hung herself. Pity and fear play a huge role in the play, from the start we know Oedipus's fate. It hangs over our heads while we dread all of Oedipus’s decisions knowing what the outcome will be. Also, we feel pity for Oedipus when he discovers his true identity, we know that he could have done nothing to prevent it and feel bad what the outcome had in store. “You must send me into exile-away from Thebes”(Sophocles 106). At this point, everyone is pitying Oedipus, the once noble savior is now a blind pariah. The fear of the outcome drives us to question Oedipus’s decisions and the pity we feel for him in the end is what makes a great tragedy. Lastly, a Greek tragedy must contain a complex plot, the element of foreshadowing helps create this. During the play we see his highs and his lows, Oedipus goes through many different emotions throughout the play. When Oedipus is talking to the people of Thebes and curses the man and any man that knows the
A tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in the viewing. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus endures many tragic events that lead to the to the downfall and suffering of his character. For a Greek tragedy to be a tragedy if must have a certain magnitude, pity and fear, and a complex plot according to Aristotle. A certain magnitude of good to bad fortune should be used in the play. In Oedipus’s search for his true parents, he uncovers the dark truth about his past. He believes that he is the luckiest man in the world for finding the man that can tell him about his past, but he would discover something horrific. “O God! It has all came true. Light let this the last time I see …show more content…
Oedipus went from thinking it was the best day of his life, to uncovering a terrifying secret. Oedipus does not take the new well and blinds himself after seeing his wife/mother had hung herself. Pity and fear play a huge role in the play, from the start we know Oedipus's fate. It hangs over our heads while we dread all of Oedipus’s decisions knowing what the outcome will be. Also, we feel pity for Oedipus when he discovers his true identity, we know that he could have done nothing to prevent it and feel bad what the outcome had in store. “You must send me into exile-away from Thebes”(Sophocles 106). At this point, everyone is pitying Oedipus, the once noble savior is now a blind pariah. The fear of the outcome drives us to question Oedipus’s decisions and the pity we feel for him in the end is what makes a great tragedy. Lastly, a Greek tragedy must contain a complex plot, the element of foreshadowing helps create this. During the play we see his highs and his lows, Oedipus goes through many different emotions throughout the play. When Oedipus is talking to the people of Thebes and curses the man and any man that knows the