Characteristics Of Greek Tragedy

A Greek tragedy is a popular form of drama performed across ancient Greece. It was very influential around late sixth century BCE. The origin of Greek tragedies are from Athens, Greece. A Tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious. Which is defined as this in Aristotle’s definition in “The Art of Poetry”. The “Art of Poetry” is just Aristotle’s study of poetry by analyzing its parts and then drawing general conclusions about it. With these conclusions he breaks down what he identifies a Greek tragedy as, one Greek tragedy would be Oedipus Rex. According to Aristotle, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a Greek tragedy because of the characteristics it possesses like pity, fear, and plot, characters, thought and suffering.
In a Greek tragedy …show more content…
In the “The Art of Poetry” according to Aristotle, the proper construction of the Fable or Plot, as that is at once the first and the most important thing in Tragedy”(Aristotle 93-94). This construction includes a beginning, middle, and end. A beginning that is which has something after it. A middle in which by nature after one thing and has something after it. An end which is naturally after something itself and has nothing after it. According to Aristotle, therefore, cannot either begin or end at one point one likes. In Oedipus Rex there is a proper plot construction which has a beginning, middle, and end. The Chorus states “Wait till free from pair and sorrow he has gained his final rest” (Sophocles 72). This shows that this is the end of the story and Oedipus has gained final rest. What makes a tragedy complete its self is also the plot. According to Aristotle, “plots are either simple or complex, since the actions they represent are naturally of this twofold description.” The plots being simple, when the change in the hero’s fortune takes place without Peripety or Discovery” (Aristotle 96). This means a complex plot has one or both. A Peripety is the change from one state of things within the play to its opposite of the kind described. A Discovery is a change from ignorance to knowledge. Oedipus Rex’s plot is very complex and has both Discovery and Peripety in them. …show more content…
According to Aristotle, “In the characters there are four points to aim at” (Aristotle 99). These four points are moral purpose, appropriate, reality and consistency. These points in the characters help tie up the plot as a whole. Which helps arouse pity and fear. In Oedipus Rex the characters all follow the four points of moral purpose, appropriate, reality and consistency. Moral purpose is the moral aspect that every character should convey as a good character. Appropriate is simply acting like your character portrays. An example is in Oedipus Rex, “Yea, I am worth, and will not stint my words, but speak my whole mind…, I had been sworn to boot that thou alone didst do the bloody deed” (Sophocles 18). This shows Oedipus acting as the strong king he portrays in the story. Reality is the realistic aspect of the characters that make them believable. Consistency is what makes the characters stay the same throughout. This means if a character is consistently late he must always be late unless the probable or the necessary incidents occur to change that. In Oedipus Rex Oedipus is consistently determined to find his father’s murder. This stays the same thought the story until he finds the answer. In addition to a Greek tragedy’s characters it must have thought, just like Oedipus Rex