A Terrible Tragedy

In Classical Greek Literature, there are a set of guidelines created by Aristotle that are used to dictate if a piece of Literature is a true Greek Tragedy. These rules mainly apply to the hero character and are in place to maintain a feeling of realism with in the piece. Aristotle believed that the literature must contain peripety meaning a change in state usually occurring in the main character from the beginning to the end, as well this main character must have a discovery and pass from…

popular at the time and was well known for his work. Major Characters: Oedipus - lead character Jokasta - Oedipus's wife Kreon - Jokasta's brother and Oedipus's brother-in-law Tiresias - A trusted prophet Synopsis: The play opens with a terrible plague striking Thebes. Oedipus…

about the terrible plague that was devastating on Thebes. In this part of the story, Sophocles is trying describe the devastation in such a grossness detail, then Sophocles introduces, his protagonist Oedipus. Then the people of Thebes are in serious trouble because of the plague but at the same time Oedipus has to figure out who killed Laius the king of Thebes, or he won't have anything left to…

The first of a very famous trilogy, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, is a greek tragedy in which Oedipus (the main character) struggles to find the truth of his birth, and face his horrible fate of murder and incest within his own family. Throughout the whole story, Oedipus constantly faces these conflicts. Even though he was considered a well-respected king, Oedipus experiences complications with himself, society, and the gods, just like other tragic heroes. One of Oedipus’ hardest things for him…

writing Greek tragedies. According to Aristotle, who defined tragedy as a story that begins with the protagonist being someone who is extraordinary compared to the typical heroes that audience are used to or a great hero’s reversal of fortune. The character’s personality leads to his or her own downfall at the end resulting in a more terrifying ending. Aristotle admired Sophocles because of his work on Oedipus the King, which represents Aristotle’s visual manifestation of a Greek tragedy as well…

somber yet tragic. Iago works his evil almost from the opening scenes, and each new deception that he plans brings greater misery. Othello is a tragedy of love, however, the play does not begin with a direct introduction of the lovers. (Ringwood, 2010) The conclusion of the play Othello has often been considered the most painful of Shakespeare’s tragedies. The fall of a proud, honorable man, the murder of a graceful, loving women and the unreasoning hatred of a motiveless villain all have…

Much of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, revolves around the death of Julius Caesar by his close friends and confidants. One of the reasons behind his death was due to characters’ failures to correctly interpret and listen to the omens and portents that they encounter. During the time of the Roman empire, many people believed in superstitions and signs. However, many failed to recognize the warning of portents or omens, some which lead to fatal consequences. Omens and…

Oedipus the King is a play of tragedy written by Sophocles. Aristotle says that tragedy is “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude.” A tragedy is meant to evoke both pity and fear unto the reader or audience. An example of this would be when Oedipus gouges out his eyes; you feel pity for him and also afraid. Aristotle wrote that tragedy should afflict a mostly good character who makes a big mistake. For instance, if the character is bad and makes a big…

“Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy, and it isn 't original sin. He 's born with the tragedy that he has to grow up... a lot of people don 't have the courage to do it.”(Hayes) In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein the monster who is her antagonist like in Helen Hayes’ analogy was born tragically and had to adapt to this tragedy throughout his life. The monster is totally isolated, rejected by love and treated terribly throughout his life; due to his horrible life it is…

Creon in the tragedy, Antigone. Though the tragic drama Antigone was written in the 6th Century B.C, this problem is still faced today (Willocks). King Creon deals with this problem after making the wrong decision to send Antigone to the cave to die for attempting to give her brother a proper burial after he dies in battle with their brother, Eteocles. The death of Antigone is why this drama is a tragedy. A tragedy is an event causing great suffering and destruction. In every tragedy, there is a…