Aristotle’s Rules for Tragedy

3 Unities - #1 TIME

The story takes place within a short period of time. The entire play, from Oedipus’s pledge to find the reason behind The plagues to his blinding and departure from Thebes, takes Place in the span of one day

3 Unities - #2 PLACE

• Place – The action of the play is set in one place. All of the action in the play takes place in front of the palace.

3 Unities - #3 ACTION

• Action – There is one hero and one plot. Everything in Oedipus Rex revolves around Oedipus and the solving of the mystery.

Other Elements - #1 RECOGNITION

• Recognition – As the hero meets his catastrophe, he recognizes his flaw and why he must die (in this case suffer).

Other Elements - #2 REVERSAL

• Reversal – is when the opposite of what the hero intends occurs.

Other Elements - #3 HAMARTIA

• Hamartia – is the tragic flaw that leads to the tragic hero’s downfall. For Oedipus this is his temper, impulsive nature, and his erroneous judgment.

Other Elements - #4 CATHARSIS

• Catharsis – is the release of emotion (pity and fear) from the audience’s perspective. The Greeks did not permit comic interludes in tragedies since they would dilute the effect of the tragedy. This would not allow the ultimate aim of a tragedy, catharsis, to be possible.

Other Elements - #5 HUBRIS

• Hubris – is arrogance before the gods, i.e. Oedipus’s pride

Important Points in Oedipus

I. ConflictConflict is defined as the protagonist and antagonist of a story are at odds with each other. In this case Oedipus, our protagonist and hero, is in conflict with the antagonist, fate.

Important Points in Oedipus

II. ClimaxThe character flaws of the protagonist Oedipus work in tandem with fate to take the tragedy to its climax. The climax occurs at the point when Oedipus realizes that fate has played itself out and in his ignorance he has killed his father and married his mother. This realization marks the climax of the play.

Climax continued…

The outcome of this is the death of Jocasta and Oedipus blinding himself. Through his pain and suffering, Oedipus is humbled yet he also gains self-knowledge, since he knows who he is and where he is from.

Important Points in Oedipus

• III. ThemesThe major theme explored in Oedipus Rex is that fate and character are intertwined. Oedipus is not only fated to perform such detestable acts but his very behavior (which leads him to doing these things) determines his fate. The crimes that he committed against his father and mother were repugnant but not as detestable as that of ignoring the very signs which could have averted the tragedy. By not paying heed to the oracle or following up on the rumors about his heritage, Oedipus set into motion the fate that was ordained him. His presumption and arrogance about who he was lead to his fall.

Sophocles believed…

…that humans have free will yet they are limited by a larger order that controls all things. By going against the larger cosmic order, Oedipus’s fate was determined.

A Minor Theme…

…is that of self-knowledge as being a key to under-standing one’s place in the universe. It is only through Oedipus’s inquiry into his heritage that he discovers the painful truth of who he is and what it means to be human.

Important Points in Oedipus

• IV. MoodThe mood of the play from beginning to end is devastation, destruction, and gloom. It is a mood of suffering and pollution. The somber, sad, and disturbed mood dominates the entire play.

Important Points in Oedipus

V. Dramatic Irony1. From the beginning of the play Oedipus is ignorant of the

dreadful acts he has committed. But the audience is well aware of these facts. Therefore, every word, every reaction of Oedipus’s with regard to the Murder lends itself to dramatic irony.

2. Oedipus’s speech demanding the people reveal the murderer is an important instance of dramatic irony. Little does he realize that in cursing Laius’s murderer to live in wretchedness he is cursing himself.

Important Points in Oedipus

V. Dramatic Irony continued…

3. When Oedipus begins to ridicule Tiresias’s blindness, Tiresias in turn predicts an unusual circumstance. He warns Oedipus that while he can see, he is actually “blind” (that means he will be denied the truth) whereas when he becomes blind (i.e. lose his eyesight) only then will he be able to see (or realize) the truth.

Important Points in Oedipus

V. Dramatic Irony continued…

4. It is ironic that old Tiresias who has no eyesight can perceive reality accurately.

5. These cases of dramatic irony lend pathos to the entire tragedy and enable the audience to sympathize with the ignorant and ill-fated Oedipus.

Aristotle gave us the definition of the tragic hero.

He stated that drama had specific criteria that it had to meet in order

to be considered tragedy.

First: what tragedy is NOT.

• A good man falling from happiness to unhappiness or misfortune because he made a decision that was motivated by greed, revenge, etc.

• An evil man rising from ill fortune to prosperity. (This does not inspire sympathy so it can’t arouse pity or fear.)

• A wicked man falling from prosperity into misfortune. (It might inspire sympathy, but not pity or fear because (a) pity can’t be felt for a person whose misfortune is deserved, and (b) if we don’t identify with the character’s wickedness, we won’t be afraid of his fate falling on us.

What Tragedy IS:

• The hero is not guilty of vice or depravity. He has just made a mistake.

• He is a person of importance.

What Tragedy IS continued…:

1. Goodness- The hero reveals through his speech and actions what his moral choices are. His choices are good. Any “class of person” may be good, even women and slaves, but women are “inferior” and slaves are “utterly base.”

What Tragedy IS continued…:

2. Appropriateness- Men can be domineering or “manly” but for a woman to appear formidable would be inappropriate.

What Tragedy IS continued…:

3. Lifelike – “believable” or “true to life” The tragic hero is not godlike.

4. Consistency – Once a character displays certain traits, these should not suddenly change.

According to Aristotle…

….the purpose of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear which then produce in the audience a catharsis of these emotions.

The Sphinx

Oedipus and the Oracle

The Crossroads

Thebes

Oedipus and The Sphinx

Oedipus Timeline: The Play Begins1. Oedipus is born2. Laius and Jocasta receive the prophecy-this child will kill his father3. Laius and Jocasta leave Oedipus to die4. Oedipus if found by the first shepherd5. Shepherd give Oedipus to the second shepherd6. Shepherd give Oedipus to Polybus and Merope7. As an adult, Oedipus overhears drunkard say he is adopted8. Oedipus travel to Delphi to consult the Oracle who tells him he will kill his father and

marry his mother9. Oedipus kills Laius and three of his servants where three roads meet10. Oedipus travels to Thebes11. Oedipus confronts the Sphinx, solves the riddle, and destroys the Sphinx12. Oedipus is made king by the people of Thebes13. Oedipus marries Jocasta14. Shepherd returns to Thebes, sees Oedipus, and asks Jocasta to “reassign him”15. Oedipus has four children – two sons and two daughters16. Plague, famine, disease, etc. attack Thebes17. Oedipus sends Creon to Delphi to consult the Oracle