Oedipus Rex & The Tragic Hero. What’s an Archetype? Carl Jung – (1875 – 1961) psychologist Developed concepts of introvert/extrovert and collective

Oedipus Rex & The Tragic Hero

What’s an Archetype?

Carl Jung – (1875 – 1961) psychologist Developed concepts of introvert/extrovert and collective unconscious

Archetype – Universal patterns of thought, action, narrative that transcend culture, history, etc.

What’s an Archetype?

Examples:Family – the father, the mother, the

sonCharacters – the hero, the maiden,

the magician, the trickster, the villain

Animals – the loyal dog, the devious cat, the enduring horse

Aristotle and the Elements of Tragedy

Aristotle – (384 – 322 BCE), Greek philosopher Poetics (335 BCE) – earliest surviving work of

dramatic theory and literary theoryFORM - Cataloged the various types of “making”

(expressed creativity) Drama (comedy, tragedy, satyr) and Poetry (lyric,

epic, dithyramb)CONTENT – Described the different elements of a

story Examined and theorized about the relationship

between the audience and the details of the story (plot, character, diction, melody, spectacle).


"Tragedy, then, is a process of imitating an action which has serious implications, is complete, and possesses magnitude; by means of language which has been made sensuously attractive, with each of its varieties found separately in the parts; enacted by the persons themselves and not presented through narrative; through a course of pity and fear completing the purification (catharsis, sometimes translated "purgation") of such emotions."


“Imitation” (mimesis) – artist cannot just write things exactly as they happen, but must create a fictional scenario that imitates real life to give meaning to reality itself.

Think-Pair-Share Why is it especially important that a work

of tragedy be realistic?


“an action with serious implications” Meaningful, significant – limit the rando,

meaningless stuff“complete and possesses magnitude”

Complete w/ beginning, middle, and endThink-Pair-Share

What’s the difference between “real” and “realistic”? Why does it matter?


“language sensuously attractive” Engaging, interesting language that is

appropriate to context & purposeThink-Pair-Share

Why would a writer want to use different language for different scenes?

“tragedy” Audience is more likely to be moved by

enactment than by simple story-telling


“purification” Tragedies are successful because they elicit a

wide-range of emotions in the audience, but especially pity and fear.

The most satisfying tragedies conclude with a sense of catharsis or emotional release


Aristotle based his theories about tragedy and tragic heroes on the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.

As we read Oedipus Rex we will be tracking the 6 characteristics of the archetypal tragic hero to examine exactly how they work in the story. As we progress through the unit, we will see a number of tragic heroes and analyze how/why each fits or doesn’t fit the model.

The Characteristics of an “Archetypal” Tragic Hero

Nobel Stature Since tragedy involves the "fall" of a tragic

hero, one theory is that one must have a lofty position to fall from, or else there is no tragedy (just pathos).

Another explanation of this characteristic is that tragedies involving people of stature affect the lives of others


Tragic Flaw (Hamartia) the tragic hero must "fall" due to some

flaw in his own personality. The most common tragic flaw is hubris (excessive pride).

One who tries to attain too much possesses hubris.


Free Choice while there is often a discussion of the

role of fate in the downfall of a tragic hero, there must be an element of choice in order for there to be a true tragedy.

The tragic hero falls because he chooses one course of action over another.


The Punishment Exceeds the Crime the audience must not be left feeling that

the tragic hero got what he deserved. Part of what makes the action "tragic" is to

witness the injustice of what has occurred to the tragic hero.


Hero has Increased Awareness it is crucial that the tragic hero come to

some sort of an understanding of what went wrong or of what was really going on before he comes to his end.


Produces Catharsis in Audience catharsis is a feeling of "emotional

purgation" that an audience feels after witnessing the plight of a tragic hero: we feel emotionally drained, but exultant.


Think-Pair-Share Can you think of any contemporary “tragic

hero” stories that fit this archetype?


Think-Pair-Share Can you think of any contemporary “tragic

hero” stories that fit this archetype?

The Story of Oedipus

The story of Oedipus pre-dates Sophocles’ play – audience members watching the play would already know about the story of Oedipus, which limits the amount of suspense.

In Greek mythology, Oedipus (King of Thebes) famously killed his father and married his mother.

Laius (Oedipus’ father) received a prophecy that he would be killed by his son

At birth, Oedipus was sent out of Thebes and was to be hung by his ankles (Oedipus roughly means “swollen foot”) to die

The Story of Oedipus

A shepherd took pity and rescued him by sending him to live in Corinth, where he was adopted by King Polybus.

When Oedipus learned of the prophecy of his birth, he fled Corinth, thinking that Polybus was his father.

Travelling toward Thebes, he got into an argument with a man and killed him, not knowing it was his real father, Laius.

When he arrived in Thebes, he solved the riddle of the sphinx that had plagued the town. Since Laius was missing, he was crowned king and married Jocasta, his mother.

Documents

Oedipus Rex & The Tragic Hero. What’s an Archetype? Carl Jung – (1875 – 1961) psychologist Developed concepts of introvert/extrovert and collective