Oedipus Rex or Oedipus The King Oedipus and Aristotle

Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King Oedipus and
Aristotle
In his Poetics, Aristotle outlined the ingredients necessary for a good tragedy, and based his
formula on what he considered to be the perfect tragedy, Sophocles's Oedipus the
King. According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious
story that is complete in itself; in other words, the story must be realistic and narrow in focus.
A good tragedy will evoke pity and fear in its viewers, causing the viewers to experience a
feeling of catharsis. Catharsis, in Greek, means "purgation" or "purification"; running through
the gamut of these strong emotions will leave viewers feeling elated, in the same way we often
claim that crying might ultimately make you feel better.
Aristotle also outlined the characteristics of an ideal tragic hero. He must be "better than we are,"
a man who is superior to the average man in some way. In Oedipus's case, he is superior not only
because of social standing, but also because he is smart: he is the only person who could solve
the Sphinx's riddle. At the same time, a tragic hero must evoke both pity and fear, and Aristotle
claims that the best way to do this is if he is imperfect. A character with a mixture of good and
evil is more compelling that a character who is merely good. And Oedipus is far from perfect;
although a clever man, he is blind to the truth and stubbornly refuses to believe Teiresias's
warnings. Although he is a good father, he unwittingly fathered children in incest. A tragic hero
suffers because of his hamartia, a Greek word that is often mistakenly translated as "tragic flaw"
but really means "mistake". Oedipus' mistake - killing his father at the crossroads - is made
unknowingly. Indeed, for him, there is no way of escaping his fate.
The focus on fate reveals another aspect of a tragedy as outlined by Aristotle: dramatic irony.
Good tragedies are crammed with irony. The audience knows the outcome of the story already,
but the hero does not, making his actions seem painfully ignorant in the face of what is to come.
Whenever a character attempts to change fate, this is ironic to an audience who knows that the
tragic outcome of the story - as they know it in the myth - cannot be avoided.
One of these catharsis examples is his tragic drama Macbeth.

The audience and readers of Macbeth usually pity the tragic central figure of
the play because he was blinded by his destructive preoccupation with
ambition.
In dramatic art, the term catharsis explains the impact of tragedy, comedy, or

any other form of art on the audience – and in some cases even on the
performers themselves. Aristotle did not elaborate on the meaning of

“catharsis,” and the way he used it in defining tragedy in Poetics.
According to G. F. Else, the conventional and the most prevalent explanation
of catharsis as “purgation” or “cleansing” does not have a basis in Poetics. It
has rather stemmed from other non-Aristotelian and Aristotelian contexts.
Such confusion regarding the origin of the term has led to assorted
interpretations of its meaning.
An authoritative version of Poetics by D. W. Lucas thoroughly covered, in an

appendix dedicated to “Pity, Fear, and Katharsis,” the different shades of
meaning and aspects inherent in the interpretation of the word
(Aristotle: Poetics, Oxford, 1968, pp. 276–79). Lucas identifies that there is a
chance that catharsis may have some aspect of meanings like “purgation,”
“intellectual clarification,” and “purification.”
However, the kind of discussion he conducts on these terms is not as precise

as other leading scholars would want it to be. He does not consider any
interpretations other than his own, and rather takes a different approach. His
approach is centered on “the Greek doctrine of Humours,” which was not
received too well.
The most common interpretations of the term are purgation and purification,
which are still widely used. The most recent interpretation of the term 5
catharsis is “intellectual clarification

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Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King Oedipus and

One of these catharsis examples is his tragic drama Macbeth.

In dramatic art, the term catharsis explains the impact of tragedy, comedy, or

performers themselves. Aristotle did not elaborate on the meaning of

An authoritative version of Poetics by D. W. Lucas thoroughly covered, in an

However, the kind of discussion he conducts on these terms is not as precise

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