Aristotle and Greek tragedy
Oedipus rex is a tragic play developed by Sophocles, which was first premiered in 429 BC. The play tells the story of Oedipus, who was a king in Thebes, who was presumed to unwittingly murder his father and unknowingly marry his mother following a prophecy to make to Laius, who was the previous king of Thebes. Laius too all precautions to avert the prediction, but a twist of events happened, and the prophecy comes to pass. After the birth of Oedipus, Laius ordered Oedipus’ legs to be broken and be left to die in the forest. A shepherd comes across him and takes him to the king of Corinth, where he was raised as the prince. When he learns that he is not the son of the king of Corinth, Oedipus consults the oracle, learns of the prophesy and escapes to Thebes where he fulfils it without knowing. This tragedy is considered to influence greatly the poetry of Aristotle who developed the theory of tragedy which influenced greatly the perception of tragedy plays to the modern times.
Aristotle defined a tragedy as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and has a certain level of magnitude which is attained through fear and pity and which affects the purgation of the emotions. In the explanation of emotions Aristotle’s utilized the concept of catharsis which means the purification of the emotions of fear and pity mostly portrayed through arts. In this case, Aristotle argues that the purpose of tragedy is to develop the aspect of terror and pity to the audience. Through Aristotle definition of a tragedy, he states that a tragic hero does not need to be a villain or a virtuous character. In this case, the tragic hero is considered to be a character that lies between the two extremes and the misfortune of the man is not attained through the aspect of deprivation or vice but rather the undertaking of an error or weakness. Therefore, the aspect of catharsis is examined through the effect that the piece of art has on the spectator. Therefore, the concept means the purging of the body emotions attained through the intense action involved in the different tragedy plays through a distance as the play reaches its climax. Aristotle states that the plot of the play plays a great role for a play to be considered a tragedy. The concept of catharsis is, therefore, used to describe why individuals purge the feelings of fear and pity as they watch tragic plays in theatres directly from their seats.
According to the theory of tragedy that was developed by Aristotle, for a play to be considered as a tragedy three key aspects should occur to the audience. First, the audience must develop an emotional connection to the tragic hero for a play to be considered a tragic play. Also, it is considered that for a play to be tragic the audience must fear that something terrible might happen to the hero. Lastly, the audience should pity the hero on the various aspects that ought to happen to him. In this case, Aristotle considers Oedipus rex a perfect example of a tragedy play since it meets the three conditions. When watching the Oedipus rex, individuals develop an emotional attachment to Oedipus because he is considered as a noble character. In this case, Oedipus is considered as a better version of a normal individual who undertakes ordinary activities and where the plot makes it to be a perfect tragedy. This is based on the transition that the play undertakes from paripeteia, anagnorisis and then a catastrophe. Such changes are associated with the transition of emotions from the happiness to mystery due to the tragic flow of events in the play. Due to this reason, the play evokes different emotions to the audience. Such emotions range from fear when the events start to turn tragic and later to pity when the hero faces tragedy and disaster strikes. The change of events from fortune to disaster are experienced when Oedipus realizes that he is the son of Jocasta and Laius, and the events that takes place thereafter makes the audience to pity him.
Oedipus rex is a perfect example of a tragedy play. This aspect is based on the fact that the play transitions from a simple starting to the development of a tragedy. In this case, the play develops an aspect of fear during its beginning then the audience pities Oedipus as the story develops later leading to the development of a tragedy at the end leaving the audience experiencing the thrill through the play. The plot of the play is considered to play a great role in the development of tragedies and this aspect forms the basis of modern forms of tragedy. The various transitions of events in Oedipus are considered to lead to the development of catharsis. Through the theory of tragedy by Aristotle, the modern audience is able to analyze a play and develop strong relationship with the hero leading. Therefore, the understanding of the nature of tragedies as explained by Aristotle makes it easy for the audience to develop catharsis.