Oedipus Rex Tragedy
Many things can describe a tragedy. However,
according to definition of a
tragedy by Aristotle, there are only five. The
play has to have a tragic hero,
preferably of noble stature. Second, the
tragic hero must have a tragic flaw.
Because of that flaw, the hero falls
from either power or death. Due to the
fall, the tragic hero discovers
something. Finally, there must be catharsis in
the minds of the audience.
Oedipus Rex qualifies as a tragedy. It fits all the
characteristics as
defined by Aristotle. The tragic hero of a play is a man of
some social
standing and personal reputation, but sufficiently like ourselves in
terms of
his weaknesses that we feel fear and pity when a tragic flaw, rather
than an
associate, causes his downfall. Oedipus is the tragic hero in this play
for
many reasons. Even though he does not know it, he fulfills the
oracle's
prophecy by killing his father, Laius, and then sleeping with his
mother,
Jocasta. His father was just a tragic mistake. Oedipus thought
that the person
he killed was just a random person that was harassing him.
Oedipus definitely
has a tragic flaw; it is his quickness to take a position
and stubborn adherence
in spite of personal hazard. Oedipus makes decisions
publicly for all to hear,
making reconsideration difficult for a proud person
such as himself. When Creon
returns with information from the oracle
concerning the ills of Thebes and
wishes to tell Oedipus privately, as we
learn later that it could be bad news
for Oedipus. Oedipus tells Creon, "Let
them all hear it. It is for them I
suffer, more than for myself." This was
the first time that Oedipus is
confronted with the idea that he might have
fulfilled the prophecy. He is the
one that is named as the killer of Laius.
Oedipus directs any inhabitant of
Thebes that know of any facts of Laius'
murder to come forward without fear of
reprisal, concurrently forbidding the
withholding of information. Oedipus
reaffirms his stand to avenge the
murdered king promising the consequences do
not diminish because of one's
position: "And as for me, this curse applies
no less If it should turn out
that the culprit is my guest here, Sharing my
hearth." Oedipus has said all
of this before knowing any evidence. If he
had just one clue that he could
have been the unwitting culprit, would he have
acted differently? As a
strongly principled man, Oedipus, like Socrates when
faced with compromising
his principles, chooses death over compromise. When
Oedipus realizes he
may in fact be the culprit, he says "You are aware, I
hope, that what you say
means death for me, or exile at the least."
Oedipus's quickness to take a
position causes him to gouge his own eyes out and
lose his power. It also
costs Oedipus his wife and mother, along with his kids.
No one will marry
his daughter, because she has come from an incestuous
marriage. Since no on e
will marry his daughter, and his wife killed herself,
Oedipus gouges out
his own eyes in order to no be able to see what the world has
done too him.
The only problem is the fact that almost all of the Thebes know
what he did,
so they know that he killed Laius. Oedipus discovers that he has to
do
something to recover from his fall from power. The chorus cannot believe
that
even a great man like Oedipus, was brought low by destiny. He abdicates
the
thrown to Creon, and asks him to take care of his kids, and Creon agrees.
He
tells his kids to have a better life than he did. He feels that he is
messing up
his kids' life more than his own, especially his daughter. He
thinks that no man
in the world would marry her because of her incestuous
birth. From the
audience's standpoint, they can take away many meanings from
this play. In the
times when this play was written, the audience believed
that the gods controlled
what was going to happen to them. It was their
destiny. Oedipus Rex proves to
strengthen their belief in the gods. This is
done by Oedipus fulfilling
everything that was prophesized for him to do.
Laius and Jocasta sent Oedipus to
his death, but the Shepard couldn't do it.
Oedipus then hears the prophecy in
Corinth, and flees. On his subsequent
journey, he kills his father, comes to
Thebes, and marries his
mother.