Aristotle's Concept of Tragedy in Oedipus Rex

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Overview

Born in 384, Aristotle is still remembered and regarded as one of the pioneers in philosophy, literature, science, mathematics, biology and metaphysics etc. Oedipus Rex was written way before the student of Plato had born. Greek Tragedy was gradually evolving at the time of Sophocles. Aristotle, in his Poetics, set the foundation of a typical Greek Tragedy as thus, "Tragedy, then, is a representation of an action that is worth serious attention, complete in itself, and of some amplitude; in language enriched by a variety of artistic devices appropriate to the several parts of the play; presented in the form of action, not narration; by means of pity and fear bringing about the purgation [catharsis, a process which deals with giving ways to psychological as well as emotional anxiety and fear, here is a complete definition: "the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions."] of such emotions. ". Let's trace the clues of this definition in the play of Oedipus Rex because this tragic play was the prime focus when Aristotle gave his concept of tragedy.

Representation of an Action that is Worth Serious Attention

In the early versions of Greek Dramas, a tragedy was presented through narration, not action but it gradually changed in Sophocles' times when his plays, including Oedipus Rex were presented through actions of actors, wearing different dresses and masks. Such newness of presentation (might have) attracted a large number of Greek viewers and that is how a Greek drama saw its climax (arooj) during Aristotelian era.

A Typical Greek Tragedy is Complete in Itself

Most of the Greek Tragedies followed a complex plot in which the hero was unaware of his actions which lead him to his finale. It might be ambiguous for the character himself, but the audience did know his story well. So, a Typical Greek Tragedy was complete in itself, leaving no extra thinking or mental processing behind. For instance, in Oedipus Rex, the play opens with a plague in Thebes and our brain works on attaining the answers of these questions, Where is Thebes? Who is Oedipus? Who are the real parents of Oedipus? What is the reason behind this plague? All the questions are answered within the text of the drama that King Laius and Jocasta are Oedipus' real parents and he has fulfilled the prophecy by marrying his mother and killing his old father unknowingly, which is the core cause behind the suffering of the Theban people.

Of Considerable Amplitude and Enriched with Artistic Devices

A typical Greek Tragedy does not cover over a few pages. It comprises of three sub-dramas, technically known as Trilogy. The Tragedy of Oedipus is a collection of three sub-dramas, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone which span over a handsome amount of pages. Moreover, these dramas were decorated with a number of figurative and artistic language, including similes, metaphors and irony etc. While citing examples of Irony, Oedipus Rex takes the cake as every act has an abundance of irony, be it situational irony, verbal irony or dramatic irony. For instance, when Oedipus mocks Teiresias by calling him, "You child of the endless night", this is verbal, dramatic as well as situational irony because, at the end, it is Oedipus who becomes the child of the endless night (blind).

The objective of the Greek Tragedy

The main objective of the ancient Greek tragedy was to arise the feelings of pity and fear towards the hero and life, and their catharsis. It is natural that when we see someone in hot waters, we feel sympathetic for them [and we want to help the character, "Hey Oedipus, stop strangling your own father!"]. After reading the full text of Oedipus Rex, we feel that our sufferings in the present time have no comparison with the plight of Oedipus and we deem ourselves very blessed that we have no such obstacles to confront with. This satisfaction is the second name of Catharsis.

Conclusion

Oedipus Rex checks all the required boxes of the ancient Greek tragedy. It is straight forward, all the events are well-connected with each other ironically, gradually leading the hero to his catastrophe and his misery makes us pitiful which paves the ways for psychological satisfaction.