Oedipus Rex by Sophocles - Research Paper Example

? Oedipus Thesis ment: Oedipus by Sophocles fits perfectly to the ideal tragic hero by Aristotle. The character follows all rules, including an anagnorisis, a hamartia, and a peripeteia. Introduction The book Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is an epitome of the Aristotelian tragedy. The base of the plot of the story is a well known and elaborated perfectly by many Greeks. The author adds just enough details to ensure that the end adds to the story while ensuring that the audiences do not wait for Oedipus to poke out his eyes. The plot of the story incorporates a very probable and logical occurrence of events that brings the audience closer to the discovery of the horrible truth underlying the story. The strategic positioning of the peripeteia shortly after the discovery by Oedipus that he could return to Corinth to claim the throne and stop running away from past mistakes makes the story gut wrenching and more tragic for the audience (Kennedy and Gioia, 2010). The plot is perfectly in line with Aristotle’s requirements. It also incorporates anagnorisis and peripeteia, particularly evident with Oedipus seeking to identify the person who murdered Laius and discovering that it was himself. Throughout the development of the plot, the audience clearly sees how Oedipus perceives himself and his actions, first with confidence, then uncertainty and finally horror. One may correctly argue that all the episodes in the story are relevant and essential. According to Aristotle, the author should stress the rationality of the plot, and in cases where the parameters are from previously defined stories, the irrational elements must appear as though they were fated to occur (McManus, 2000). Sophocles is able to achieve this by glossing over the irrelevant parts of the story and managing to focus more on the emotions that they create. Therefore, the central focus of the audience sympathizes with the character rather than ludicrous points of the plot. Drawing from Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus fits the description of a tragic hero. This is because his falls apart after he discovers his life story. Aristotle describes numerous characteristics that identify a tragic hero, such as that tragic heroes cause their own downfall, their fate are not deserving, and the punishment for their crime often exceed the magnitude of the crime. Moreover, the tragic character must pose some degree of greatness and noble stature. From the book, Oedipus is evidently in love with his idealized self, but the depressive Narcissus and the grandiose can really love him (Dodds). All the above characteristics qualify Oedipus as an ideal tragic hero according to Aristotle’s ideas. Aristotle reiterates that a tragic hero must be a character of influence or great importance who eventually makes an error in judgment, and who must thus face the consequences of their actions. This is evident from the book, as Oedipus forces Teiresias his father’s name and his destiny. Despite Teiresias warning that the revelation is what bounds him from hideous sins and maintain his blindness to the horror of it, Oedipus proceeds with his queries, completely disregarding the warnings. Accordingly, the tragic hero must learn from his judgment mistakes and errors, and become an example to the audience as a symbol of great people in society who fall from their lofty political and social positions (Kennedy and Gioia, 2010). Scholars such as Miller argue that great people with admiration need this admiration for their survival, creating one of the extreme forms of narcissism called grandiosity. Grandiosity essentially refers to the condition when a person admires his qualities and himself, including qualities such as talents, cleverness, beauty, achievements, and success (Hall, 2009). The catastrophe of depression is within the confines of the failure of one of these actions. In the book, the catastrophe occurs when the Herdsman gives in to Oedipus pressure to tell him his mother. After the revelation, depression for Oedipus sets in. He regrets being born, about his marriage, and about the killings that he committed. It is obvious that the decision by Oedipus to pursue the truth is wrong: his grandiosity blinds him (Literature Articles). Nonetheless, he does not deserve his fate but it is beyond the realms of his control. The prophecy of Oedipus is foretold to his father Laius about his terrible destiny beyond his control. When the prophecy gets to Oedipus, he decides to leave the city of his foster parents to prevent the occurrence of the terrible fate. We may argue that Oedipus doe not deserve the terrible fate as it results from his parents actions. After his birth, his parents seek the advice of Delphi Oracle, who tells them that they should not have any children. After the birth of Oedipus, Laius remembers the oracle and terror overcomes him. Consequently, Laius and his wife abandon their birth child denying it their love, which results to depression as denial of the self (McManus, 2000). The main cause of depression is the denial of an individual’s own emotional reaction. It is difficult to love if we deny our truth, the truth concerning our caregivers and parents, and about ourselves. Despite his noble background, Oedipus birth is set for a tragic destiny. With reference to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, the main protagonists usually have a noble background that magnifies their fall. Oedipus is born a prince, and he further saves a kingdom from the Sphinx, not knowing that it is rightfully his. He is destined to poses a noble stature from birth, but his parents deny him the privilege. However, the Sphinx grants him an opportunity to retain the destiny. After the revelation of his noble birth, Oedipus becomes a blind victim to his self and his reflection, since it only depicts him as a wonderful face rather than his inner pain, history, and world. The fact that he relies on his status is proof enough that he is blind emotionally, not physically (Starr). Therefore, his actions are blind and he does not foresee the pursuit of the identity of his mother as a potential cause of misery. After his self-inflicted blinding, he realizes his actions were wrong, questioning the use of his eyes. He also acknowledges that blindness is not necessarily physical, as he questions the eyes that he could have used to see. Oedipus’ lack of knowledge concerning his own lineage is his hamartia. His lack of knowledge on the real identity of his parents causes him to unknowingly and eventually kill his biological father and subsequently marry his mother. According to Aristotle, the hamartia is important for the audience to have sympathy for the protagonist, who may not know about his fall but the audience do. Another requirement by Aristotle was the need for a theme. The theme is broad, and includes anything from the underlying morals, to the subject and motif of the play or book. The major themes in the book are blindness through ignorance and inescapable fate (Kennedy and Gioia, 2010). The inescapable fate theme becomes ingrained into the book after oracle prophesizes about Oedipus. According to oracle, King Laius will give birth to a child who will kill him and marry Jocasta, his wife. The couple attempts to avoid fate by abandoning their child. However, a shepherd comes to the rescue and Oedipus survives the predicament. The theme reoccurs again as another oracle tells Oedipus of the already prophesized action of his parents. As these actions culminate, they cause Oedipus to satisfy his fate inadvertently. Interestingly, the theme of blindness occurs to Oedipus both metaphorically and physically. Tiresias, the blind oracle, reveals to Oedipus that he is the killer of the King Laius, his own father (Hall, 2009). Oedipus denies the claims by the oracle, which creates part of the tragic irony in the book. Oedipus, who happens to poses god sight, cannot see the truth, but Teiresias, the seer of fate, is blind. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles depicts the protagonist Oedipus as a person with good nature, but with a frail of bad judgment. Oedipus makes several bad decisions, which condemn his to profound suffering. In adherence to Aristotle’s requirements, Oedipus misfortunes occur because of his tragic flaw (Dodds). Had he been less narcissistic and judgmental, he probably might not have killed his father and married his mother. Teiresias tries to ease him but Oedipus is too proud to visualize the truths. Conclusion The play introduces the audience to tragic flow of the life of Oedipus early. Oedipus has a strong belief that he is capable of dodging Delphi’s oracle that he will eventually kill his father and marry his mother. Therefore, he leaves the city of Corinth with the hope of outsmarting and evading the wrath of the oracle. He settles in Thebes with the perception that he will outsmart the gods. Nonetheless, the audiences are well aware that he cannot escape his fate imposed by the oracle (McManus, 2000). In this regard therefore, Oedipus hamartia is his belief that he can outsmart his oracle, which is literary impossible no matter the situation. The anagnorisis of Oedipus is his recognition, as the protagonist latter learns that he indeed killed his own father, the former King Laius, and that the woman he is married to is actually his mother. After the murder of the former King Laius, the people in the city of Thebes were in pursuit of the murderer of their king to drive him out in order to save the city from plague, which consequently drive Oedipus to his downfall, or peripeteia (Literature Articles). First, the people first put him through shame at the presence of the residents of the city of Thebes because of marrying his own mother, an incestuous act. Moreover, the people are able to prevent the wrath of the plague resulting from Oedipus murderous act (Starr). However, more importantly, Oedipus realizes that it is not possible to avoid or evade the fate of the oracle. In his attempts to save himself, he opts to blind himself. According to his perception, he should not enjoy the gift of sight if he cannot see the truth with his own eyes. References Dodds, E. On Misunderstanding the ‘Oedipus Rex’. Greece and Rome. Second Series, Vol. 13, No. 1 pp. 37-49. Retrieved on March 31, 2012, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/642354 Hall, E. (2009). Greek Tragedy and the Politics of Subjectivity in Recent Fiction. Classical Receptions Journal (2009) 1 (1): 23-42. Retrieved on March 31, 2012, from http://crj.oxfordjournals.org/content/1/1/23.full Kennedy, X. and Gioia, D. (2010). Literature, An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed 6. New Jersey: Pearson College Div. Literature Articles. Aristotle’s Oedipus Rex. Retrieved on March 31, 2012, from http://www.literaturearticle.com/aristotles-oedipus-rex/ McManus, B. (2000). Outline of Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedy in the Poetics. Retrieved on March 31, 2012, from http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html Starr, P. The Tragic Ear of the Intellectual: Lacan. Retrieved on March 31, 2012, from http://www.usc.edu/dept/comp-lit/tympanum/1/starr.html Read More