Aristotle's Concept of Tragedy - Research Paper Example

? English Literature Research Paper Outline: Introduction Thesis ment How Sophocles refutes Aristole’s definition of tragedy Background and Overview of Aristole’s concept of tragedy Conclusion References Introduction: Aristotle’s concept of the tragedy in the play is that it can make the audience fearful. The tragic play; Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles who uses tragic plots and twists in the play to fill the audience with fear. As the play begins, it is apparent to the audience that the key character Oedipus is the king who is a man of fame. Sophocles is anxious to indicate to his audience how this division is truly dark. By investigating the cultural perspective of suicide by hanging, readers cannot only enrich their readings of Sophocles version of the Greek myth but enhance their understanding of what the Greeks have placed on marriage and family ties. Sophocles’ version of the Greek myth has been used since Sophocles made a choice. However, from this book Kennedy and (1995) have not precisely stated whether it was Sophocles who originally invented the tragic play. Thesis statement: Sophocles develops the chief characters such as Oedipus by characterizing them uniquely, to make the audience feel fearful and pitiful. How Sophocles refutes Aristole’s definition of tragedy: To exemplify Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Sophocles begins the play by portraying Oedipus as a man who is not an evil dictator but one who strives to achieve the best for his family and Thebes; the city that he rules over. As the play progresses, Sophocles introduces an old man who prophecies of future doom in Oedipus’s life (Kennedy & Gioia, 1995). A few questions here and there from his kinsmen clarified to him that he was adopted, and the parents, he knew, were not his biological parents. The pieces of his mysterious past life unfold as the story unfolds. Oedipus soon learns that the prophecy he had received sometimes back at the Oracle of Delphi is fulfilled. According to Aristotle, Oedipus cannot escape his prophecy which precisely indicated that he would kill his biological father and marry his biological mother. This is a tragedy that most members in the audience and readers find rather disturbing. The audience is gripped with an increased sense of fear Oedipus attempts to escape his fate only to run into it. The prophecy designated that there would come a time when Oedipus would kill his father and would marry his real-birth mother. On learning about his future, the king ran away from home in an unfruitful attempt to escape this disturbing prophecy. When he was on the way, he had a fight with a man and it only resulted to death of the stranger. He later came to learn that the man he had killed was his real father. It gets worse in the second part of the prophecy when he soon learns that he married Jocasta; his mother without the knowledge that she was his mother. When Jocasts learns of this tragedy she hangs herself. Oedipus leaves the world of sanity due to his state of terror. However, he does not kill himself like his wife/mother; he decides to end his misery by stabbing his eyes until he is blind. Soon after inflicting himself with blindness, Oedipus views his actions to be wrong as can be evidently outlined when he says; “What use are my eyes to me, who could never see anything pleasant again?” (Sophocles & Plumptre, 2005). He indicates that blindness does not have to be the physical blindness as evidently shown when he says “If I had sight, I know not with what eyes I would have looked” (Sophocles & Plumptre, 2005). He makes his exile while screaming; “The agony! I am agony, where am I going? Where on earth? Where does all this agony hurl me?” (Sophocles & Plumptre, 2005) The way in which Oedipus’ life changes from a happy life, to one which is shocking, is extremely disturbing as it involves some of the most tragic actions that are unexpected. The audience has to watch the unfolding events in all the horror. What Oedipus experiences are those of perepetia which is the reversal of individual fortune. As a victim of fate, he is a man who loses everything he loves and has no choice but to live with it. The audience, in the play, and anyone reading about this play naturally feels pity towards Oedipus after seeing how terrorized his life was, when his fate became inescapable (Aristotle & Hammond, 2001). Sophocles had the audience struck by the King’s inability to escape his doom and watch in horror as the play unfolds the final scene of full destruction. The readers of the book only wonder is such doom awaits them and if they would suffer as the King did. Oedipus is one excellent example of what a tragic play consists. The play incorporates Aristotle’s poetics, the experiences of the tragic hero who loses everything because of the tragic flaws. Oedipus along with other Oedipus trilogy plays has made Sophocles the greatest writers from ancient Greece. Background and Overview of Aristole’s concept of tragedy From Aristotle’s concept of tragedy, it is an action that is complete and of levels that are of magnitude, in a language that is embellished with different levels of artistic ornament which can all be found in different parts in the play. This evidently shows that a tragedy thus has six parts that determine the quality of characters, thoughts, plot and diction among others. Aristotle was always an admirer of Sophocles’ play; Oedipus the King, viewing this as the faultless tragedy (Kennedy & Gioia, 1995). This is not surprising as his analysis fits directly with the tragedy. Aristotle shows that the key to this tragedy is drama and not the narrative which designates the action and not talking about the action committed. According to Aristotle, the tragedy occurring in this play is undoubtedly more philosophical and higher than history. His argument is that history simply relates to the event that has happened while tragedy shows that drama that may eventually happen. Aristotle states that history deals with the key tragedies, where events that have occurred may be due to coincidence due to certain situations. Thus, they have little or no relevance for others since they may not be part of a clear effect and cause chain. Aristotle therefore, reveals that tragedy may happen at any time and location because it is the way the universe operates. It arouses pity and fear because the audience envision themselves within such a context. Aristotle’s examples of what a tragic hero entails one; the hero has to be the cause of his downfall, of noble stature, his fate may not be deserved and his punishment for the crime committed may exceed his crimes. Oedipus the King was in love with his idealistic self and neither the depressive narcissus nor the grandiose may genuinely love his individual self (Aristotle & Hammond, 2001). All the characteristics mentioned above outline Oedipus as the tragic hero in the play according to Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy. By using Oedipus as the key, ideal model in the play, Aristotle argues out that any tragic hero has to be crucial or a man who is influential and makes the errors. Hence, he soon suffers the consequences of how he acts. The actions are evidently clear when Oedipus tells Teiresias that she has to reveal what his destiny entails and his father’s name. When Teiresias warns him that he and his loved ones are involved in a repulsive sin, he is only blind to the horror of this sin (Sophocles & Grene, 2010). The King is not concerned with what he is told and proceeds with asking more questions without getting the whole meaning of the warning. Therefore, Aristotle comes in; to show that the tragic hero has to learn a lesson due to his errors, thereby becoming an excellent example to the audience of what happens when prominent men fall from their political and glorious positions. Aristotle’s view point is that an individual who is prominent and gets admired by all and requires his admirations for continued surviving in the same world. Thus, the person has extreme levels of narcissism directly relating to grandiosity. Grandiosity can be seen noted when an individual admires his qualities, talents or success (Aristotle & Hammond, 2001). This is exactly what happened when Oedipus was told by the Herdsman about his mother. He replied; “I have been born where I should not be born, I have been married where I should not marry, I have killed whom I should not kill; now all is clear” (Sophocles & Grene, 2010). His decision to continue with more questions is wrong thus, his grandiosity is the key to his blindness and he did not deserve his fate, therefore, it was beyond what he could control. Conclusion: The techniques that Sophocles uses to fill his audience with fear and pity serve as the excellent examples to the authors in this modern day. This is because Sophocles works are some of the key literary achievements that exist in history (Bowers, 2006). Agreeing with what Aristotle states, Oedipus’ misfortunes happen because of his own flaws despite the fact that this was not entirely in his control. If the King had not been so judgmental, perhaps he would not have killed his father and maybe he would have avoided this tragedy (Aristotle & Hammond, 2001). Thus, Oedipus is the most appropriate character that Sophocles used to provoke the feelings of his audience, since he was not all selfless or full of wickedness. He was a King; a prominent person that audience were familiar with. From the poetics of Aristotle, a tragic hero’s suffering was more than the offense he committed resulting to the audience taking pity on the character. To conclude, it is evident to all the readers reading about this play and Sophocles’ audience that Aristotle did not come up with the theory of tragic flaws to prove that virtuous men can go down (Bowers, 2006). He wanted to show, that even those who are the best among us, make mistakes and often the key mistake that people are perfect in is when they misapply the mistake. References: Aristotle, & Hammond, N. (2001). Poetics. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum, University of Copenhagen. Print. Bowers, K. (2006). The Crucible by Arthur Miller: Literature Guide. [San Dimas, Calif.]: Secondary Solutions. Print. Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (1995). Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. (6th ed.). New York: Harper Collins College. Print. Sophocles, & Plumptre, E. (2005). Oedipus Rex: (Oedipus the King). Stilwell, KS: Digireads.com, Print. Sophocles, & Grene, D. (2010). Oedipus the King. Chicago: University of Chicago. Print. Read More