Aristotle’s Ideal Tragedy in Oedipus Rex: Unity, Catharsis, and the Tragic Hero's Fall

Aristotle thought that “Oedipus Rex” was such a good example of a well-structured play and one of the best tragedies since it has everything he thinks a good play should have. For example, Aristotle says that tragedy has to be about someone who is kind of high higher type. It has to be someone important like a king, somebody that is a leader, rich and powerful, etc., and that's what we see in “Oedipus Rex” since Oedipus is a king.

Aristotle thought that the plot and the storyline were the most important things. The plot, what people do, their actions, and consequences are the most important things, and they must flow logically. There should be a connection between each event– there shouldn’t be too many other distractions from the main story. “Oedipus Rex” is a good example of that since the plot flows logically. The event that starts the story is that Thebes has the plague and Oedipus wants to solve the problem. Each step of the play follows logically. The play has the unity of action, and it's good and rational in showing things from Oedipus' point of view.

He also supported that a good story should have a turn what he calls a reversal of fortune, with that should come knowledge, and following that should be a scene of suffering, the consequences of knowledge, moreover, he also said best plays are about people closely related because tragedy works best when it concerns people who are close to each other— which is exactly what happens in “Oedipus Rex”: we see that he has to exile himself because he has been responsible for killing his father and marrying his mother without knowing. Oedipus blinds himself since he's full of shame and cannot even bear to look at other people, or himself. The consequences of knowledge are severe in the play.

Another important thing is that Aristotle says that you can have a logical plot, but if they don’t make you feel fear and pity for the characters involved, then they simply don’t work. Character goes along with the plot, so, we should care about the character, and we should feel sympathy for the character. We must be concerned and frightened for them. Therefore, a character shouldn't be a kind of bad person, because then we wouldn't feel those two things we should feel when we watch a good tragedy: pity and fear. In “Oedipus Rex”, we can’t help but feel fear and pity for Oedipus. We can sympathize with him because he's not a bad person, we get the impression that he is a good king who is willing to listen to his people and who is ready to do whatever he can to solve the problem. Tragedy stands not from any kind of evil intention. Aristotle also said that a character must have a hamartia, and it’s safe to say that Oedipus has quite a lot of flaws. One of his flaws is that he jumps to conclusions without sufficient evidence. Also, he's too curious and persistent, he just can’t let go, he has to know the truth no matter what, and that brings him his own downfall.

Another thing Aristotle supports is that the play should take place in real-time, and it doesn't need to contain any special effects. In Oedipus Rex, all the action of the play takes place within a couple of hours. Also, significant events like the killing of Laius don't happen in the play but are dramatically talked about and referred to rather than shown in the actual play. We don't see Jocasta hanging herself, or Oedipus blinding himself as well. In conclusion, all of these make “Oedipus Rex” one of the best tragedies for Aristotle.