Oedipus Rex: One of Aristotle's Ideal Tragedies

Oedipus Rex is written by Sophocles. Aristotle analyzed Oedipus Rex as a perfect example of tragedy in his work Poetics. Let's look at Oedipus Rex from Aristotle's point of view.

According to Aristotle, tragedy contains high moral values, be serious, and have a definite structure. It also shouldn't be random. Tragedy should be about noble people. For Aristotle, characters cannot be bad guys; they should belong to higher class. We can see these things perfectly at Oedipus Rex. Oedipus is a excellent king and prepared to do whatever he can do for his people.

Flaws and Characters

According to Aristotles, characters should have flaws. Oedipus has many flaws. For example, he jumps to conclusions without any evidence. He thinks Teiresias killed the king but has no proof. These flaws makes us sympathise with him.

In tragedy, the characters should be better than in real life. We see Oedipus is very clever. He has the throne because he solves the riddle of the Sphinx with his intelligence. He deserves to be the king.

Characters must align with audience expectations. It works best when caharcters are related. In Oedipus Rex, they are related, even if this is not known at the beginning. Oedipus Rex is a myth; the audience knows what happens to Oedipus, and we know much more than the characters. This dramatic irony is also crucial.

Tragedy and Action

Characters should go along with the plot. The tragedy is formed from ‘Fear’ and ‘Pity’. We sympathize with the characters and frightened for them. We pity for Oedipus because he doesn’t know what he has done. He is unaware of the situation and does the worst thing that can happen in the world. 

Tragedy is about action. The actions of the characters reveal their true nature. The plot is crucial. The plot of Oedipus Rex is well-structured. For Aristotle, the plot should begin with an incentive moment, something unusual that causes a chain reaction and affects tension. Oedipus Rex starts in the middle of events. We see there is a problem that needs to be solved. Everything is interrelated, and every scene is connected.

Aristotle's Structure of Tragedy

According to Aristotle, tragedy should also contain rising action, climax, falling action, and end resolution. The action of the play is very complex. The climax is logical and comes as a surprise to us. Each step of the play follows logically what happens before. Every kind of event has consequences and leads to another event logically. This is the unity of action which is very important for Aristotle. Oedipus has suffered from what he is done before. He blinds himself when he learns the truth.

Art and Imitation

Imitation is part of being human. When we watch an imitation of pain, we enjoy it; therefore Aristotle says that art is an imitation. In tragedy, the events should be the things that we understand and close to us. We watch it from a safe distance. We see Oedipus suffering a lot because of the knowledge that he has learned due to his curiosity. It is a complete tragedy that evokes sadness for Oedipus. He leads to his own downfall. He is symbolically blind, unable to see the reality at the beginning but in the end, it is very tragic for him.