Proving the Perfect Tragedy
...pus who has discovered who he truly is, and has gouged out his own eyes. He banishes himself from the city just like he said he would do to the murderer. Aristotle also stated that a tragedy must be of a “certain magnitude.” Of course this means that there must be a seriousness of the events in a tragic story. In Oedipus the King, the entire play is serious, bringing forth incest, murder, lies, and even deceit. This also means that it should not be brief, which Oedipus is not a brief play. There are many incidents and many themes that the playwright can bring together in organic unity. The play flows together, and makes sense, bringing tragedy to Oedipus Rex. To be a true tragic hero, the main character, in our story Oedipus, the physic is to be appropriate of a warrior. Oedipus was stout, said to be very strong, and people admired him for his appearance. Characters must also be true to themselves, and consistent. Once the characters personality and motivations are established, these should continue throughout the play. Oedipus follows this by leaving Corinth to escape what the oracle told him. This making the audience believes that he is a good man, and a man that wants to do well. When he comes to a cross way he meets a man, who we know to be the King of Thebes, and he kills this man. When he reaches Thebes, he solves the riddle the sphinx told him, and that made the town happy. In results of this, Oedipus was named the King. When the plague begins on the city of Thebes, Oedipus asks the oracle why there is a plague. The oracle responds telling him that the murderer of the previous king is in the city. Oedipus tells the city that when he finds the murderer of the old King, he will banish him from the city. Once Oedipus realizes that he has married his mother, and he was the killer of the old King- his father- he stays true to his word. He saves the city by lifting the plague and removing himself from the city. Aristotle states that the end of a tragedy is katharsis. This means purgation, or cleansing of the tragic emotions of pity and fear. Purging seems to be employing a medical metaphor, that tragedy arouses the emotions of pity and fear in or...