Aristotle’s Ideas of Tragedy: Oedipus the King
... four main qualities that would make them suitable for Aristotle’s definition of a good tragic character. The first is no matter what their status is, whether they are a hero or a slave, they must some how show qualities of being a good moral character. In Oedipus the King, our main character Oedipus show qualities of being a good king, a good husband, but most of all, a truly moral person despite the prophecies that have haunted his past, present and future. Second, the character must exhibit dedication to their station in life. They must play the role well to which is set out for them by the writer. Oedipus’ role is of the king of Thebes. There are many circumstances throughout the play that show him act as a king stereotypically should. When he is accused by the prophet Tiresias and by Creon, he immediately throws insults and brings to their attention that they are addressing a king, not a common man. In the beginning of the play, when he is speaking with the Priest of Zeus regarding the plague that has spread over Thebes, the Priest acknowledges Oedipus as the king and in return, Oedipus speaks to him about himself as a king would. He is humbled somewhat to his people and assumes responsibility for the plague as a king should. Third, the character must have believable personalities. Oedipus proves to the audience that he does have these personalities. He show guilt and compassion when Thebes is at a downfall because of the plague, he is truly offended when Tiresias accuses him of conspiracy against the throne, angry when Creon accuses him of murder, true remorse when Jocasta commits suicide, and shame upon himself when he learns his true identity. Last, the character must show consistency with his/hers actions throughout the play. They must never be out of character in anyway. Given every situation handed to Oedipus, he has always been consistent with his actions. He never once broke the character of a king. When he learned of truth of the prophecy, he became humble and made it his personal responsibility to banish himself from the kingdom of Thebes. Oedipus’ character is what made this play so successful in Aristotle’s eyes as Oedipus was always consistent with the four qualities that makes defines the true character of a excellent Greek tragedy. Of the six main elements of a tragedy defined by Aristotle, four are seemingly less important. These four are diction, melody, thought and spectacle. Though they are less important, without them, a Greek tragedy would not be successful in Aristotle’s eyes. Through thought, it is important for the character to say what must be said at the time. In Oedipus’ case, he did not always say what needed to be said. There are many times throughout the play when Oedipus’ words did not make sense to the audience. He was merely trying to ignore what was in front of him. The evidence of the situation was there at handed, during the scene with Oedipus and Tiresias and even the scene between Oedipus and the shepherd from Corinth, yet was returned with ignorant insults and wrongful accusations. This may be somewhat of a flaw in this play that may partially divide it from truly being Aristotle’s ideal tragedy. However, diction throughout this play is proven to be very successful. Unlike thought where the focus is on what is said, diction relies on how something is said, and the power behind what is said. Though there are many circumstances where what Oedipus says to other characters throughout this play makes no sense, how he says things makes what he says perfect sense. It is important to know that to determine how diction is successful ...