Mr. Flynn Ap Lit and Composition 10/12/10 Death and heartbreak‚ both two very tragic things that could happen in your life‚ but what makes these things tragic? According to Aristotle there are many elements to a tragic tale. Oedipus Rex lives up to all of them. The reader knows how serious Oedipus’s actions are‚ how complete they are‚ and how high his fall is. A tragedy by definition is a drama which imitates an important and casually related series of events in the
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Oedipus Rex Essay In the play Oedipus Rex‚ there many things that the author‚ Sophocles‚ used to make it such an interesting and great play. Three of the things I am going to discuss about the play are what made Oedipus a tragic hero‚ how it is paradoxical that Tiresias is a blind seer‚ and two incidences of dramatic irony. The first thing that is going to be covered is how Oedipus Rex was a tragic hero. We can conclude this because on multiple occasions he made the audience feel pity and
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characters or to the audience. The tragedy ’Oedipus Rex’ is filled with dramatic suspense which is largely due to the effective use of dramatic irony by Sophocles. Except for Teiresias‚ all the characters in the play such as Oedipus‚ Iokastȇ‚ Creon‚ the messenger and the chorus know nothing about the proceedings of the story‚ so their speeches contain dramatic irony. Most dramatic ironies are found in the speeches of Oedipus. Almost every word uttered by Oedipus from the exposition of the play to the
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chance. Major religions such as: Christianity and Muslims believe their deity predestines the outcome of their life. According to their Bible or Koran and their belief system they think their deity has total control over their life. In the story of Oedipus‚ he grows up in Greek culture where the people of Greece believe in Greek Gods‚ -- now known as Greek mythology—through this they believe higher power such as the Greek Gods: Zeus‚ Poseidon and Athena who communicate with an Oracle (priest) who is
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Oedipus; The Tragic Hero In the Fourth Century BC‚ a famous philosopher named Aristotle wrote about the qualities that a tragic hero must possess. Ever since that time‚ there have been many examples of tragic heroes in literature. None of those characters‚ however‚ display the tragic hero traits quite as well as Oedipus‚ the main character from the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is‚ without a doubt‚ the absolute quintessence of a tragic hero. His example shines as clear as a sunny summer
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Another flaw of Oedipus that leads to his self-destruction is his excessive self-pride. He made it his mission to find the killer of Laius in order to end the misery that the plague in Thebes caused. He was sure of himself that he will save the land‚ ironically not realizing that he is the one at fault. He sees himself as being all mighty since he presumably escaped his fate. He was able to save Thebes from the Sphinx so he thinks history can repeat itself and he can be a hero ones again for his
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found and several times reproduced in different cultures with different structures. This is a never ending fight between reason and feelings. In order to clarify my point of view I will use some examples from the play Oedipus The King: A) The intelligence and wisdom of Oedipus I think‚ is the representation of our desire to control things according to our own schemes‚ we have to be in control of everything that we are capable of‚ we neglect our subconscious that in this case is the prophecy and
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According to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy‚ the famous play “Oedipus the king” by Sophocles fit all of qualifications. Oedipus is a tragic hero since his particular characteristic is king. In another play “Fences” by August Wilson‚ the main character Troy Maxson‚ is different with Oedipus. He is not a tragic hero of Aristotle’s concept‚ but he is a modern tragic. Oedipus was definitely a tragic hero‚ but Troy is not matching it. Following the Aristotle’s definition of tragic hero:
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completely different fields will be put side by side to compare their own tragic flaws. On one hand‚ Sophocles’ Oedipus is proud‚ arrogant and persistent; while on the other hand‚ Eliot’s Prufrock is self conscious‚ insecure‚ and indecisive. While the two characters are complete polar opposites‚ they also share a devastating similarity: they are paranoid and in fear of their own fate. Oedipus’ personality is clearly conveyed as having excessive pride and determination throughout the play. He first
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professional actors (Bloom‚ 45). He let the chorus converse with the characters‚ introduced elaborate costumes and stage designs. Two of Aeschylus’ plays‚ Oresteia and Prometheus Bound‚ illustrate the importance of Chorus and the characteristic concept of "hubris"‚ or excessive pride‚ focusing on man’s social and political consequences in the universe in relation to the Greek gods. Aeschylus was a native of Eleusis‚ a Greek town near Athens. The year of his birth was 525 B.C. He was the first of the great
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