Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

1. Oedipus Rexby Sophocles “O God! It has all come true. Light, let this be the last time I see you.”

2. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy • Tragedy: a literary genre of drama in which the character(s) suffer. Why do we enjoy, in some sense, watching tragedies – that is, watching people suffer?

3. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy • Plato’s Challenge(The Republic): • Why are representations of people suffering a “pleasurable experience”? • Aristotle answered Plato’s challenge in his literary theory, Poetics

4. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy • Aristotle’s definition of tragedy: • A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious…a dramatic, not a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear…to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. (Poetics 1449b.24)

5. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy • “…the imitation of an action that is serious” = art involves imitation • What does art imitate? "not of persons, but of action and life, of happiness and misery" (Poetics 1451b)

6. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy Aristotle’s 6 Rules of Tragedy: • Catharsis • Dramatic Unities • Hamartia • Hubris • Recognition • Reversal

7. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy CATHARSIS • Aristotle’s most influential point in his rules (yet, ironically, his smallest – it only took up a few lines in his theory) was the idea of CATHARSIS. • Catharsis: purging of the emotions “through pity and fear.” • Tragedies gave the audience a feeling of catharsis – he believed this to be good for the human soul.

8. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy DRAMATIC UNITIES • Time: over how much time does the play take place? • Place: where the action of the play takes place • Action: usually focuses on one hero and one plot

9. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy HAMARTIA • a “tragic flaw,” though many modernists now refer to it as an “error” or “mistake”. Hamartia leads to a hero’s tragic downfall.

10. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy HUBRIS • exaggerated pride or self-confidence (before the gods). Main reason for hubris: “As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority greater.”

11. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy RECOGNITION (peripetia) • the hero realizes the catastrophe at hand and it is at this point that his/her flaw must be recognized and accepted, along with his/her “death.” REVERSAL(anagnorisis) • occurs when the opposite of what the hero intends is what happens.

12. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy • Tragic Hero - character in the story that has a fatal flaw (hamartia). Qualities of a Tragic Hero • A noble birth/special wisdom bestowed upon them from birth • Hamartia • Recognition • Reversal

13. Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy • Six elements of a tragic drama: • Plot – goes hand in hand with Character; "In a play, they do not act in order to portray the characters; they include the characters for the sake of the action" (Poetics 1450a.20). • Character – action must be consistent with character. • Diction – the style of language • Thought – indication through words (or other means) of what characters are thinking • Spectacle – staging, lighting, sets, costumes • Melody – style of text/lyrics/music