Poetics and the Great Greek Tragedy: Oedipus Rex Ruby Ahmed

The reader is told in Aristotle's Poetics that tragedy "arouses the emotions of pity and fear, wonder and awe" (The Poetics 10). To Aristotle, the best type of tragedy involves reversal of a situation, recognition from a character, and suffering. The plot has to be complex, and a normal person should fall from prosperity to misfortune due to some type of mistake. Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is a great example of a Greek tragedy. Its main plot is Oedipus' goal to find out his true identity, the result being his downfall by finding out he has married his own mother and killed his father. The three unities, noble character, and complex plot, are what make Oedipus Rex a good example of a tragedy in relation to Aristotle's Poetics.

As defined by Aristotle, the three unities are the time, place and action of the tragedy. Oedipus Rex fits the time duration that Aristotle says a good tragedy should have "for tragedy is especially limited by one period of the sun, or admits but a small variation from this period" (Poetics 10). The play takes place at one main site, the palace in Thebes, and has action that has no subplot. Throughout the play, Oedipus is trying to find out his true identity. Subsequently his...