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Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex
• First performed around 429 BC
• Won second place at the feast of Dionysus
• Cited by Aristotle in Poetics as the highest
achievement in Greek tragedy
• Setting:
– Time: unknown
– Place: in front of the
palace of Thebes,
ancient Greece
Themes
• Fate vs. free will
– Attempting to avoid one’s fate causes the prophesied
event to occur.
– Could Oedipus have chosen to act differently, and if
so, would things have happened differently?
• Sight vs. blindness
– Oedipus, who can see, is mentally “blind” to his
horrible mistake, while the blind prophet Tiresias can
see Oedipus’s actions clearly.
– Even the smartest person can make an error in
judgment.
The Sphinx’s Riddle
• What is the creature that walks on four legs in
the morning, two legs at noon, and three in
the evening?"
• Man (who crawls on all fours as an infant,
walks upright later, and needs a walking stick
in old age)
Sophocles c. 497-405 BC
• Born in Colonus and died in Athens
• From a wealthy family
• Believed to have written 123 plays,
but only 7 have survived
• Competed in around 30
competitions, won 24, and never got
lower than 2nd place
• Added a third actor to his plays and
reduced the role of the chorus
• Introduced scenes and scenery
• Portrayed greater character
development than others
Tragedy
• “Tragedy is, then, an enactment of a deed that
is important and complete, and of a certain
magnitude, by means of language enriched
with ornaments, each used separately in the
different parts of the play: it is enacted, not
merely recited, and through pity and fear it
effects relief (catharsis) to such and similar
emotions.” Aristotle, Poetics, VI 1449b 2-3
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enactment
deed that is important
complete
of a certain magnitude
language enriched with ornaments
recited
through pity and fear it effects relief
(catharsis) to such and similar emotions
Structure
• Prologue: preliminary speech introducing the
drama and background of the story
• Parodos: first song sung by the chorus
• Episodes: the main action of the play
• Stasimon: songs from the chorus that explain
or comment on the action of the play
• Exodus: the conclusion of the play
Elements of a Tragedy
• Three unities:
– action: a play should have one main action that it follows,
with no or few subplots.
– place: the action in a play should take place in only one
setting.
– time: the action in a play should take place over no more
than 24 hours.
• Main characters of noble rank
• Several of the main characters along with the tragic
hero die by the end, and order is finally restored.
• No scenes of horror onstage
Tragic hero
• The protagonist of a tragedy.
• The audience feels pity or sympathy towards him.
• Shows hubris—pride or arrogance, the
presumption that one’s mind alone can
distinguish good and evil.
• Has a tragic flaw—error in judgment.
• Experiences a reversal of fortune.
• Experiences a recognition of the error.
Examples
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Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus the King (429 BC).
Brutus in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1599).
Hamlet in Shakespeare's Hamlet (1601).
Lear in Shakespeare's King Lear (c. 1603-1606).
Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth (c. 1603-1607).
Othello in Shakespeare's Othello (1604).
Batman/Bruce Wayne from the DC Universe (1939).
Spider-Man/Peter Parker from the Marvel Universe (1962).
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in George Lucas' Star Wars (1977-2005).
William Wallace in Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995).
Walt Kowalski in Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino (2008).
Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008).
Maximus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000 film)