Adis Terzic
Mrs. Cartier
Honors English II
10/25/12
Oedipus Rex as a Greek Tragedy
Greek plays arose from dances and choral hymns performed in honor of the gods. Greek
theatre flourished under the rule of Pericles, and there were even three-week long festivals set
aside for Greek plays; the plays were huge events with big audiences and eccentric masks, and
theater was so important it was a citizens’ civic duty to perform in a Greek play. Sophocles’
Oedipus Rex is a prime example of a Greek tragedy, a certain and popular type of Greek play
back then. Aristotle penned the definition of a Greek tragedy; he said that a Greek tragedy needs
a great hero of nobility, who isn’t perfect, with which the audience can relate to. The hero must
have a tragic flaw, which leads to his tragic downfall, and the hero must learn something or be
humbled from his tragic flaw; with the audience feeling sympathy not sadness at the end of the
play for the hero. The plot of the tragedy needs to be centered around one single action, and
suffering must be a big factor in the play. In Oedipus Rex Oedipus leaves his hometown in fear
of the Delphic oracle prophesizing he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus arrives
at Thebes and solves the riddle of the Sphinx, to stop the Sphinx from terrorizing Thebes, and
becomes king of Thebes. Oedipus is faced with a huge plague within the town, and needs to find
whoever killed the previous king, Laius. Oedipus finds out Laius was his father and that he
actually killed his father and married his mother, Jocasta, and exiles himself to lift the plague.
Oedipus is a man of nobility, a king who is thought of as a hero, since he saved the city
from the Sphinx. He was crowned king after Laius’ death. The Priest, who represents the people,
needs Oedipus’s help with the plague. “Great Oedipus, O powerful King of Thebes!”(Pro.16).
All people in the city respect Oedipus. He is held highly in the eyes of all the citizens, he is the
king, and a hero throughout the city who wants the best for Thebes. The citizens believe he can
help them and rid Thebes of the plague. Oedipus, though, has a tragic flaw that in turn leads to
his downfall; Jocasta is angered with it the most. “For God’s love, let us have no more
questioning!/ Is your life nothing to you?”(3.1004-1005). Oedipus is much too determined to
find his identity. Jocasta is pleading for Oedipus to relax, and not be all riled up over something
that may not be true. Laius may not even be Oedipus’ father. If Oedipus only knew, he wouldn’t
be so determined to find out the horrible truth. If Oedipus was satisfied with what he perceived to
be the truth, then there wouldn’t have been any problems, but he strived for the truth.
Oedipus’ determination leads to Oedipus’ tragic downfall. With him determined to
discover his true identity, Oedipus uncovers a horrible truth. “O Light, may I look on you for the
last time!/ I, Oedipus,/ Oedipus damned in his birth, in his marriage damned,/ Damned in the
blood he shed with his own hand!”(4.1121-1124). Oedipus finds out that the prophecy was true
all along; Oedipus killed Laius who was his father, and married his mother Jocasta. Polybus was
never his actual father. When trying to avoid the prophecy, Oedipus ironically runs right into it.
If Oedipus listened to Jocasta and didn’t worry about his true identity, he wouldn’t uncover the
actual truth. Also if Oedipus respected his wife and her demands he could’ve avoided everything.
His downfall was due to his pride and arrogance he presented all throughout the story.
Oedipus then goes through a humbling phase, and is humbled and enlightened. “For the
King ripped from her gown the golden brooches/… plunged them down/ Straight into his own
eyes”.(Ex.1219-1221). Oedipus blinds himself due to all the atrocity. He wouldn’t want to see
anything, all was horrible and he lived his life in atrocity. Then Oedipus exiles himself to lift the
plague from Thebes. He does what’s best for the people of Thebes, as he rids the city of the
plague. It seems as if he is wiser and intelligent. He sees the world in a different way and it
seems as if he won’t jump the gun anymore; he has become much more humble. Also Oedipus
has matured, and wanted to make sure with Creon that his daughters end up becoming good
women, and that Creon cares for them as if they were his own.
The plot of Oedipus Rex follows that of what Aristotle defines a tragedy. Oedipus’s
recognition and reversal are mentioned in the above part of the essay; when Oedipus recognized
he was the killer of Laius and then blinded and exiled himself, changing his fortune from that of
a king to an exile. The plot includes great amounts of suffering; I mean Oedipus’ life is pretty
horrific. “…is there a man more agonized? / More wed to pain and frenzy? /Not a man on earth, /
the joy of your life ground down to nothing/ O Oedipus, name for the ages—” (Ex.1331-1334).
Oedipus’s fate turned drastically and dramatically; others even talk of what a pity Oedipus life
turned to. He kills his father, marries and has children with his mother, and then his mother kills
herself, and Oedipus in turn blinds and exiles himself. He was looked down on by everyone, and
had the lowliest status in Thebes. Also Oedipus Rex is structured around one central action,
Oedipus trying to find who his real father was. The plot uses a strict cause-and-effect chain
throughout the story to keep it moving and keep it unified. Oedipus never stays off course, he
tries to find Laius’ killer, and the evidence keeps pointing to Oedipus, and his actions in the past.
Oedipus begins to recognize some of it and pushes for the truth until he finds it, and then exiles
himself to rid Thebes of the plague.
Oedipus’ journey for identity ended sourly. He helped his city by exiling himself and
showed his maturity, lifting the plague from Thebes. His characteristics matched that of a tragic
hero, including being a man of nobility, with a tragic flaw and downfall. Oedipus Rex matched
the aspects of a Greek tragedy, plot-wise, with the pathos (suffering), and that it was centered
around one single action. Also the plot was complex, with the reversal (downfall of Oedipus) and
the recognition (humbling of Oedipus). Through all this, Oedipus Rex works greatly as a Greek
tragedy, and is one of the best.