Discovering Aristotle

Many of Aristotle’s work portray the unhappy discovering of a violent suffering

with regard to content. According to aorist the tragedy is an imitation of an action that is

serious, and filled with devastation. His definition of tragedy includes a plot, character,

through, Spectacle, and diction. These elements amount to the perfect tragedy. A perfect

tragedy has a complex plot, arouses pity and fear, has a just man, a renowned character,

and has character misfortunes. Each element supports the ingredients to Aristotle’s

“Perfect Tragedy”.

In Oedipus Aristotle creates a complex plot; this combines the reversal of fortunes

and the recognition of the truth about ones self. Oedipus is portrayed as being highly

intelligent, short of temper, and impetuous. In the plot of the story his characteristics are

used against him. Aristotle believed a perfect tragedy must reveal the true identity of a

person through their hardships.

The definition of Aristotle’s perfect tragedy also includes arousing pity and fear in

the audience from watching the struggles and losses of the hero. In Oedipus rex the hero

was Oedipus. The pity and fear in the audience came from the struggles and torment

Oedipus had to face when dealing with himself and what he did. By establishing an

emotional connection between the characters and the audience it makes the tragedy

become more accepted.

 The perfect tragedy according to Aristotle must also have a just man; this means

that the hero of the story must be more good than bad. Though Oedipus committed a

treacherous act by killing is father and marrying his mother. The personality of his

character out weighed his faults. Oedipus was intelligent and likeable by the reader.

Having a renowned character is another part of creating a perfect tragedy

according to Aristotle. A renowned character is one who has the quality of being widely

honored. In Oedipus rex, Oedipus is the renowned character, because he is a good king

he is honored by many. Aristotle theories of tragedy are based on key elements. By

having a renowned character it makes the tragedy of the character more devastating.

The last element to Aristotle’s perfect tragedy is that each story has a character’s

misfortune brought about by some error. Oedipus misfortune was brought about by his

error to dis-believe the blind prophet. This in turn ultimately brought him suffering and

misfortune.