Greek Tragedy Essay

stratagem and literature has constituteed through and through and throughout time to catch up with and express cultural values, ideals and perceptions. It frequently portrays the forces that jabbing ones particular ending onward, mentally stimulating and expanding case-by-case theme and thought. In ancient classic culture, artistry and Literature is combined in a fashion that represented all of these things to its bulk. This combination is what we know as ancient classical Theater, an art of dramatic play and song, with the structure of communicate portions interlaced with choral lyrics, all come to with mans depute.1 classic disaster is credited to subscribe to veritable about 534 B. C when the Greek Thespis executed drama in which a of import musician conversed with the adopter of the chorus (this is where the term pseud originated, it has been used to describe an fraud since the early 19th century). 2 Aeschylus, the first of the striking 3 sad poets, added a minute of arc actor to his plays and had a chorus of approximately 12. Sophocles, the second of the great poets, added the third actor and increased the chorus to 15 members.Sophocles is considered to determine Greek cataclysm, with Aeschylus marking the preparation and Eudripidies the decline. 3 These plays where preformed at Festivals in open-air theaters in which poets competed for prizes. It is widely recognised that these festivals where religious, and honored the Greek god Dionysius ( divinity of Wine). All plays where developed around well-kn have ancient Greek myth, it was the Poets calling to develop character and deepen plot. apiece festival included 3 tragic poets to present a tetrology.(A group of 4 plays) which consisted of 3 tragedies and one satyr. 4 separately play would include e genuinelywhere from deuce to four actors, and an assembly of 12-15 choral members. It was separately actors responsibility to flourish the plot through speech, however the y where alike creditworthy for singing solos. The chorus was an all- beta(a) tool in Greek cataclysm as they commented on each expression and proposed subtleties to the audience, their song also heightened the emotion and cash machine of the play. 5 Aristotles Poetics is considered the most expensive source of guidance for Greek catastrophe.Aristotle defines cataclysm as a drama which have-to doe with better than average people ( belligerents, kings, gods) who vex a transition from undecomposed case to bad fortune and who speak in an elevated language. 6 It is also outlined as a literary account written to be preformed by actors in which a central character, cal direct the tragic recall dose or mavin, suffers m whatsoever serious contingency which is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected with the gunslingers actions. 7 The crampfish is often host to some tragic smirch (hermatia) for which he himself is responsible, and which leads to his stock-stilltual(prenominal) downfall.However, Aristotle describes this tragic disfigurement to lead to a mistake in which the Protagonist is non aware. The hired guns destruction is often payable to his self-ignorance. It is important to show what Aristotle believes is the function for Greek calamity in purchase arrange to completely understand some of its main aspects. In Aristotles opinion, one of the label of great tragedy is its ability to create a Cartharsis, the act of oppress the spirit of fear and pity. 8 through creating a complex protagonist, a character who is giben as a great man, or bomber, the audience in turn creates obeisance.Through this characters tragic flaw, and ignorance to his actions, the audience is drawn and starts to pitty the fighter. The audience imagines themselves in the heros situation, and although they know the outcome of the theme (as all Greek tragedy is bases on well-know Greek myth) they suspensefuly await the heros reaction to his fate. So this purging allows the audience to shed excess fear, new their conscience so that it can exist in a healthy balance. Aristotle theorized that tragedy is radixed in the fundamental order of the universe.9 disaster is a worse case scenario, which describes the doable printings of aboveboard probability. It creates a cause-and-effect chain in which any individual can envision themselves as part of. We can now understand the importance of certain aspects of the tragic heros character and his responsibility to countenance the plot. A hero, in the Greek sense, is a man who by his extraordinary public life has pushed back the horizons of what is possible for humanity and is therefore deemed worthy of commendation after his death. 10 As we know, this hero is non flawless.However, it is important to realise that in what Aristotle values as good tragedy, these flaws often contri alonee to the very virtues which allow our protagonist to become a hero in the first place. In other words, tragic irony is implicated, and it is the resembling incidents and qualities of a man which catapult him to hero stature as those which drag him down. Tragedy is concerned with the fate of big men. 11 Aristotle believed that Sophocles, Oedipus Rex was the perfect tragedy. Why was Oedipus Rex in effect the perfect tragic hero? Oedipus was a great man and King of Thebes.He was self righteous, hasty and suspicious of his friends, unless we also see that if it where not for these qualities Oedipus would not have continued with his inquiries. His heroic constitution is magnified in his persistence for the faithfulness despite the fact that it became kind of self-evident that gaining further friendship would end in disaster and self-destruction. 12 Peripeteia is when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce. 13Aristotle firmly believed that all good tragedy proposed some peripeteia in spite of appearance its plot. This is perfe ctly represented within Oedipus Rex. Oedipus promises his people that he will find the root of the plague that gripped his kingdom. In ancient Greek times, it was believed that illness and plague where signs from the gods that they where upset or a crime once against their godly standards had been committed. So as any noble hero would do, Oedipus sets out on a signal for this knowledge. He soon discovers that the murder of Thebes prior king, Laius, is the root off his urban centers pollution. He vows to discover the manslayer, and sets the punishment of death or banishment to w officever was ap transmit guilty. This was his intention.We can also see again that Oedipus is a noble hero, as he is a king and he is automatic to go to any ends for his people. These traits would have invoked feelings of respect in the minds of the audience. As Oedipus discovers more information, he draws nearer to the conclusion that it is possible that through self-blindness and ignorance, Oedipus himself is the likely murderer of Laius. Through this footfall in the play we see that again Oedipus carries the qualities of a tragic hero his murdering of Laius was due to his self-arrogance and lack of knowledge that the man who he was killing was of high status.This murder was and then due to Oedipuss tragic flaw of Hubris (arrogant disregard for the rights of others, or controlling pride or presumption 14) scarce he was unaware of the consequences and the murder was quite spontaneous. Oedipus continues to search for the truth despite his possible self-guilt, as he states that he mustinessiness be sure that he is and so Leuiss murderer. This, according to human standards, Oedipus not only behaved well in this situation, but he is known to have insist the dignity of manhood. Alas, more investigation does lead to his definite guilt, and also leads to what is known as an Agagnorisis, or a change from ignorance to knowledge. 15 Oedipus had not been born heir to the passel of Thebes. After learning of a forecasting that he would one-day murder his father and link up his spawn, he ran a focus from his parents to flee this fate. He had arrived in Thebes just after the time of Laiuss death. A sphinx was afflicting the city at the time, and he defeated it, there-for winning the grasp of the Thebans and stealing the heart of newly widow queen, Jocasta.Their marriage was nearly instant, and they lived in gaiety for some years and produced a outcome of children. So it was at this agagnorisis when Oedipus learnt that he had been adopted, and that Laius had been his father, and Jocasta his spawn. They had throw away him apon a hill after auditory sense the very same prophocy, hoping they too could escape their fate. This unraveling of the plot is called the lusis. 16 This is where the Peripeteia is for filled. Although Oedipus had unceasingly intended to catch and punish the murderer of Leius, he in no way intended that it would be himself who was responsible.This is also juiceless in the sense that twice he had unknowingly set the path for his own destruction. Another form of Greek tragedy is the decision that the tragic hero must face once he has reached his agagnorisis. 17 Oedipus had a choice, to continue to live in sin with his mother/wife and aid the slow destruction of Thebes, or to uphold the little dignity he had left field, ultimately accept his fate and finalize the promises he made to his people. Oedipus chooses to do what any hero would do, accept responsibility for his actions and punish himself as he promised to do in the reservoir of the play.The knowledge of his sin against his father and mother causes him to blind himself, as he could not bear to look upon the world any hourlong. This fact again adds irony to the story, as when Oedipus was able to see physically, he was inactive blind to his past and the consequences of his actions. Through his blinding, he was self-knowing, and he had for the first t ime accepted his fate. He left Thebes as a blind beggar. Although in some reckon Oedipus is now seen as no longer a hero, the audience would have value his final decisions, and in some way he had corrected his moral flaw through his self-punishment.We can now unbelief the belief of fate and pre-determination. Greek tragedy did indeed deal with the role of the gods in mortal life and to the extend that mortals controlled their actions. Oedipus was responsible for his deeds, as it was by no mishap that Laius died, and Oedipus did have a tragic flaw, which led to this murder. But we can also demonstrate the fact that a prophecy existed which primed(p) out the steps that Oedipus would take through out his life. If it where not for Oedipuss knowledge of this prophecy, would he have ever left his home in Corinth, would he have ever murdered Laius, and married his mother?Or we can look even further into Oedipuss past if Jocasta and Leius had not known of this prophecy, they would nev er had abandoned Oedipus, and perhaps he would never had committed the sins which it seems he was destined to commit. So again we see a cause and effect chain, knowledge leading to ignorance, ignorance in turn leading to knowledge, blindness to sight, sight to blindness. It is also argued that it was the individuals attempt to escape their fate which was the true crime against the gods.It is at this point we can see how the Cultural Revolution, known as The Greek Enlightenment, complete these dramas. It was from this new atmosphere of unbelieving and individualism in which man started to inquire the meaning of life beyond the restraints of God rules man. And not only did Greek tragedy come to question the gods, it also questioned what it meant to be human.18 1 The fatten out Plays of Sophocles. 2 http//www. stemnet. nf. ca/hblake/tragedy1. hypertext mark-up language 3 http//www. classics. cam. ac. uk/ capacity/tragedy. hypertext markup language 4 www.depthame. brooklyn. cuny . edu 5 15 Greek Plays 6 The Complete Plays of Sophocles 7 www. depthame. brooklyn. cuny. edu 8 9 www. cnr. edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics. html 10 The Complete Plays of Sophocles. 11 The Complete Plays of Sophocles 12 The Complete Plays of Sophocles 13 www. depthame. brooklyn. cuny. edu 12 American Heritage dictionary 15 www. cnr. edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics. html 16 www. cnr. edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics. html 17 http//www. stemnet. nf. ca/hblake/tragedy1. html 18 http//www. stemnet. nf. ca/hblake/tragedy1. html.