Class No.

43 March 7, 2016
2LIT1
Grecian tragedies are some of, if not the best, tragedies that have survived through time. This is
because Greek tragedies always contain the right amount of impact its audiences need to ignite the right
kind of feeling, that is, pity and terror. This impact is better called as magnitude. It is basically a
characteristic of the plot, however, it can be applied to the tragedy itself, as it also involves character
reversal and recognition, quality of action, and the singularity, plausibility, and universality of the play.
These are according to the standards of a good tragedy set by Aristotle in his Poetics. Other criteria have
also been presented concerning especially the structure. A famous Grecian tragedy entitled Oedipus Rex by
Sophocles may be the best example of a good tragedy. It revolves around Oedipus, King of Thebes, who
turns out to be the killer of his father, the husband of his mother, and the brother of his children. Oedipus
Rex clearly portrays the ideals of a good tragedythe magnitude effected by the play itself, and the passing
of all the other standards set by Aristotle.

In good tragedies, the impact or magnitude of the play is achieved through several factors, one is
that it should be of complex plot that lasts within a day. This is true with Oedipus. A complex plot involves
the peripeteia (reversal) and anagnorisis (recognition) of the characters. Oedipus experienced both, at the
same time, which made the greatest impact possible. The Oedipus started off with Oedipus as the King of
Thebes, where he is deemed to be the greatest man truly confident of himself, adored and praised highly
by his people. He experiences peripeteia through the Messenger's reversal of intention. The Messenger
intends to bring good news for Oedipus that Polybus is not his father and that he is to be the King of
Corinth, however, instead of the good effect, this knowledge brings Oedipus the truth of what to be the
greatest misfortune of men, that he is the killer of his own father and the husband of his own mother. He
gauges his eyes out and proclaims repeatedly to be excluded from Thebes. Hence the highly positioned
character of Oedipus is then reversed as well. Meanwhile, Oedipus also experiences anagnorisis, when he
learns the truth that Polybus and Merope are not his biological parents, and that he ignorantly killed his
real father and married his mother. Another factor that contributes to the great magnitude of a good
tragedy is that it should be universal, unified, and plausible. A good tragedy should be one size fits all. It
should make its every audience feel, relate, and connect to the play itself as it must be a representation of
life. Oedipus, for example, employs universality as it tackles the limits of free will, that ignorance is truly a
bliss, and several other themes. As for unified, it refers to the Aristotelian classical unities, namely the unity
of time, of place, and of action. Oedipus passes all three unities as it happens within a day, only on Thebes,
and its plot is a series of cause and effect. As tragic as it may seem, its plot is still plausible. Perhaps not
exactly like Oedipus' tragedy, but the same magnitude definitely happens in real life. The magnitude of a
tragedy is also measured by being so pitiable and terrifying enough for catharsis. In context, catharsis is
the purgation after an emotional release of pity and terror. This was manifested in the Oedipus when the
audience takes pity on Oedipus great misfortune, and terror on how he suffers. Aristotles basis for
catharsis can be found on the Book X of The Republic by Plato. Plato's argument was that people should not
waste their time feeling; that emotions are a form of distraction and that it removes us from reality. He was
against emotion for art.

Consequently, Oedipus Rex, when viewed through the standards set by Aristotle, is undoubtedly a
good tragedy, for it encompasses all his criteria on what constitutes one, and that no matter how rational
or practical Plato's arguments about art may be, they are completely unacceptable, for art is and should
always be a form of expression, and thus emotions are always involved.