As related earlier, catharsis aims to elicit pity and fear in order to purge such emotions from the audience. As such, the tragic hero’s punishment must not be considered entirely deserved otherwise it would be seen as justice and the cathartic effect would not take place. Instead, the punishment must be somewhat excessive so that pities the tragic hero for his misfortune as well as fears for their own lives after seeing the world is not always fair. However, in order to confirm that Oedipus’ punishment exceeds his crime, both must be identified. Oedipus’ crime is quite simply his attempt to escape his own fate.
As his definition suggests, ‘this action thus must be represented and not told to distinguished dramatic poetry from epic; but I hasten to the end or scope of tragedy, which is to rectify or purge our passions, fear and pity.’ His explanation for this concept of a drama to be a tragedy is; for the reader/ audience to evoke those elements of pity, fear and passion when watching or reading the play. In Oedipus Rex, however the play itself is a perfect example of the play that produces a tragic effect. The play greatly deepens our experience of human life and enhances our understanding of human nature. The drama produces in us feeling of pity and fear, pity for the suffering population of Thebes and fear of the future misfortune which might be the fall of the people. This being illustrated when the priest, describes the state of affairs, refers to the tide of death from which there is no escape, death in the fields, death in the pastures, death in the wombs of the women, death that caused by the plague which grips the people.
Furthermore, Nussbaum underline’s Hegel’s interpretation of the Greek tragedy and takes a more critical look at the Hegelian approach. Finally, Nussbaum draws a conclusion that conflict or tragedy occurs when we try to simplify a complex world. Nussbaum underlines the investigation of deinon and how it often has disharmonious implications which can be seen, as Nussbaum explains, within the Greek tragedy. Additionally, as previously mentioned, Nussbaum emphasizes the consequences of simplification used as a method to avoid serious conflict and also as a “criterion of rationality”. She shows in which way the protagonists use simplification in order to
Fear is evoked when there is a likeness between the characters and us. With this fear, audience would identify themselves with the characters and fear of their own fate, then, they may think deeply about the cause of such situation so it may also serve as an alert. For example, In King Lear, fear is aroused by the misfortune of characters like ourselves. The misfortune of Lear arouses our fear because he is not completely upright nor wicked, just like the most of the audience. Although he has a tragic flaw – egotism as shown in Act 1 Scene 1, he also shows his humbleness and empathy for the poor and homeless people in Act 3 Scene 4, revealing his nature is not vice nor wicked, like the audience.
Sophocles does a creative job in fulfilling his main point to get people thinking about the idea of fate or free will choice from both perspectives clearly using both sides to illustrate the outcome in Oedipus the King. The question left in a reader or play viewer's mind is did fate play a role or did the actions of those involved cause the catastrophic events by their own free will choices. The Dramatic irony used unfolds the characters’ actions that are meant to avoid their fate and ultimately cause it to
He has said that the violence is “meant to get right up in your face”. He connects this with the film by combining sympathy with violence. He purposefully wants the reader to build a bond with his characters, and then he squashes them in a pit of their own blood, as a shock factor. Some might say this is punishment of the audience, but I believe it is to to tell a realistic and believable story. In this world, not everything comes to a happy ending.
The tragedy lies not in the final destruction of the hero (many the classical tragedies end with the hero in a state of redemption) but in the impossible conflicts the hero’s particular situation serves to expose. Therefore, tragedy “allows the audience not only to confront its fears of suffering, but also to confront the half-recognized contradictions in its assumptions about truth and
Also, Aristotle claims, that «for moral excellence is concerned with pleasures and pains; it is on account of the pleasure that we do bad things, and on account of the pain that we abstain from noble ones.». In other words, the Greek philosopher tells us that sometimes people cannot control their desire and it leads to bad consequences, so Aristotle encourages us to control our vices, because it doesn 't bring us long-term happiness. (B) Before we make a distinction between moral and intellectual virtue, it is important to tell about the each type of virtue. 1) Moral virtue (as I mentioned) includes courage, temperance, self-discipline, generosity, friendliness, truthfulness, honesty and justice. The main peculiarities of this kind of virtue is : a)everything is learned by training or doing something, b) it develops the habit or a disposition and c)the moral virtue is located between the extremes of behavior(excess and deficiency) -
During the epic similes, the actions, which are mostly violent, are compared to the events that are not related to the current situation like natural ones. In Iliad, for example, you may ask what is the use of comparing Diomedes to a river or comparing Greeks’ pain to a birth scene. Although the purposes of using epic simile vary, for this two specific scene, two aim can be given; for the former, it is to make audiences realize the difference between natural and unnatural events so that they do not confuse which one is normal while for the latter, it is to relieve audiences from the sense of defeat and a foreshadowing of the end by giving hope. Humankind has a limited control over nature. We are, in some degree, vulnerable to the calamities such as volcano eruptions or tsunamis in spite of the precautions that are taken.
At the end of the play, the tragic flaw is unveiled to the tragic heroes in what is called a moment of recognition or anagnorisis. In this play “Antigone” there were two central tragic heroes, Antigone and Creon, with both similarities and differences. Antigone’s tragic flaw was relatively due to a positive quality, which is extreme loyalty to her brother in addition to another negative quality, which is being revolutionary. On the other side, Creon’s tragic flaw had a negative motive of extreme tyranny and stubbornness against the laws of nature and gods and human emotions, which caused tragic effects that could not be reversed despite his efforts at the end; consequently, Antigone and Creon’s characters meet at the point of recalcitrance. In this artistic drama, the writer delivers a significant message that utmost obstinacy and pride results in harsh punishments known as “the blows of fate” which are surely acute for anyone to