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Oedipus Tyrannus And Lysistrata Analysis

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In the tragic play Oedipus Tyrannus written by Sophocles, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, must uncover his own sins in order to save the city from the plague. In Lysistrata, Aristophanes takes a more comedic approach and tells a story of a band of women who defeat the political establishment by withholding sex from their husbands. While these stories may seem dissimilar from each other, both these tragic and comedic plays have problematic beginnings. Although both Oedipus Tyrannus and Lysistrata open with a problem, in a comedy the problem is minor and can be solved through the characters teamwork as opposed to in a tragedy where the problem is intolerable and cannot be fixed without causing further damage.
The characters in both comedies and tragedies face many dilemmas. The leading problem in Oedipus Tyrannus is the plague which has brought great suffering to the city of Thebes as a result of the murder of their previous king. The effect …show more content…

However, the complications presented in comedies are resolved with little sacrifice coming from the protagonist and by the end of the play everyone is united once again. In Oedipus Tyrannus, the plague can be stopped quickly, saving Thebes from undue harm, but Oedipus’s tragic flaw of pride prevents Oedipus from considering himself as the murderer, which causes the problem to only progress further. Stopping the plague is not a painless act. In order to end the plague, Oedipus must realize that he murdered his father and as a result married his mother. This realization, while able to cease the suffering of Thebes, will permanently ruin Oedipus’ name. In contrast, Lysistrata is able to stop the war promptly and smoothly while maintaining everything important to her. Unlike Oedipus, she does not have to face the problem alone and uses the power of teamwork to help her in her

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