Eventually, after many years of wandering the land as a blind beggar, Oedipus attains sort of a saintly stature in the eyes of his fellow Greeks. Since the drama “shows how a good person confronts adversity, it elicits a cleansing … through emotions of fear and pity” (Freeland, p 32). The ability for such an unavoidable mistake to cause such catastrophe is meant to illustrate the frailty of the human life. Through a sequence of coincidences and unforeseeable events Oedipus is reduced to a pitiful end because he committed a horrible deed without knowing it. It has a worthy main character and a complicated plot.

Meanwhile Oedipus gouges out his eyes and banishes himself from Thebes, destined to become a wandering beggar.įor Aristotle, Oedipus the King is the perfect tragedy. Then one day a soothsayer reveals to them the truth of their situation and Jocasta commits suicide. He rules well and he and Jocasta end up having four children together. Not knowing what he has done he continues on to Thebes and eventually ends up marrying Queen Jocasta and becoming the king. At an intersection in the road he gets into a scuffle with a group from Thebes and ends up killing King Laius who was traveling in disguise. Not believing that he was truly adopted Oedipus leaves Corinth so as to avoid killing who he thinks is his father and marrying who he thinks is his mother. Instead the oracle tells him the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. One day when Oedipus is grown he learns that he has been adopted and goes to an oracle in search of answers. The shepherd takes Oedipus to the town of Corinth where he is adopted by the king and queen. Petrified the king and queen abandon their son to die in the wilderness, but he is picked up and cared for by a shepherd. Upon the birth of their son, Oedipus, an oracle proclaims that he will kill his father and marry his mother. The play begins with the Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes. Aristotle’s favorite tragedy was Oedipus the King by Sophocles.

Oedipus the king by sophocles