The Inevitability of Oedipus’s Tragedy in Oedipus the King Abstract:Oedipus the King, one of the most famous masterpieces of Sophocles, is an indisputably classical tragedy in literature history, and Oedipus’ tragic fate, murdering his father and marring his mother, also has been discussed frequently by many scholars. This paper mainly explains the inevitability of Oedipus’s tragedy from three aspects: the dominant role of God in ancient Greek tragedy, the tragedy theory and the tragic flaw of Oedipus.
Key words: tragedy; fate; inevitability; Oedipus
Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, who was one of Athens’s three great tragic dramatists, is the most influential play in west culture. Many a people has discussed and analyzed it since its creating, and the most controversial point about it is the fate of Oedipus--whether it is decided by Apollo or tragic flawin Oedipus’scharacter. As far as I can see, the tragic fate of Oedipus is inevitable, which can be illustrated in the following.
God is an indispensible and dominant role in ancient Greek tragedy. It is known that the word “tragedy” means “the song of goats” in ancient Greek, which comes from the sacrificial rite of Dionysus. But why tragedy has so close relation to the sacrificial rate which is asking for rich and fertile. Simon noted that only the protagonist of the tragedy to expiate the sins of human kind as a scapegoat could make sure the God feel people’s prayer and give good weather for corps and health for people (2000). Zhu also claimed that ancient Greek tragedy is mainly about the relation between God and mankind, and if we are trying to appreciate it rationally without the background of primitive myths and the view of life of fatalism we will fail to grasp the essence of it (1989). Therefore, the destiny view is reflected by God’s
oracle, which is complex and powerful. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s s parents got an oracle from God that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. This oracle decided Oedipus’s and his family’s fate, which is unavoidable. When Laius, Oedipus natural father, got the oracle, he ordered his servant to kill his son, but Oedipus did not die, and was adopted by king Polybus ironically. More dramatically, Oedipus killed his natural father Laius and married his natural mother Jocasta when he left Corinth after knowing the oracle. All these accidents are not accidental at all but are controlled by God. Oedipus has the courage and rebellion but he is chose to be the scapegoat for human kind. You can rebel against God, but you will not win forever. Oedipus’s fate is predetermined.
As a tragedy, Oedipus is bound to be a tragic hero. Freud said in Totem and Taboo, “the hero in tragedy must suffer pains, which also constitutes the center of the tragedy. He has to undertake those tragic evils ” (1992, p.191). Kant pointed out that the greatness of ancient Greek tragedy lies in its truthful reveal of the darkest things in life (1982). As the creator of Oedipus the King, apparently Sophocles will not give Oedipus a happy ending. Just as Aristotle (1979) said, “the plot is the most important ”,Oedipus the King must have a complete plot. He also said that “the poet make up his story properly instead of depending on his own interest to make a start and an ending”. So, a tragedy needs to reflect the conflict completely and truthfully in order to get the effect of tragic art. Oedipus the King starts from a question —who murdered king Laius? For this question, Oedipus said, “For my own sake I will rid us of this corruption. Whoever killed the king may decide to kill me too, with the same
violence hand”(Jin& Zhang, 2010, p. 311). Here, “hand” reminds us of that Oedipus gorged out his eyes with hand later. In addition, the prophet Tirestas’s confession also alludes to the development of plot. He said, “Blind who now has eyes, beggar who now is rich, he will grope his way toward a foreign soil, a stick tapping before him step by step” (Jin & Zhang, 2010, p.324). All these details imply the development of tragedy, which also shows the completeness of the plot. The whole play is quite perfect and consistent. We cannot imagine whether Oedipus the King will become a classic once any plot is changed.
The tragic flaw of Oedipus is the main reason causes his tragedy. At the beginning, we see Oedipus is a savior for Thebes’s citizens, who is the only one solved sphinx’s riddle and freed people in Thebes. He is a hero, but the flaw in his character should not be ignored. He was so rude and arrogant when he talked with Tirestas, “You scum of the earth, you’d enrage a heart of stone” (Jin & Zhang, 2010, p.319). He even mocked Tirestas’s blindness, which ironically reveals Oedipus’s s blindness and ignorance. His groundless doubt of Creon also shows his irrationality and arbitrariness. Besides, his short temper is the blasting fuse of his murder of his father. Just because of a road, he killed Laius and four servants, which is quite irrational and unreasonable. The murder of his father and servants exposes the inner evil of Oedipus. Democritus noted , “We err because of the ignorance of good and morality”(Terence, 1995). It is no doubt that Oedipus is clever because he solved sphinx’s riddle, but obviously he does not understand the essence of mankind. Mark(2011) said, “The essence of human is rationality and sociality, and the good of rational animals is the harmony of society”.
Sophocles also pointed out that fate is not a concrete God but an abstract concept(Zhang, 2002). Unfortunately, what Oedipus lacks is rationality and morality. Aristotle also claimed that the suffering of Oedipus is the result of his character (1979). If he was rational, he would not have killed his father and four servants, and of course he would not have married his mother.
Ancient Greek tragedy generated during a transitional period when democratic politics was gradually forming, thus the play during that period also emphasized order and rationality (Saul, 1995). Just like his name, Oedipus not only has a bump on his feet, but also has a swelled character (Liu, 2008). If he can be rational and calm like Creon, there will not be the tragic story of killing father and marrying mother.
Oedipus’s s tragic fate is inevitable, and this is also the key and secret of Oedipus the King’s eternal charm.
References
Aristotle, O. (1979). Poetics . Beijing, China: New Arts Publishing House.
Immanuel, K. (1982). Orientalism. New York, NY: In Tage Books.
Jin, L.,& Zhang, J. (2010).Elements of literature. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Study Press. Liu, Y. (2008). Analysis of the fate of Oedipus.Journal of Mianyang Normal University. Mark, O. (2011).Meditations. Wuhan, China: Changjiang Literature and Arts Press.
Saul, B. (1995). Herzog. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Sigmund, F. (1992).Totem and taboo. Jiangsu, China: China Folk Arts Publishing House.
Simon, G. (2000).Modern critical approaches to Greek tragedy . Shanghai, China: Shanghai
Foreign Language Education Press.
Terrence, I. (1995). Plato’s ethics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Zhang, W. (2002). New research on the destiny forms in tragedy. Journal of Shandong University. Zhu, G. (1989). Aesthetics. Shanghai, China: Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House.
The Inevitability of Oedipus’s Tragedy in Oedipus the King Abstract:Oedipus the King, one of the most famous masterpieces of Sophocles, is an indisputably classical tragedy in literature history, and Oedipus’ tragic fate, murdering his father and marring his mother, also has been discussed frequently by many scholars. This paper mainly explains the inevitability of Oedipus’s tragedy from three aspects: the dominant role of God in ancient Greek tragedy, the tragedy theory and the tragic flaw of Oedipus.
Key words: tragedy; fate; inevitability; Oedipus
Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, who was one of Athens’s three great tragic dramatists, is the most influential play in west culture. Many a people has discussed and analyzed it since its creating, and the most controversial point about it is the fate of Oedipus--whether it is decided by Apollo or tragic flawin Oedipus’scharacter. As far as I can see, the tragic fate of Oedipus is inevitable, which can be illustrated in the following.
God is an indispensible and dominant role in ancient Greek tragedy. It is known that the word “tragedy” means “the song of goats” in ancient Greek, which comes from the sacrificial rite of Dionysus. But why tragedy has so close relation to the sacrificial rate which is asking for rich and fertile. Simon noted that only the protagonist of the tragedy to expiate the sins of human kind as a scapegoat could make sure the God feel people’s prayer and give good weather for corps and health for people (2000). Zhu also claimed that ancient Greek tragedy is mainly about the relation between God and mankind, and if we are trying to appreciate it rationally without the background of primitive myths and the view of life of fatalism we will fail to grasp the essence of it (1989). Therefore, the destiny view is reflected by God’s
oracle, which is complex and powerful. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s s parents got an oracle from God that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. This oracle decided Oedipus’s and his family’s fate, which is unavoidable. When Laius, Oedipus natural father, got the oracle, he ordered his servant to kill his son, but Oedipus did not die, and was adopted by king Polybus ironically. More dramatically, Oedipus killed his natural father Laius and married his natural mother Jocasta when he left Corinth after knowing the oracle. All these accidents are not accidental at all but are controlled by God. Oedipus has the courage and rebellion but he is chose to be the scapegoat for human kind. You can rebel against God, but you will not win forever. Oedipus’s fate is predetermined.
As a tragedy, Oedipus is bound to be a tragic hero. Freud said in Totem and Taboo, “the hero in tragedy must suffer pains, which also constitutes the center of the tragedy. He has to undertake those tragic evils ” (1992, p.191). Kant pointed out that the greatness of ancient Greek tragedy lies in its truthful reveal of the darkest things in life (1982). As the creator of Oedipus the King, apparently Sophocles will not give Oedipus a happy ending. Just as Aristotle (1979) said, “the plot is the most important ”,Oedipus the King must have a complete plot. He also said that “the poet make up his story properly instead of depending on his own interest to make a start and an ending”. So, a tragedy needs to reflect the conflict completely and truthfully in order to get the effect of tragic art. Oedipus the King starts from a question —who murdered king Laius? For this question, Oedipus said, “For my own sake I will rid us of this corruption. Whoever killed the king may decide to kill me too, with the same
violence hand”(Jin& Zhang, 2010, p. 311). Here, “hand” reminds us of that Oedipus gorged out his eyes with hand later. In addition, the prophet Tirestas’s confession also alludes to the development of plot. He said, “Blind who now has eyes, beggar who now is rich, he will grope his way toward a foreign soil, a stick tapping before him step by step” (Jin & Zhang, 2010, p.324). All these details imply the development of tragedy, which also shows the completeness of the plot. The whole play is quite perfect and consistent. We cannot imagine whether Oedipus the King will become a classic once any plot is changed.
The tragic flaw of Oedipus is the main reason causes his tragedy. At the beginning, we see Oedipus is a savior for Thebes’s citizens, who is the only one solved sphinx’s riddle and freed people in Thebes. He is a hero, but the flaw in his character should not be ignored. He was so rude and arrogant when he talked with Tirestas, “You scum of the earth, you’d enrage a heart of stone” (Jin & Zhang, 2010, p.319). He even mocked Tirestas’s blindness, which ironically reveals Oedipus’s s blindness and ignorance. His groundless doubt of Creon also shows his irrationality and arbitrariness. Besides, his short temper is the blasting fuse of his murder of his father. Just because of a road, he killed Laius and four servants, which is quite irrational and unreasonable. The murder of his father and servants exposes the inner evil of Oedipus. Democritus noted , “We err because of the ignorance of good and morality”(Terence, 1995). It is no doubt that Oedipus is clever because he solved sphinx’s riddle, but obviously he does not understand the essence of mankind. Mark(2011) said, “The essence of human is rationality and sociality, and the good of rational animals is the harmony of society”.
Sophocles also pointed out that fate is not a concrete God but an abstract concept(Zhang, 2002). Unfortunately, what Oedipus lacks is rationality and morality. Aristotle also claimed that the suffering of Oedipus is the result of his character (1979). If he was rational, he would not have killed his father and four servants, and of course he would not have married his mother.
Ancient Greek tragedy generated during a transitional period when democratic politics was gradually forming, thus the play during that period also emphasized order and rationality (Saul, 1995). Just like his name, Oedipus not only has a bump on his feet, but also has a swelled character (Liu, 2008). If he can be rational and calm like Creon, there will not be the tragic story of killing father and marrying mother.
Oedipus’s s tragic fate is inevitable, and this is also the key and secret of Oedipus the King’s eternal charm.
References
Aristotle, O. (1979). Poetics . Beijing, China: New Arts Publishing House.
Immanuel, K. (1982). Orientalism. New York, NY: In Tage Books.
Jin, L.,& Zhang, J. (2010).Elements of literature. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Study Press. Liu, Y. (2008). Analysis of the fate of Oedipus.Journal of Mianyang Normal University. Mark, O. (2011).Meditations. Wuhan, China: Changjiang Literature and Arts Press.
Saul, B. (1995). Herzog. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Sigmund, F. (1992).Totem and taboo. Jiangsu, China: China Folk Arts Publishing House.
Simon, G. (2000).Modern critical approaches to Greek tragedy . Shanghai, China: Shanghai
Foreign Language Education Press.
Terrence, I. (1995). Plato’s ethics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Zhang, W. (2002). New research on the destiny forms in tragedy. Journal of Shandong University. Zhu, G. (1989). Aesthetics. Shanghai, China: Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House.