Oedipus Rex is a very
significant play for the description of emotional impact of tragedy. In the
words of Aristotle, “the main
purpose of tragedy is to evoke the feelings of pity and fear among audience.”
There is no doubt that the story
of the fall of Oedipus Rex is full of pity and terror. The fate of Oedipus Rex
who always wished for the welfare of the people inspires us with awe. We also
wonder at mystery of human life in which one may suffer even with the best of
intentions. We also get a feeling that fate is inexorable and no one can escape
its decrees. The same idea is depicted by Sophocles in his Oedipus Rex through
the characters of Jocaste and Oedipus, both of them try to evade the
predictions of oracles. For a time, it seems to them that they have succeeded
but in time they are sadly disillusioned. As Aristotle mentions:
“Oedipus is great not in the virtue of his worldly position for his
worldly position is an illusion which will vanish like a dream but in the
virtue of inner strength.”
We also wonder at the fact that
even kindness and compassion sometimes create a very cruel effect. The same
kindness is shown by the Theban shepherd to the infant who was given to him to
destroy. As Theban shepherd states:
“I pitied the baby, my king!
And I thought that this man would take him far away.
To his own country.
He saved him but for what a fate.
For it you are what this man says you are
No man living is more wretched that Oedipus”.
The play arouses a deep sense of
pity for Oedipus and it also inspires a feeling of terror at his sufferings
which seems to the reader to be largely underserved.
There are many things in the play that create a deep sense of strong pity. The Priest of Zeus gives us a vivid description of the sufferings of poor Thebans.
“You too have seen out city’s afflictions caught
In a tide of death from which there is no escaping:
Death is fruitful flowering of our soil.”
Chorus too describes the
miserable condition of poor Thebans. He appeals to gods to take pity on them.
“O gods, Descend like three streams leap against
The fires of grief, the fires of darkness
Be swift to bring us rest”
The sufferings of Jocaste and
Oedipus also create terror in our hearts. Oedipus has been searching for the
truth about the identity of Laius’ murderer as well as his own true identity
but knowledge brings nothing but dismay and sufferings. Oedipus then makes
sorrowful proclamation which creates terror in our hearts.
“Alas!
All is out! All known, no more concealment!
O light may I never look on you again!
Revealed as I am sinful in my begetting
Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood.”
The tragedy of Oedipus Rex
resembles that of King Lear for his misfortune, like Lear, seems largely
undeserved. He has faults like rashness of temper and pride. He makes error of judgments
but Sophocles does not present him as a guilty man. The slaying of his father
was done in ambiguous circumstances and in ignorance of Laius’ identity. Nor
does he know that Jocaste was his mother when he married her. The play presents
mystery of undeserved suffering which is one of the chief attractions of the
play Oedipus Rex.
We may sum up the above
discussion in the words of Aristotle, who declares Oedipus Rex as one of the
three best tragedies of his time,
“The plot of Oedipus Rex satisfies all the requirements of an ideal
tragic plot in a very nice way.”