Oedipus the King and his Importance to Religious Festivals Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Humans learn through imitating and take pleasure in looking at imitations of the perceived world† (â€Å"Aristotle†, 1998). However, Aristotle did not make distinctions between abstract art and true representation as we do today. Instead, he felt that art was a condensed version of reality, synthesizing its important elements down into a more direct form that was more readily understandable and therefore more easily learned. Keeping this concept in mind, the other elements of tragedy can be seen directly in the play Oedipus the King. The idea of excessive pride plays a monumental role in Greek tragedy appearing as hamartia and is thus the driving force for the rest of the action. It is the concept that a noble man will fall not as the result of a vengeful god or violation of the god’s laws per se, but rather as a result of some inherent flawed portion of his character that causes him to act in a specific way or make a particular mistake in judgment. In much of Greek tragedy, this tragic flaw appears in the form of an excessive pride on the part of the protagonist that renders them incapable of listening to the counsel of others or of correctly perceiving the events taking place around them. We will write a custom essay sample on Oedipus the King and his Importance to Religious Festivals or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now This behavior or mistake will be the actual cause of ruin thus illustrating that the fall of great people is not necessarily the will of the gods but are instead manifestations of the gods allowing humans to act of their own accord, for better or worse. Pride in itself, can be seen as a positive attribute, but when it is expressed in arrogance and defiance of fate and the gods, it becomes a fatal flaw that leads to a character’s downfall. Aristotle (1998) stated â€Å"the tragic hero falls into bad fortune because of some flaw in his character of the kind found in men of high reputation and good fortune such as Oedipus. † In this statement, he indicates Oedipus had a flaw that, because of his high station, would ultimately cause his demise. Oedipus, throughout his tragedy, is a protagonist driven by hamartia and this largely contributes to his own downfall. In Oedipus the King, the action opens as Oedipus is approached by plague-stricken masses asking help from him as king. When he sees his people gathered around him as if he were a god, his response to them is â€Å"What means this reek of incense everywhere, / From others, and am hither come, myself, / I Oedipus, your world-renowned king† (4-8). Although the people of Oedipus’ day did turn to their kings to cure all societal ills, Oedipus here is taking an extra step in his own opinion of himself by taking on the persona of a god.