Oedipus the King

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once identified the key ingredients of the tragedies that his culture is so famous for. These ingredients include a acknowledg handst with a disastrous shift, the credit of the fault for a particular problem and the final sudden turn near of fortune. For many tragedies, the fatal flaw is demonstrated as excessive fleece, which unremarkably serves as the impetuous force of the plays achievement.It is common, even beneficial, to ease up pride in oneself, but when it becomes expressed as arrogance or in defiance of ones fate, it is considered excessive and often leads manpower to engage in activities that will lead to their d sufferfall. Aristotle (1998) stated the tragic sensation falls into bad fortune because of some flaw in his character of the kind strand in men of high reputation and soundly fortune such as Oedipus. This attitude, commonly found in men of high station is non specifically identified as pride in the case of Oed ipus and, indeed, different readings can place Oedipus great flaw in a number of areas.It seems as if Sophocles intended to emphasize the more common interpretation of Oedipus flaw macrocosm excessive pride, but separate interpretations, such as Pier Paolo Pasolinis 1967 consider Oedipus Rex, present new(prenominal) possibilities as the main character is brought through with(predicate) the three primary elements of tragedy. In both the play and the film, Oedipus is quickly demonstrated to have a fatal flaw. In the play, the action opens as Oedipus is approached by plague-stricken masses as magnate do from him as king.He responds to their appeals saying, What means this reek of incense everywhere, / From others, and am hither come, myself, / I Oedipus, your world-renowned king (4-8). In this statement, Oedipus pride in his social bunk is clear. In the film, though, he is seen as somewhat insecure, even as a child when he cheats at a game, and and so as a haunted man with a burning mystery searing his dreams, both presentation him to be a man of deep passions. Throughout the remainder of the action in the play, Oedipus personality clearly reflects excessive pride in his ability to force things his way.When Oedipus learned of the prediction that he was objurgateed to kill his puzzle and marry his mother, he was full of self-pride to defy the fates and leave Corinth. The film depicts this as a heart-wrenching decision to never go near his parents once more in order to save them followed by a time of dread(a) wandering through barren wastelands. season both versions indicate peak passion involved in the killing of Laius and the claiming of Jocasta, the Oedipus in the play greets his subjects with intimately concealed disdain and the Oedipus of the film greets them with sorrow and deeply shared concern.While Sophocles sets his character up to battle pride, Pasolini prepares him to come face to face with the consequences of passion. It is roaring t o see the irony in both play and film that if Oedipus had not been so determined to take to the woods and prevent the prophecy, he would have not unwittingly fulfilled it. This is foreshadowed by Creon in the play just in advance the truth of the story is foold. Creon tells Oedipus, You are obstinate / obviously unhappy to concede, / and when you relapse your temper, you go too far. But men like that find it to the highest degree difficult / to tolerate themselves (814-819). In this one short statement, Jocastas chum sums up the entire tragedy. He points to Oedipus stubbornness and pride in being unwilling to consider the possibility that he might be the liquidator he seeks. As a result of his own impatience and driving desire to bring honor and further pride to his name, Oedipus becomes excessive in his proclamations regarding motives and punishments to be handed down and then suddenly realizes that he cannot escape the horror of his crimes.This horror is demonstrated in the film to great egress as the confused Oedipus slowly becomes overwhelmed with the possibilities, finally screaming out his vindication in a now-customary burst of passion. By the end of the story, Oedipus has come to realize that everything he has done has only served to bring him finisher to his evil destiny. In the process of nerve-racking to avoid fate, he has committed some of the greatest sins imaginable to him defiled his mothers bed, murdered his father and spawned terrible children born of incest.Rather than face the truth and unable to take the prankish wound to his pride, Oedipus stabbed out his eyes with broaches and walked away from Thebes forever, thereby sealing his doom through further prideful actions. The sudden reversal of fortune has Oedipus locomote away from Thebes a blind, homeless refuse rather than the respected king he should have been based upon his more noble qualities. While this is a surprise, it is nevertheless a logical possible conclusion to th e events that have taken place.This concept is brought out to greater extent in the film through the change in backdrop. Pasolini begins and ends the film in a contemporary setting to when the film was made. While the play suggests that Oedipus went wandering into the desert a self-blinded beggar man, the film indicates that he has been wandering a tortured individual for very much longer than a normal lifespan. Thus, the elements of classic tragedy are carried end-to-end both play and film to slightly different interpretations.In both, a fatal flaw within the character of Oedipus drives his actions that eventually seal his own doom. Seen as it is throughout the various elements of the classic tragedian format of first demonstrating a noble characteristic to tragic proportions, then becoming aware of it and then suffering as a result of it, it cannot be missed that Sophocles was trying to illustrate to his audience the dangers of an absence of humility and common sense when he h ighlighted Oedipus excessive pride.Pasolini seems to have been more interested in warning his audiences about the sins of excessive passion. This is, in some sense, what Aristotle was trying to communicate regarding the purpose of tragedy, which he describes as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play through pity and precaution effecting the proper purgation of these emotions (Aristotle cited in Friedlander, 2005).By illustrating the various things that can go wrong when one believes they have no flaws, Sophocles and Pasolini hoped to encourage a closer connection with truth as a means of avoiding Oedipus fate. Works Cited Aristotle. Critica Links. (1998). The University of Hawaii. whitethorn 21, 2007 Pasolini, Pier Paolo (Dir. ). Edipo Re. Perf. Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Carmelo Bene, Julian Beck & Ninetto Davoli. A rco Films, 1967. Sophocles. Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra. Oxford Worlds Classics. Ed. Edith Hall. Oxford University Press, 1998.