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Oedipus Rex Research Paper

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Oedipus Rex is a play that brings tragedy to a whole new level. This play talks about a king that wants to help his people. He sends Kreon to the oracle of Delphi to figure out what Thebes must do to make everything better again. Oedipus was the man who destroyed the Sphinx that plagued the road between Thebes and neighboring city-states. At first, Oedipus seemed to be the good guy until Kreon came back with the horrific news. The oracle said that they must dispose of the person who slain King Laios years ago. When I heard this prophecy, I realized what the tragedy might be. Soon after that, the king went to people asking who did this to the former leader. Out of nowhere, a blind fortune teller came up to Oedipus and said that he was the person who killed …show more content…

Realizing what he has done, Oedipus blinds and exiles himself. There was a previous prophecy that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So he left Corinth, where his foster parents originated, so he could escape his destiny. He did not know that King Laios and Jocasta were his real parents. On the crossroads to Thebes, he completed the prophecy by killing his father. He showed up in Thebes and became king, where he slept with his mother. They actually made children, how awkward is that? All of this drama made Oedipus Rex a horrendous tragedy. The tragedy of drama is the fall or loss of the protagonist. Whenever I think of tragedy, I think about devastating endings. In the end, the main characters die or leave; however, the rest of the people in Thebes are happy again. Aristotle said, “A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action… with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” (izquotes.com) I pity Oedipus because he must leave his home, and I fear that he will never be happy again. Catharsis is the cleansing of these emotions after a

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