The passage from Aristotle's Poetics (350 BC) was written a century after Sophocles' composition Oedipus the King (428 BC). Despite their chronological separation, the two texts relate incisively. In particular, Aristotle used Oedipus as the basis of his theory of explanation. For Aristotle, a tragedy must have certain characteristics that Oedipus Rex contains to differentiate itself from other written genres. His definition of tragedy has influenced tragic literature ever since. He states that “Tragedy is therefore the imitation of a serious action, complete and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each type of which is used separately in different parts; in the mode of action, and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear (what we call) the catharsis of such emotions..." (Aristotle 521). Oedipus illustrates these characteristics by encompassing a certain breadth, by illustrating a complete flow, by presenting a tragic plot and complex and having a protagonist with a tragic flaw, or "hamartia", which leads to "catharsis". Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned". the original essay on the Oedipus plot, for example, is the "end for which a tragedy exists" (Aristotle 522). of two general taboos It has a universal meaning through the application of myths, the instability of self-identity, the recognition of the human condition and the role of destiny. The taboos violated by Oedipus are the cardinal sins of. parricide and incest, and this play is the first to incorporate both as being committed by the same person. play, notably with the inclusion of the Sphinx and the prophet Apollo from the Oracle. Oedipus also addresses the topic of contingent identity, asking the audience whether a person should be guilty for reasons beyond their own actions. This in turn raises questions about the relationship between the human condition and destiny, the idea that the actions people perform, even if freely chosen, are only parts of an ending determined by the beginning . According to Aristotle, furthermore, the plot of a tragedy organizes incidents or combinations of events narrated by the poet. The plot must have a unity of action, or "completeness," in which all incidents occur in the same way as a chain of cause and effect. In the Oedipus play, all the incidents occur together in a single episode by internal necessity, one after the other, each action leading inevitably to the next without any external intervention. Not surprisingly, Aristotle did not like Medea's scene of her fleeing Corinth on her magic chariot due to the use of a machine. He argued: "In the events of the plot itself...there should be nothing unreasonable, or if there is, it should be kept out of the play proper, as it happens done in Sophocles' Oedipus. » In Oedipus, there are different parts of the plot that could be identified as unreasonable or mechanical, but they are kept outside the play, presented as if all the irrational things had already been done and were unalterable. Sophocles does not explicitly address any questions that might lead the reader to realize this. some irrational actions still occur in the plot. For example, he does not dwell on the questions of why Oedipus agreed to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, how they did not see that they looked alike, or why Oedipus kills people evenif they knew it. his curse. The feeling of inevitability alone drives the plot. The complete unfolding also requires having a beginning, a middle and an end of equal importance to the plot in which "...the sequence of events, according to the law of probability or necessity, will allow the passage of the good fortune to bad” (Aristotle 523). There should be a sequence of pitiful events until the end that are not episodic, but continuous. The beginning begins the chain of events that, all together, will lead to the climax and, therefore, the resolution and closure of the play. A tragedy must begin with the moment of instigation; in Oedipus, it is the plague of Thebes. As the priest implores Oedipus: “Thebes is dying. A scourge on fresh crops and rich pastures, cattle sicken and die, and women die in labor, children are stillborn, and the plague, the fiery god of fever, falls upon the city…” (Sophocles 393). When Oedipus becomes aware of the alarming state of his city, he sends Creon to consult the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle responds that the murderer of Laius must be banished from Thebes: “The murder sends plague to the city” (Sophocles 395). The Oracle's response is the second incident in the chain. Oedipus curses Laius's murderer and embarks on the mission to find the murderer and banish him from the land, saying, "I will bring all this to light myself" (Sophocles 396). The fourth incident is the arrival of the blind prophet Tireseus to accuse Oedipus. This helps to reinforce the irony of the play, particularly because of its relationship to the blindness that Oedipus suffers from now and will suffer physically later. This also leads to a quarrel between Creon and Oedipus, in which Oedipus' flaws are revealed to the audience. When Jocasta intervenes and tells the story of Laius' murder, she makes Oedipus suspicious by saying, "My God, my God, what are you planning to do to me?" (Sophocles, 412). The incident, another important element of the plot according to Aristotle, is the sixth incident. This is the reversal of intention of the Messenger when he says: “Wonderful news, for the house, my lady and for your husband too” (Sophocles 417). He helps reveal that Polybius and Merope were not Oedipus' biological parents, saying "Polybius was nothing to you, therefore, not in blood" (Sophocles 419) He thus provides the crucial information that will reveal that Oedipus is Jocasta's son. As Aristotle suggests: “The best form of recognition is that which is accompanied. by a reversal, as in the example of Oedipus” (Aristotle 523). In the Oedipus plot, the Peripetia is intrinsically linked to the Anagnorisis, because the reversal of intention of the Messenger and the revelation of the Shepherd together construct the entire story of Oedipus, leading him to the recognition of his true identity . These two elements bring about Oedipus's climax, or change of fortune from good to bad: from being an honored king, a good husband, to being an incestuous murderer of his own father. “You are my great example, you, your life, Oedipus, man of misery” (Sophocles 424). These incidents, which lead to the climax, are brought together to ultimately reveal the final catastrophe: Jocasta's suicide, Oedipus' blinding, and, finally, the closure and resolution in which Creon laments Oedipus' downfall. He said to him, with irony and anger: “Still the king, the master of all things? No more: your power ends here. None of your strength follows you throughout your life” (Sophocles 433). Thus, the play does not revolve around Oedipus; instead, he pivots on the development of the events that happen to him in the play. The character takes a back seat to the plot. Nevertheless, Oedipus possesses the qualities of the perfect tragic hero, according to the vision.