Oedipus Journal Questions
Oedipus Journal Questions
I. Aristotle’s definition of Hamartia is an uncertain term. Hamartia is an archery term meaning “missing the mark.” It may mean error in judgment, transgression or character flaw. Does Oedipus have a hamartia and if so, in which sense of the word? Discuss. Use incidents from the text for clarification and support. Oedipus does have a hamartia, but not in the way that most would think, he has an error in judgement. Oedipus does not have a character flaw, but while he does have hubris, it does not ultimately lead to his downfall, as much as it does contributes to it. Oedipus unknowing of his parentage from the start, and he gains his excessive pride on his journey. Of course Oedipus would be proud of himself as he just solved the difficult riddle of …show more content…
the Sphinx, preventing future deaths from occuring, and he became the King of Thebes.
When Oedipus is told by the the blind prophet Teiresias that he was the man who would kill his own father and marry his mother, he denies this and tries to avoid this fate, "I have kept clear of Corinth, and no harm has come-" to which his messenger replies. "And is this the fear that drove you out of Corinth?" Of course Oedipus denies this fate. Who would want to be accused of such appalling acts? Oedipus is simply trying to do what he thinks is right in order to avoid this fate. One could say that Oedipus is ignorant of the fact that one could not just avoid his fate, others might argue that it was his pride that led him to believe that he was above the power of gods. Yet again, Oedipus is unaware of his parentage, he moves out of his hometown where he thought his parents resided in, and marries the Queen of Thebes. Surely this woman would not be someone who Oedipus would think to be his own mother. This fact alone shows that it is not Oedipus ' hubris that leads to his tragic fall, but him being uninformed. Oedipus was always trying to do the right thing, he searches for the
man who murdered the previous king, Laios. Oedipus could have not even bothered to find out who the murderer is, and yet he "pray that that man 's life be consumed in evil and wretchedness. And as for me, this curse applies no less" Oedipus shows altruism here, as he includes himself for the curse to be laid upon if he happened to be the killer.
Oedipus does have his flaws like all people do, as he is not perfect, he is unaware of his parentage and is out to seek the truth. Oedipus did what he thought was right, which was finding out the man who had killed Laios. But it is not Oedipus ' excessive pride that leads to his fall, as it is his error of judgement. It 's his own actions of doing what he believed to be right that led to his downfall.
II. In all Greek drama, scenes of violence occur offstage and are reported to the audience by a messenger. In contrast, today’s movies and plays revel in gore and carnage, striving for realistic special effects. What are the benefits of not staging violent scenes for the audience? Consider the acts of violence in Oedipus and discuss. If one in Greek drama had attempted to stage a violent scene, it would not turn out as well as it would in modern times. One might have had to drag an actor 's body offstage, or the actor could have gotten up and left, taking away from the realism of the scene. It is beneficial to not stage these violent scenes, as a messenger could describe a horrid scene in vivid detail, such as Oedipus clawing out his own eyes, and the audience could imagine that scene better than any person who could attempt to act it out. The scene is left to the audience to imagine as they would like to, causing a more dramatic effect. The chrous ' reaction to Oedipus clawing out his own eyes "provides a more human touch of tragedy than merely observing the act would necessarily provide." (Bartus) This helps to support and reassure the audience of their reactions, giving all the more sense of tragedy.
Works Cited:
Bartus, Francis. "Off-Stage and On-Screen: Violence in Greek Tragedy and Modern Film." Off-Stage and On-Screen: Violence in Greek Tragedy and Modern Film. Francis Bartum, 17 Dec. 2005. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. .
I. Aristotle’s definition of Hamartia is an uncertain term. Hamartia is an archery term meaning “missing the mark.” It may mean error in judgment, transgression or character flaw. Does Oedipus have a hamartia and if so, in which sense of the word? Discuss. Use incidents from the text for clarification and support. Oedipus does have a hamartia, but not in the way that most would think, he has an error in judgement. Oedipus does not have a character flaw, but while he does have hubris, it does not ultimately lead to his downfall, as much as it does contributes to it. Oedipus unknowing of his parentage from the start, and he gains his excessive pride on his journey. Of course Oedipus would be proud of himself as he just solved the difficult riddle of …show more content…
the Sphinx, preventing future deaths from occuring, and he became the King of Thebes.
When Oedipus is told by the the blind prophet Teiresias that he was the man who would kill his own father and marry his mother, he denies this and tries to avoid this fate, "I have kept clear of Corinth, and no harm has come-" to which his messenger replies. "And is this the fear that drove you out of Corinth?" Of course Oedipus denies this fate. Who would want to be accused of such appalling acts? Oedipus is simply trying to do what he thinks is right in order to avoid this fate. One could say that Oedipus is ignorant of the fact that one could not just avoid his fate, others might argue that it was his pride that led him to believe that he was above the power of gods. Yet again, Oedipus is unaware of his parentage, he moves out of his hometown where he thought his parents resided in, and marries the Queen of Thebes. Surely this woman would not be someone who Oedipus would think to be his own mother. This fact alone shows that it is not Oedipus ' hubris that leads to his tragic fall, but him being uninformed. Oedipus was always trying to do the right thing, he searches for the
man who murdered the previous king, Laios. Oedipus could have not even bothered to find out who the murderer is, and yet he "pray that that man 's life be consumed in evil and wretchedness. And as for me, this curse applies no less" Oedipus shows altruism here, as he includes himself for the curse to be laid upon if he happened to be the killer.
Oedipus does have his flaws like all people do, as he is not perfect, he is unaware of his parentage and is out to seek the truth. Oedipus did what he thought was right, which was finding out the man who had killed Laios. But it is not Oedipus ' excessive pride that leads to his fall, as it is his error of judgement. It 's his own actions of doing what he believed to be right that led to his downfall.
II. In all Greek drama, scenes of violence occur offstage and are reported to the audience by a messenger. In contrast, today’s movies and plays revel in gore and carnage, striving for realistic special effects. What are the benefits of not staging violent scenes for the audience? Consider the acts of violence in Oedipus and discuss. If one in Greek drama had attempted to stage a violent scene, it would not turn out as well as it would in modern times. One might have had to drag an actor 's body offstage, or the actor could have gotten up and left, taking away from the realism of the scene. It is beneficial to not stage these violent scenes, as a messenger could describe a horrid scene in vivid detail, such as Oedipus clawing out his own eyes, and the audience could imagine that scene better than any person who could attempt to act it out. The scene is left to the audience to imagine as they would like to, causing a more dramatic effect. The chrous ' reaction to Oedipus clawing out his own eyes "provides a more human touch of tragedy than merely observing the act would necessarily provide." (Bartus) This helps to support and reassure the audience of their reactions, giving all the more sense of tragedy.
Works Cited:
Bartus, Francis. "Off-Stage and On-Screen: Violence in Greek Tragedy and Modern Film." Off-Stage and On-Screen: Violence in Greek Tragedy and Modern Film. Francis Bartum, 17 Dec. 2005. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. .