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Oedipus Rex: Catharsis
According to Aristotle tragedy should arouse the feeling of pity and terror – pityfor the hero’s tragic fate and terror at the sight of the dreadful suffering befallingparticularly the hero. By arousing pity and terror, a tragedy aims at the catharsisof these and similar other emotions and cures these feelings which always existin our hearts. A tragedy, hence, affords emotional relief and the spectators rise atits end with a feeling of pleasure. This, according to Aristotle, is the aestheticfunction of tragedy. Through catharsis the emotions are reduced to a healthy andbalanced proportion. Besides pity and fear an audience also experiencescontempt, hatred, delight, indignation, and admiration. Still, these emotions areless important or less intense. Pity and fear are the dominant emotions and theyare intensely produced.Tragedy, by means of pity, fear and other emotions also provides exercise andnourishment for the emotional side of human nature. It also satisfies our love of beauty and of truth, of truth to life and truth about life. Experience, and moreexperience, is a natural human craving. Tragedy leads to an enrichment of our experience of human life. It may teach us to live more wisely and widen theboundaries of our experience of life. Tragedy shows the eternal contradictionbetween human weakness and human courage, human stupidity and humangreatness, human frailty and human strength. Tragedy gives us pleasure byexhibiting human endurance and perseverance in the face of calamities anddisasters.Pity and fear are the dominating feelings produced by the play “Oedipus Rex”. Apart from catharsis of these feelings, the play deepens our experience of human life and enhances our understanding of human nature and humanpsychology. The prologue produces in us pity and fear, pity for the sufferingpopulation of Thebes and fear of future misfortunes which might befall the
people. The Priest, describing the state of affairs, refers to a tide of death fromwhich there is no escape, death in the fields and pastures, in the wombs of women, death caused by the plague which grips the city. Oedipus givesexpression to his feeling of sympathy, telling the Priest that his heart is burdenedby the suffering of all the people. The entry-song of the Chorus following theprologue heightens the feelings of pity and fear. The Chorus says:“With fear my heart is riven, fear of what shall be told. Fear is upon us.”Oedipus’ proclamation of his resolve to track down the murderer of Laius bringssome relief to us. But the curse, which Oedipus utters upon the unknown criminaland upon those who may be sheltering him, also terrifies us by its fierceness.The scene in which Oedipus clashes with Teiresias contributes to the feelings of pity and terror, the prophecy of Teiresias is frightening because it relates toOedipus. Teiresias speaks to Oedipus in alarming tones, describing him in aveiled manner as “husband of the woman who bore him, father-killer and father-supplanter” and accusing him openly of being a murderer.In the scene with Creon, the feeling of terror is much less, arising mainly fromOedipus’ sentence of death against the innocent Creon which is soon withdrawn.The tension reappears with Oedipus’ suspicion on hearing from Jocasta thatLaius was killed where three roads met. Oedipus’ account of his arrival at Thebesarouses the feeling of terror by its reference to the prophecy which he receivedfrom the oracle, but both terror and pity subside when Jocasta tries to assureOedipus that prophecies deserve no attention. The song of the Chorus harshlyrebuking the proud tyrant revives some of the terror in our minds, but it againsubsides at the arrival of the Corinthian after hearing whom Jocasta mocks at theoracles. The drama now continues at a rather low key till first Jocasta and thenOedipus find themselves confronted with the true facts of the situations. With thediscovery of true facts, both the feelings of pity and fear reach their climax, withOedipus lamenting his sinful acts of killing his father and marrying his mother.But the feelings of pity and fear do not end here. The song of the Chorusimmediately following the discovery arouses our deepest sympathy at Oedipus’sad fate. The Chorus extends the scope of its observations to include allmankind:“All the generations of mortal man add up to nothing.”Then comes the messenger from the palace and he gives a terrible account of the manner in which Jocasta hanged herself and Oedipus blinded himself. Themessenger concluded his account with the remark that the royal household istoday overwhelmed by “calamity, death, ruin, tears and shame”. Theconversation of the Chorus with Oedipus who is not blind is also extremelymoving. Oedipus speaks of his physical and mental agony and the Chorus triesto console him. Oedipus describes himself as:
“…… shedder of father’s blood, husband of mother, Godless and child of shame,begetter of brother-sons”.The feeling of deep grief by Oedipus is experienced by the audience with anequal intensity. The scene of Oedipus’ meeting with his daughters is also verytouching. His daughters, laments Oedipus, will have to wander homeless andhusbandless. He appeals to Creon in moving words to look after them.The feeling of pity and fear has been continuously experienced from the veryopening scene of the play. Other feelings aroused in our hearts were irritationwith Oedipus at his ill-treatment of Teiresias, anger against Teiresias for hisobstinacy and insolence, admiration for Creon for his moderation and loyalty,liking for Jocasta for her devotion to Oedipus, admiration for Oedipus for hisrelentless pursuits of truth and so on. But the feelings of relief, delight andpleasure have also been aroused in us. These feelings are the result partly of thefelicity of the language employed and the music of poetry, but mainly the result of the spectacle of human greatness which we have witnessed side by side with thespectacle of human misery. The sins of Oedipus were committed unknowingly; infact Oedipus did his utmost to avert the disaster. Oedipus is, therefore,essentially an innocent man, despite his sin of pride and tyranny. Jocasta too isinnocent, in spite of her sin of scepticism. There is no villainy to be condemned inthe play. The essential goodness of Oedipus, Jocasta and Creon is highlypleasing to us. But even more pleasing though at the same time saddening is thespectacle of human endurance seen in Jocasta and Oedipus inflicting uponthemselves a punishment that is awful and terrible. In the closing scene, the blindOedipus rises truly to heroic heights, displaying an indomitable spirit. Blind andhelpless though he now is, and extremely ashamed of his parricide andincestuous experience as he is, he yet shows an invulnerable mind and it is thiswhich has a sustaining, cheering, uplifting and exhilarating effect upon us.Jocasta’s fate underlines that of Oedipus. So does the great song of the Choruson the laws which are “enthroned above”. The song and in particular thedenunciation of the tyrant are relevant to Oedipus and Jocasta. The song beginswith a prayer for purity and reverence, clearly an answer to Oedipus’ andJocasta's doubts about the oracles. It ends with an even more emphaticexpression of fear of what will happen if the truth of the divine oracles is denied.Between the first and the last stanzas the Chorus describes the man who is bornof hybris, such hybris as is displayed by the King and the Queen. The descriptionfollows to a large extent the conventional picture of the tyrant, mentioning hispride, greed and irreverence. Not every feature fits the character of Oedipus, nor should we expect that. The Chorus fears that he who behaves with presumption,pride and self-confidence will turn tyrannical and impious, and they foresee thatZeus, the true King of the world will punish the sins of the mortal King. If he doesnot do so, all religion will become meaningless, and all will be lost.
According to Aristotle tragedy should arouse the feeling of pity and terror – pityfor the hero’s tragic fate and terror at the sight of the dreadful suffering befallingparticularly the hero. By arousing pity and terror, a tragedy aims at the catharsisof these and similar other emotions and cures these feelings which always existin our hearts. A tragedy, hence, affords emotional relief and the spectators rise atits end with a feeling of pleasure. This, according to Aristotle, is the aestheticfunction of tragedy. Through catharsis the emotions are reduced to a healthy andbalanced proportion. Besides pity and fear an audience also experiencescontempt, hatred, delight, indignation, and admiration. Still, these emotions areless important or less intense. Pity and fear are the dominant emotions and theyare intensely produced.Tragedy, by means of pity, fear and other emotions also provides exercise andnourishment for the emotional side of human nature. It also satisfies our love of beauty and of truth, of truth to life and truth about life. Experience, and moreexperience, is a natural human craving. Tragedy leads to an enrichment of our experience of human life. It may teach us to live more wisely and widen theboundaries of our experience of life. Tragedy shows the eternal contradictionbetween human weakness and human courage, human stupidity and humangreatness, human frailty and human strength. Tragedy gives us pleasure byexhibiting human endurance and perseverance in the face of calamities anddisasters.Pity and fear are the dominating feelings produced by the play “Oedipus Rex”. Apart from catharsis of these feelings, the play deepens our experience of human life and enhances our understanding of human nature and humanpsychology. The prologue produces in us pity and fear, pity for the sufferingpopulation of Thebes and fear of future misfortunes which might befall the
people. The Priest, describing the state of affairs, refers to a tide of death fromwhich there is no escape, death in the fields and pastures, in the wombs of women, death caused by the plague which grips the city. Oedipus givesexpression to his feeling of sympathy, telling the Priest that his heart is burdenedby the suffering of all the people. The entry-song of the Chorus following theprologue heightens the feelings of pity and fear. The Chorus says:“With fear my heart is riven, fear of what shall be told. Fear is upon us.”Oedipus’ proclamation of his resolve to track down the murderer of Laius bringssome relief to us. But the curse, which Oedipus utters upon the unknown criminaland upon those who may be sheltering him, also terrifies us by its fierceness.The scene in which Oedipus clashes with Teiresias contributes to the feelings of pity and terror, the prophecy of Teiresias is frightening because it relates toOedipus. Teiresias speaks to Oedipus in alarming tones, describing him in aveiled manner as “husband of the woman who bore him, father-killer and father-supplanter” and accusing him openly of being a murderer.In the scene with Creon, the feeling of terror is much less, arising mainly fromOedipus’ sentence of death against the innocent Creon which is soon withdrawn.The tension reappears with Oedipus’ suspicion on hearing from Jocasta thatLaius was killed where three roads met. Oedipus’ account of his arrival at Thebesarouses the feeling of terror by its reference to the prophecy which he receivedfrom the oracle, but both terror and pity subside when Jocasta tries to assureOedipus that prophecies deserve no attention. The song of the Chorus harshlyrebuking the proud tyrant revives some of the terror in our minds, but it againsubsides at the arrival of the Corinthian after hearing whom Jocasta mocks at theoracles. The drama now continues at a rather low key till first Jocasta and thenOedipus find themselves confronted with the true facts of the situations. With thediscovery of true facts, both the feelings of pity and fear reach their climax, withOedipus lamenting his sinful acts of killing his father and marrying his mother.But the feelings of pity and fear do not end here. The song of the Chorusimmediately following the discovery arouses our deepest sympathy at Oedipus’sad fate. The Chorus extends the scope of its observations to include allmankind:“All the generations of mortal man add up to nothing.”Then comes the messenger from the palace and he gives a terrible account of the manner in which Jocasta hanged herself and Oedipus blinded himself. Themessenger concluded his account with the remark that the royal household istoday overwhelmed by “calamity, death, ruin, tears and shame”. Theconversation of the Chorus with Oedipus who is not blind is also extremelymoving. Oedipus speaks of his physical and mental agony and the Chorus triesto console him. Oedipus describes himself as:
“…… shedder of father’s blood, husband of mother, Godless and child of shame,begetter of brother-sons”.The feeling of deep grief by Oedipus is experienced by the audience with anequal intensity. The scene of Oedipus’ meeting with his daughters is also verytouching. His daughters, laments Oedipus, will have to wander homeless andhusbandless. He appeals to Creon in moving words to look after them.The feeling of pity and fear has been continuously experienced from the veryopening scene of the play. Other feelings aroused in our hearts were irritationwith Oedipus at his ill-treatment of Teiresias, anger against Teiresias for hisobstinacy and insolence, admiration for Creon for his moderation and loyalty,liking for Jocasta for her devotion to Oedipus, admiration for Oedipus for hisrelentless pursuits of truth and so on. But the feelings of relief, delight andpleasure have also been aroused in us. These feelings are the result partly of thefelicity of the language employed and the music of poetry, but mainly the result of the spectacle of human greatness which we have witnessed side by side with thespectacle of human misery. The sins of Oedipus were committed unknowingly; infact Oedipus did his utmost to avert the disaster. Oedipus is, therefore,essentially an innocent man, despite his sin of pride and tyranny. Jocasta too isinnocent, in spite of her sin of scepticism. There is no villainy to be condemned inthe play. The essential goodness of Oedipus, Jocasta and Creon is highlypleasing to us. But even more pleasing though at the same time saddening is thespectacle of human endurance seen in Jocasta and Oedipus inflicting uponthemselves a punishment that is awful and terrible. In the closing scene, the blindOedipus rises truly to heroic heights, displaying an indomitable spirit. Blind andhelpless though he now is, and extremely ashamed of his parricide andincestuous experience as he is, he yet shows an invulnerable mind and it is thiswhich has a sustaining, cheering, uplifting and exhilarating effect upon us.Jocasta’s fate underlines that of Oedipus. So does the great song of the Choruson the laws which are “enthroned above”. The song and in particular thedenunciation of the tyrant are relevant to Oedipus and Jocasta. The song beginswith a prayer for purity and reverence, clearly an answer to Oedipus’ andJocasta's doubts about the oracles. It ends with an even more emphaticexpression of fear of what will happen if the truth of the divine oracles is denied.Between the first and the last stanzas the Chorus describes the man who is bornof hybris, such hybris as is displayed by the King and the Queen. The descriptionfollows to a large extent the conventional picture of the tyrant, mentioning hispride, greed and irreverence. Not every feature fits the character of Oedipus, nor should we expect that. The Chorus fears that he who behaves with presumption,pride and self-confidence will turn tyrannical and impious, and they foresee thatZeus, the true King of the world will punish the sins of the mortal King. If he doesnot do so, all religion will become meaningless, and all will be lost.