Oedipus Rex

DRAMA

A composition in prose or verse portraying life or character by action; an action represented on the stage by means of dialogue and action and designed for theatrical performance.

TRAGEDY

A drama in which the tone is utterly serious. Often the protagonist is finally defeated. Tragedy is the story of human actions producing exceptional calamity and often ending in the death of a person of high estate.

EXPOSITION

The introduction of some of the characters and the establishment of the setting and atmosphere. It provides the facts necessary to understand the drama about to begin. It leads to the inciting force.

INCITING FORCE

The impelling motive that stimulates action in the plot and interest in the audience. It comes at the end of the exposition and at the beginning of the complication.

COMPLICATION

(Also called the RISING ACTION.) All the action from the inciting force to the climax. In the tragedy the fortunes of the protagonist increase during the complication. Some new characters may be introduced. It is the "tying of the knot."

CLIMAX

The point in the tragedy at which a vital ‑ usually irrevocable ‑ decision is made. It is the turning point. In tragedy the protagonist's fortunes decline from this point.

RESOLUTION

All the action from the climax to the catastrophe. It is usually shorter than the complication. It is the "untying of the knot." In tragedy the fortunes of the protagonist decrease during the resolution.

CATASTROPHE

(Also called the DENOUEMENT.) The final defeat of the protagonist, it settles the fate of the protagonist. Usually the protagonist loses his/her life. The catastrophe ends the conflict.

CONFLICT

The struggle that grows out of the interplay between two opposing forces. It provides interest and suspense. There are four major types of conflict.

• A. the opposition of physical forces
• B. the opposition of character elements
• C. the opposition of internal forces (spiritual struggle)
• D. the opposition of fate and will

CONCLUSION

The restoration of order. It handles all the important characters not otherwise accounted for. It explains the fate of the remaining characters.

PROTAGONIST

The principal or central character of the drama. He carries on a conflict with some sort of opposition.

ANTAGONIST

The opponent of the protagonist. He struggles against the protagonist.

HAMARTIA

A criminal act committed in ignorance of some material fact or even for the sake of a greater good.

HYBRIS (HUBRIS)

Wanton violence, arising from pride. An outrage, despiteful treatment. An error in judgement may arise from hybris. In Greek drama hybris is usually understood as the sin of excessive pride.

Aristotle’s Poetics

The Unity of Time

The action of a drama should not occupy more than twenty‑four hours. Aristotle mentions this unity only as a general practice, not as a set rule.

The Unity of Place

The action should take place in one place. Aristotle barely refers to this unity.

The Unity of Action

The play should consist of one main action, to the carrying out of which everything in the play must be subservient. Aristotle insists on this unity as necessary: if the play is to be a whole, it must be one; that is, there must be unity of action.

Catharsis

"A cleaning, a purification." Catharsis is purging of the spectators' emotions. The pity and fear excited by the tragic action purge by modifying or repelling passion. Catharsis is a purification of the emotions through imaginative participation in the suffering of others. It produces a mood of emotional release and intellectual serenity induced by tragic literature. It is a feeling of reconciliation, sometimes exultation.

Five Rules for a Good Protagonist

• 1. The protagonist must not be a perfectly good person brought from prosperity to adversity.
• 2. The protagonist must not be a bad person passing from adversity to prosperity.
• 3. The protagonist should not be an utter villain to begin with. Such a person lacks pity and terror.
• 4. The protagonist must be a person not absolutely or eminently good or wise who is brought to disaster not by sheer depravity but by some error (hamartia) or frailty (sometimes called a “tragic flaw”).
• 5. The protagonist must be highly renowned or prosperous or illustrious. The more eminent the protagonist is, the more evident is the disaster. This condition lends greatness and dignity. The fate of such a person affects that of many others. Downfall from a high place is more impressive than downfall from a low place. The protagonist must engage sympathy, no matter how gross his/her error. The protagonist must be felt to be a person like oneself.