"The one with all the Rugby"

Over the last couple of weeks in class we have been discussing the elements of a tragedy, its origin, and what makes a tragedy more effective. We also discussed about Tragic Flaws.

We have discussed that Tragedy has its roots in religious rituals and comes from Tragoidia which is greek for "Goat Song." Tragedy began as a form of religious poetry that was spoken or sung by verse by a chorus. We also discussed poetic terms and how they relate to a tragedy. I think one term in particular relates to the main focus of Oedipus and life in general. Anagnorisis means recognition or identification. This is the point in a play when the protagonist understands the real situation and the circumstances of his life and is no longer ignorant. Unfortunately Oedipus the stubborn king of Thebes fights for the truth even though the people who know it are fully aware what the consequences are if they say it. When Oedipus finally hears the horrific truth that he has killed Lauis his father and the ex-king of thebes, a messenger gives Oedipus the worst possible news of all. His mother had killed herself because she knew the truth that the prophecies that were told long ago were real and that she had been sleeping with her own son for years. They also had two children together. When Oedipus saw his mother hanging in his private quarters he lost his mind. He takes two pins and blinds himself permanently. Then he calls for help to guide him outside so that his people who have stuck by his side even when the evidence was against him, the people who were stricken with a deadly plague that swept throughout the city of Thebes, these people, the only ones that still felt sorry for Oedipus and still respected him. Now they gazed upon their king the murderer that caused them so much pain. The Anagnorisis occurs when Oedipus relizes the horrifying truth that he is the king killer.

What would you do if you realized you had been sleeping with your own mother, and conceived two children? How would you react?

In my opinion I think Oedipus had every right to over react the way he did. I disagree with his pin blinding method, that was a little over the top, but he had just found out that he was the killer of his own father and the father to his mother's sons. The Peripeteia (a reversal of circumstances, a turning point, things turn from good to bad) of Oedipus's character was tragic and saddening.

Examples of tragic flaws can be seen in other ways such as on TV, in Movies, Books, Newspapers, and plays etc... In an episode of FRIENDS, (the one with all the rugby) Ross, Phoebe, and Joey are at the park awaiting Ross's decision to play a pick up game of rugby. Before going to the park they all watched some rugby games on ESPN. Although the footage of the games was quite frightening, Ross decided to go in and play. Right before he went in he told both of them that he needed to be "red Ross." Confused, Joey and Phoebe tell him they have no idea what "red ross" meant. After a few minutes of playing Ross came off the field in pain. He told the group, "I'm Red Ross!" Joey quickly responds, "dude if you back out there you are going to be dead Ross!"

Joey's comment foreshadowed Ross's downfall. At the end of the match Ross was in a lot of pain

and could barely move. Ross played to impress his british girlfriend. It was his own quick judgment

that led to his downfall. Oedipus to has this tragic flaw.

This is a Tragic play because our protagonist, Oedipus, goes from being a great king who saved his people from the riddler sphinx, to an exiled king killer.

Was banishing the ex-King of Thebes necessary? Would you have made the same decision?

Have you ever learned the truth about something that caused you to overreact and go nuts? Does this play relate to your own life? How?