Oedipus: Aristotelian or Formalist Theory Essay

Teiresias’s speech at the end of scene one of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex is fairly short but it is in this encounter between Oedipus and Teiresias where the main conflict of the story begins to unfold. This is a pivotal speech in the play as it helps to develop some of the major themes in the play as well as begin to build up the tragic irony at the center of the story. When this speech is analyzed using either Aristotelian or Formalist theory key elements can be found that are effective in increasing the drama in the play and in tying together one of the play’s central theme. In the Poetics Aristotle outlines his vision of a successful tragedy and states that plot and character are the first two principle features of tragedy. Teiresias’s final speech helps to develop both of these key components of tragedy in Oedipus Rex successfully. During his conversation with the king Teiresias introduces the first source of conflict into the play as Oedipus tries to convince the old man to reveal what he knows about Laios’s murder. Aristotle termed this moment of the plot the â€Å"desis† which in modern literary terms is known as the complication which serves to build up the drama of a story towards the climax, and Teiresias’s speech here achieves that purpose. There is also an effective use of foreshadowing in Teiresias’s speech in which he reveals to the audience the twist of fate that Oedipus will experience even though the king at this point is unaware of Teiresias’s true meaning. The reversal of fortune and recognition contained in Oedipus Rex are praised by Aristotle as being characteristics of an ideal plot and the foreshadowing found in Teiresias’s speech help to build up the anticipation towards the revelation of Oedipus’s identity. In the perfect tragedy Aristotle stated that character should support the plot and Teiresias’s final speech was indirectly very effective in building Oedipus’s character. Until his meeting with Teiresias Oedipus was seen a considerate king looking out for the interest of his people in trying to discover Laios’s killer. In his conversation with Teiresias the audience gets its first glimpse of Oedipus’s anger and can begin to see him as capable of being the murderer they are searching for. Teiresias’s final speech also reveals to the audience Oedipus’s â€Å"tragic flaw† of not knowing who he truly is, which will eventually be his downfall. In revealing Oedipus’s genuine ignorance to his true identity through this speech the audience feels more pity for the king when the revelation occurs and this heightens the tragedy of the play. From a Formalist theory perspective of Teiresias’s speech two literary devices are used that effectively increase the drama of the play and tie in a central theme and those are symbolism and tone. Symbolism in Teiresias’s speech begins to build the tragic irony of the play and to establish one of the themes of the play of sight versus knowledge. Teiresias describes the killer as â€Å"a blind man, Who has his eyes now†, but he is also referring to Oedipus’s inability to see the truth (Sophocles 720). Teiresias himself is a powerful symbol as well in the play as he is blind but he can see the truth of better than Oedipus despite the king’s attempts to discover the truth so vigorously. In the end of the play when Oedipus blinds himself upon finally learning the truth he completes the imagery that was begun in Teiresias’s final speech. The tone of Teiresias’s speech is ominous and foreboding and it serves to change the tone of the entire play. At this point the audience is becoming aware that things will not end well for Oedipus and his valiant quest to find Laios’s killer is going to result in dire consequences. The graphic imagery in the line â€Å"Who came to his father’s bed, wet with his father’s blood† helped establish this ominous tone that serves to build the tension through the rest of the play (Sophocles 720). After his encounter with Teiresias Oedipus becomes increasing confrontational with other characters in the play and the tone set by Teiresias’s speech helps to establish much of that conflict. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is such a well-rounded piece of literature that regardless of what literary approach is used to analyze it the play will provide an endless vehicle for discovery. There are so many complex images, themes, and symbols weaved together that it is an ideal story to study.