1. Aristotle argues that plot is the most important of his six elements of tragedy, but most of your comments on Tuesday focused on shortcomings in Oedipus’s character. Do you think that Sophocles intended his audience to focus more on Oedipus’s character or the sequence of events that befall him? Try to find a passage in the text that supports your answer.
2. In general, it might be said that Aristotle is an advocate of order. In his Poetics, he basically argues that a strong sense of order and structure should pervade virtually every aspect of a dramatic text. Interestingly, Oedipus seems to be a text that is very much about order and control (or the lack thereof). What is the status of order within the universe of the text? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Is there a sense of irony when we think about the way that order is portrayed in the text vs the way that Sophocles’s orderly construction shapes the text? Find a passage that highlights these issues.
3. Aristotle insists that a tragic character should be morally good. Is Oedipus morally good? Support your answer with at least two pieces of evidence from the text.
4. Does Oedipus have a central tragic action (according to Aristotle’s definition)? If so, what is it? When does it occur? Why do you think the play was structured in this way?
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