Extract
Oedipus: Do you know anything about him, Lady? Is he the man we have summoned? Is that the man this shepherd means?
Jocasta: Why think of him? Forget this herdsman. Forget it all. This talk is a waste of time.
Oedipus: How can you say that when the clues to my true birth are in my hands?
Jocasta: For God's love, let us have no more questioning! Is your life nothing to you? My own pain is enough for me to bear.
Oedipus: You need not worry. Suppose my mother a slave, and born of slaves: no baseness can touch you.
Jocasta: Listen to me, I beg you: do not do this thing!
Oedipus: I will not listen; the truth must be made known.
Jocasta: Everything that I say is for your own good!
Oedipus: My own good snaps my patience, then; I want none of it.
Characters According to Aristotle
1. Characters need to be relatable to the audience. They should be generally good, but neither too virtuous, nor too evil.
- If characters possess unrealistically exaggerated traits, they lose relatability to the audience, as no person is extremely virtuous or extremely evil. Many characters in tragedies generally try to act for good, but can often be misguided by their hubris.
- For example, Oedipus tries to uncover the wound that had caused the plague upon Thebes in order to help the people of the city, however, as he digs deeper he uncovers the truth which hurts the others around him (his wife, himself and his children).
2. Tragic characters cannot be too evil and therefore, the action that causes the events is the tragedy should be due to their hamartia.
- Oedipus' hamartia is his undying curiosity as he relentlessly pursues the truth, heeding the warnings of others as he goes on. His pursuit is in hopes of showing himself innocent, upon being accused of being responsible for the misery of Thebes.
- However, as all clues point towards himself, he is desperately searching for any information to show otherwise.
3. Characters should act in a way that is consistent with their status or gender.
- While modern texts need not follow this rule, in Ancient Greece, and many other communities in the past, it has been a key cultural norm that both genders act in ways that utilize their strong suits.
- Men are thought of as strong and leaders, but vulnerable to irrational decisions, whereas women are often more composed and can often serve as a rational advisory role.
- If characters break these molds, it is usually a key part of the narrative.
- We can see this in Oedipus, where Oedipus relentlessly searches for clues as to the murder of the previous king, while Jocasta assures him when he is worried or warns him when he is about to discover something he will regret, being ignorant to this himself.
4. Characters should be consistent with established myths and legends.
- Greek tragedies are tied closely with Greek religion an Greek mythology. Therefore it is important that mythological concepts stay consistent and that the actions of characters and the resulting consequences are those that align with religious belief.
- For example, hubris is considered a negative trait, which in Greek tragedies leads to characters making poor decisions that often cause pain to themselves and other, leading to their downfall.