Oedipus Rex As Modern Tragedy Catharsis Or Cognitive...

Oedipus Rex as Modern Tragedy: Catharsis or Cognitive Emotion Oedipus Rex, an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles, tells the tale of a noble king brought low by a serious of harrowing events set in motion by the Gods and unwittingly furthered by the actions of the king. Aristotle believed that Oedipus Rex was the prime example of the tragedy; however, modern readers might entertain that the play is unworthy of such praise. In this paper I will put forth the argument that Oedipus Rex, though heartfelt, no longer meets the requirements of tragedy as defined by Aristotle and that, rather than engendering catharsis, the work exemplifies a near-inevitable decline in the ability of media as a whole to evoke emotion from today s jaded society. Using information gathered from Aristotle s consideration of the ideal of tragedy and from a selection of psychological studies, I will examine the tragedy from the perspective of emotional empathy and use this framework to consider Rex s ability to transition from cognitive empathy to emotional empathy strong enough to result in catharsis. Throughout history, many have believed that man s ability to produce a poetic reflection of the world around him is what sets him apart from lesser lifeforms. Italian Jurist Giambattista Vico famously wrote in his book The New Science that, This poetic wisdom†¦., was unquestionably the first wisdom of the world..., (Vico). His belief was far from original —in fact, it has spurred countless