Elements of Tragedy in Oedipus Rex It is not the tragic subject matter of the text that is of primary interest - but rather the manner in which the plot is developed. The story line progresses as if the reader is "unpeeling an onion." The tale of King Oedipus is well known. An enraged Oedipus unknowingly slays his father (Laiusq, King of Thebes) and supplants him as monarch and as husband to his own mother (…showed first 75 words of 462 total…

…showed last 75 words of 462 total…For the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes place. This is the impression we should receive from hearing the story of the Oedipus."(Aristotle, 24). In 1500 years will The Phantom Menace be as revered? Works Cited Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991. Aristotle. Poetics. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997.