What is Catharsis as in Oedipus Rex.
I just want to know what Catharsis is.

Catharsis in Oedipus Rex

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The Me you have always known, the Me that's a stranger still.

i know i know about this thread, but want to know what catharsis is.

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If winter comes can spring be far behind

1. Oedipus Rex in the light of Aristotle's definition of Tragedy.
2. Role of fate and character in the downfall of Oedipus.
3. Structure and element of Greek theater.
4. Characters of
a) Creon
b) Blind prophet
c) Shepherd
d) Messenger

Can you help me out on these

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If winter comes can spring be far behind

Hi just saw ur post. thot i shd share a few points. c if they are of any help.

Oedipus was considered Ideal Tragedy by Aristotle.cz it observes all three unities of time place n action plus the Greek hero embodies all the major characteristics pointed out by Aristotle i.e.
a man of high social status
b)balanced personality but predominantly good
c) tragic hero suffers from hamartia

2) Here the theme of Predestination n Fee Will are pitted against each other.U can defend both points that fate was crucial in this tragedy as well as the fact that hamartia proved fatal for oedipus. However in the end u goota favour one side, either fate or hamartia. That is your choice.
3) As far as ur 3rd question is concerned I have got some good points on that bt need sum tym to share here. However I will just jot down a few for the time being.

a)Skene(scene) Building (dressing room)

b)Proskenion(stage)

c)orchestra (vacant places where chorus sang)

d)paradoi (two passages from both sides leading into the orchestra)

e)thymele (small platform or altar used as a dramatic prop)

f) the seat of honor (first row main seat for the high priest of the temple of Dionysus) showing religious value attached with theater.

Mechanical devices used in theater were
1) Geranos or Makhane
2) Ekkyclema
3) scena Ductis
4) costumes etc
hope this helps.
Regards

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"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin".

catharsis is the outlet of feelings. It is important to give oneself cathartic relief, cz it gives n oppurtunity to purge our sorrows. it savesus from looking at tragedy as something unhealthy. tragedy thus has a purifying effect on our soul.
In my above post afyter costumes i forgot to mention protagonist(hero) denteragonist or antagonist(villain) n tritagonist (the one who played minor roles).

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"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin".

i have an exam on 16th... us se pehle mujhe material chahye like points you know. i'll elaborate myself... this is a little spoon feeding but i need help on the above ones.

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If winter comes can spring be far behind

Ummm.... first off i would like to share sum random stuff that i came across while finding a reply to ur query. So here it goes.....

Delphic Morality
Delphy was a famous place in Greece cz of the holiest shrine in it. Delphic morality is the Code of Ethics. Apollo gave thecode of morality to the ppl; a moral code associated with the god of that shrine. On that facade of that temple it was written in greek. The Inscription runs as;
"Know Thyself
Nothing in Excess
Punishment is Near"
It means that always remember ur limitations of being a human being and not a god. Do not cross the human limits. If u do so then there are going to be consequences.


Hubris(Hybris) is pride, arrogance. If one suffers from this hubris, you become "ATE" (self-infatuation). the next stage is Nemesis(punishment).

HUBRIS(PRIDE-------ATE (SELF-INFATUATION)---------------------------NEMESIS(PUNISHMENT)


About that fate vs character thing u can say that one factor could be fate(gods), another could be coincidence(chance). It is also the irony of fate as there are many chance meetings or happenings. Oedipus was an arrogant person. So fate , chance or coincidence and his own temperament are major reasons.Here that quote"as flies to the wanton boys are v to the gods, they kill us for their sport" showing destiny or fate's power will be appropriate.

The Skene(scene) Building
Dressing Room where actors changed their costumes. Scenes were painted on the wall of this building.

Stage(Proskenion)
In the beginning, it was leveled, but gradually it changed and now it is slightly high.
Orchestra
The vacant place where chorus sang.
Paradoi
Two passages from both sides leading into orchestra. Chorus entered before audience through paradoi doors, together half from one door n the rest from the other. Sometimes they were silent but mostly they entered singing and dancing. They would arrange themselves in circle or rectangle. Chorus was the first to enter n first to leave.
Thymele
There was a small platform couple of feet high. Thylmele means altar. It was called theatrical prop or theatrical property. it had two uses a)to sacrifice the goat b) for dramatic purpose.
The seat of Honor
showing religious value associated with drama. Primarily, drama was for religious purpose n not for entertainment.
Earlier there were just seats but later they put thrones two. For audience mountains were cut m used for this purpose but later audience too used seats.
The post abt mechanical devices is gonna be a detailed one. I will inshaAllah post it soon. meanwhile check out the following links. hope they would be helpful.
http://www.enotes.com/oedipus-rex/character-analysis

http://pinoyreader.blogspot.com/2006...haracters.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/oedipus/characters.html

http://www.gradesaver.com/oedipus-re...haracter-list/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_ancient_Greece

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"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin".

Geranos or Makhane
It was a crude crane. An actor would be hanged to place him somewhere else, sometimes to show the appearance of God. They needed the assistance of God to explain the mystery. To give that impression, the actor would be lifted and would be placed on the stage. The idea was to show that God came flying. It was placed on top of the building.

Ekkyclema

It looked like a wheeled platform or a stretcher. One of the doors would open and it would be taken backstage after being shown to the audience. Greek ppl were highly civilized. They were allergic to violence and bloodshed. They did not like it so they came up with a way to include murder n death by using a better way i.e. door would open n someone would announce the death. Seeing the dead body affected more deeply n it had a dramatic purpose. After the announcement the dead body would be brought lying on this stretcher so the audience could see it.
If the man died in bedroom the picture painted would be that of the bedroom. Hence the environment of the death would be shown.

Scena Ductis

Apart from the scenes painted on the wall of stage, there was a machine which would mechanically show the picture or scenario suiting the scene. The panel would be changed so it was a machine to change the scenes. This shows how civilized Greeks were.
Greek theater was an open air and vast theater. Normally, the area having mountains on three sides, having slopes n one side open would be chosen. The slope would be serve the purpose of seats. The audience sat in tiers. All the area of orchestra was paved with stones n was smooth with hard surface. All the actors (thespians) wore masks(persona) made of clay n linen. On these masks human features were painted so that the audience could seen recognize the character. Expressions on the masks could be changed according to the situation. On top of the mask there was a protrusion called "ONKOS".It was of 6 inches n was used to make the actor tall n added physical importance.

Costumes

They were the clothes worn by actors. The 'tunic' was either striped or had flowery designs.They reached to the feet. The mourning was highlighted by black Grey yellow or white colors. Hats or caps were not worn except when some journey was made. A dark sun-burnt complexion stood for vigorous health. Normally this type of mask was given to soldiers, country boys and athletes. Whiteness of complexion stood for effeminacy. Extreme palour was the consequence of love or illness. Red hair and red cheeks were given to rascals. Curly thick hair indicated vigor, whereas close cropped hair was a sign of miserliness n niggardliness. Some actors used STILTS (wooden legs)for dramatic purposes. There was a hidden device in the masks so the voices of the actors sounded louder. Greeks were even aware of the ACOUSTICS n the principle of sound. They knew that there should be a solid barrier behind the actor to reflect the sound, There should be a hard n smooth surface in front of actors which was provided by the place where the chorus stood. Third principle is that actors should be slightly raised n audience should sit in tiers. This way the sound with travel with the slope.

The actors were highly respected n held an honorable status in society. I n Roman Era acting became a degraded profession n it took abt 1800 years to re-establish the importance of actors.

Ummmm.....I hope this must have cleared things a bit.Good luck with ur exam.
Regards.

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"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin".

Thanks a lot.
What about others?

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If winter comes can spring be far behind