By Aristotelian terms, tragedy should be used to inspire pity and fear. The character should experience catharsis, a great emotional closure, to qualify. Tragedies must have a plot, action, and characters, elements eventually shared by the comedy genre. However, obvious theatrical differences were included. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, tragedies had spectacle, used language to incite philosophical debates, and often included melody. Comedies were vulgar, employed bawdy humor, and oftentimes made fun of political figures. They were the perfect contrast to tragedies; in that they were better suited as sources of mass entertainment. Comedy keeps the tragic aspects of life in check. The genre takes the high and makes it ridiculous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, when comparing the works Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em>, Oedipus Rex<\/em>, and Lysistrata<\/em>, Aristotle\u2019s definitions can be proven wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we first meet Gilgamesh, he has already lived a storied life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSurpassing all kings, powerful and tall<\/p>\n\n\n\n beyond all others, violent, splendid<\/p>\n\n\n\n a wild bull of a man, unvanquished leader<\/p>\n\n\n\n hero in the front lines, beloved by his soldiers\u201d (Mitchell, 80). <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em> is a tragedy, by Aristotelian definitions, because we see the full impact of hubris at its worst in him. Hubris is the presence of excessive pride or self-confidence. The only way to keep him in check was for the gods to send him his equal in every way, Enkidu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, as tragedies claim, there must be a way for a lesson to be learned. Gilgamesh and Enkidu join forces, and become friends, and apparently, much more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One aspect of Aristotle\u2019s claim that tragedy provides \u201cnoble\u201d or \u201cmorally good\u201d agents is not honestly present in this epic. Nearly every named character within it is imperfect and flawed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the goddess Ishtar \u2013 infamous for her fiery temper \u2013 is presented here as the worst of the feminine kind. She proposes that Gilgamesh be her lover, and his only response is to unequivocally reject her. Nothing could tempt him to be her husband, let alone her bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, he tries to be humble when rejecting her: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTell me, how could I ever repay you<\/p>\n\n\n\n even if I gave you jewels, perfumes<\/p>\n\n\n\n rich robes?\u201d (132). <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n But he is quick to ask: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat will happen to me when your heart turns elsewhere, and your lust burns out?\u201d (132). <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This example does not qualify Gilgamesh<\/em> as a whole to be a comedy, however. Later in the epic, on Gilgamesh\u2019s final journey, Utnapishtim admonishes him asking, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGilgamesh, why<\/p>\n\n\n\n prolong your grief? Have you ever paused<\/p>\n\n\n\n to compare your own blessed lot with a fool\u2019s?\u201d (176). <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Gilgamesh ultimately learns nothing in the end, which is seen in Oedipus Rex<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The heart of Oedipus Rex<\/em> is the search for answers. For many years, Thebes \u2013 the kingdom the title character has ruled – has been plagued by crops not growing and women not having children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oedipus takes it upon himself to find the source of the plague, not realizing that he is the beginning and the end of the plague. His search for answers leads him to state explicitly that the murderer of King Laius must be found, and they must be exiled or have their own lives taken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it is his assumption of the nature of Laius\u2019 death that makes the play a tragedy in Aristotelian sense. For example, Tiresias the prophet begs Oedipus, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease send me home<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take up your load and I\u2019ll take mine<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believe me, it is better so\u201d (Roche, 18). <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Throughout the whole scene Oedipus cannot divine the truth from what Tiresias is trying to tell him, that <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cdetected in his very heart of home<\/p>\n\n\n\n his children\u2019s father and their brother<\/p>\n\n\n\n son and husband to his mother<\/p>\n\n\n\n bed-rival to his father and assassin\u201d (26).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The aspect of tragedy that says that \u201cthrough the representation of pitiable and fearful incidents\u201d is in line with Aristotle\u2019s definition. We see Oedipus presented as a great man who has claimed blind ignorance to Fate his entire life, by other\u2019s meddling and later, by his own hubris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time we find him in Rex<\/em>, we find the answers that he so desperately needs but are blind to accept. The eventual catharsis of his character is after he finds out the truth of his birth, and that he must follow through with what he said he would of Laius\u2019 assassin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But rather than allow the morally just punishment for his sins with his death, Oedipus blinds himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Wicked, wicked eyes!\u2019 he gasps<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018You shall not see me nor my crime<\/p>\n\n\n\n not see my present shame. Go dark for all time blind<\/p>\n\n\n\n to what you never should have seen, and blind<\/p>\n\n\n\n to the love this heart has cried to see\u201d (70). <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n What is true of Oedipus Rex<\/em> is that the title character – like Gilgamesh \u2013 is not \u201cnoble.\u201d The women of Lysistrata<\/em> are \u2013 however – \u201cmorally good\u201d agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lysistrata<\/em> begins with a gathering of the women from the great cities of Athens and Sparta. Lysistrata encourages the women to \u201cabstain from the prick\u201d (Sutherland, 18) to bring their men home permanently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the comedic sense, Lysistrata holds true. Comedies were meant as a light-hearted approach to a heavy subject. In this case the heavy subject is that of a long-standing war. Aristophanes takes a very serious matter and gives it a comedic spin from the viewpoint of women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While his approach to comedy is lewd and often loaded with double entendres, it does present \u201cnoble\u201d and \u201cmorally good\u201d agents, unlike the Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em> and Oedipus Rex<\/em>. The women of Lysistrata want only to see the war end. That alone is a noble cause to support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While our interpretation of the play today is considerably skewed from Classical audiences, it is telling that a comedy could serve many purposes. In Classical times, women believing they could have control in the way that they do in the play would have been the topic of discussion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In modern times, the withholding of sex becomes absurd, not the idea that women have enough agency to control the outcome of a war. Could Lysistrata<\/em> have been told tragically? Most certainly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Would it have been more effective if it were? No. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When applying the Aristotelian view of tragedy, Lysistrata<\/em> would fail on the premise of catharsis. There is no great emotional overhaul, particularly when the men agree on peace. They see it as <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn international conspiracy<\/p>\n\n\n\n launched by the women!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I comprehend it all!\u201d (57).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The peace accord is agreed upon only because they want to have sex with their women again, not because the lesson is learned: that war is hell, and it affects not only the participants, but those who are left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Aristotelian definitions, the Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em>, Oedipus Rex<\/em>, and Lysistrata<\/em> are not tragedies and comedies, respectively. But they have survived through the ages as Classical representations of what we know to be tragic or comedic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons we have learned from each play are what make them tragedies and a comedy, not because they adhere to Aristotle\u2019s definitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons one can learn from each have changed through the centuries but hold fast for their ability to appeal to human nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aristotle defined tragedy as \u201can imitation of a noble and complete action, having the proper magnitude; it employs language that has been artistically enhanced . . . it is presented in dramatic, not narrative form, and achieves, through the representation of pitiable and fearful incidents, the catharsis of such incidents\u201d (Butcher). However, he did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-portfolio"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Guilliean","author_link":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/author\/desertskirt\/"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phiPhz-m","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melted.ink\/memoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Book](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpacheco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/the-epic-of-gilgamesh.jpg?ssl=1\")
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