Tragedy in Plays

Although it is recognized that he is non a spiritual leader, the people see him as sizable and able to fix difficult situations. As the priest states,

consequently, O King, here at thy hearth we sit,

I and these peasantren; not as deeming thee

A new divinity, but the first of men;. . .

fraud thou not he who coming to the town

of Cadmus freed us from the tax revenue we paid

And now, O Oedipus, our peerless poove,

All we thy votaries beseech thee, ascend

Some succor, whether by a voice from heaven

Whispered, or haply known by human wit (lines 35-49).

So it can be seen that Oedipus is a man of high position (king) who is esteemed by his people. He is not only ruler, but also husband and stick. Therefore he fits Stagg's first requirement of being a voice of enough stature to ensure that his suffering will be significant.

The gods hold back decreed that the child of Laius and Jocasta will kill his father and marry his mother. Walton (1995) points surface that, although Laius and Jocasta, as well as Oedipus have heard this prophecy, each in their own way chooses to baulk the gods somehow. Laius and Jocasta choose to ignore the warning and have a child anyway. The man meant to expose the child has pity on it. The king and queen of Corinth fail to inform Oedipus of his origin. Oedipus, in turn, when he hears the prophet at Delphi tell him that he

otherwise than that, he is married and has children. He is a salesman who is always confused with solely sorts of schemes that will help him achieve his ends. However, his memories and dreams are much like delusions than actual fact on the one and or attainable ends on the other, so the schemes never turn out as he has pictured them and his memories of past "good-times" are uttermost from the truth. In fact, he is one self-deluded, self-promoting, self-defeating soul, which is tragic in itself, for he is having difficulty merging his personal beliefs and ideals with the realities of modern life, which are not carrying him as close to his dreams as he would like. In this instance, it could be said that Loman is very much like Oedipus, as he wants more than what is "fated" to be given to him.

He wants to avoid what the American gods have decreed for him. However, when an individual is tenor in conflict to the direction that his or her family is passing game then there is "a gradual realization of conflicts deep down the individual that both mirror the larger conflicts in society and define a core of singularity in the characters themselves" (Rollyson, 1985, p. 1337). This is the "tragic flaw," the self-defeating fight against what is for what the individual insists that there is. Therefore, just as Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus strove to change the gods decree for their lives, so Willy Loman strives to change history by changing his memories.

And on the murderer this curse I lay

(On him and all the partners in his guilt):--

In addition to being in a position to fall tragically from great heights, Oedipus is his own legal document for destruction. It is Oedipus who sends Creon to the Oracle at Delphi and it is Oedipus who later announces to his populace the need to find the man who killed the former king, Laius.

Rollyson, C. E., Jr. (1985). "Arthur Miller." Critical Survey of caper: English Language Series, Authors. Vol. 4. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs: Sale
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