Anouilh’s Tragedy and Oedipus Rex :: comparison compare contrast essays

Anouilh’s Tragedy and Oedipus Rex    Many definitions exist for the genres of â€Å"tragedy† and â€Å"melodrama.†Ã‚   Similar to the distinction between fruits and vegetables, most can tell the two apart but have difficulty describing why.   However, some definitions require a deeper look into a work, such as the interpretation provided by Anouilh’s movie version of â€Å"Antigone.†Ã‚   Whether or not Sophocles’s â€Å"Oedipus Rex† is a tragedy or melodrama has been debated since the teachings of Aristotle and strong arguments have been made for both sides.   â€Å"Tragedy,† as defined by Anouilh, takes on a lifelike form, putting a new twist on an old definition that requires one to take a different perspective on the play.   Though at a superficial level â€Å"Oedipus Rex† is a tragedy, its details point it towards the direction of a melodrama.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first and most glaring problem found while attempting to plug â€Å"Oedipus Rex† into Anouilh’s description of tragedy comes with how tragedy runs in a play.    The spring is wound up tight.   It will uncoil of itself.   That is what is so convenient in tragedy.   The least little turn of the wrist will do the job†¦. The rest is automatic.   You don’t need to lift a finger.   The machine is in perfect order; it has been oiled ever since time began, and it runs without friction (Anouilh’s â€Å"Antigone†).    Once tragedy has started to roll, it never ceases while continuing to snowball until the point of finality in the play.   In â€Å"Oedipus Rex,† this is not seen.   Rather, Oedipus himself works the machine, pulling each lever and pushing every button himself.   Though â€Å"the god’s design is open, [and] all his oracle is clear†¦ (Sophocles 76),† it is Oedipus himself that must hurry his fate.   The gods seem to hurry Oedipus along his journey as well, catalyzing the actions leading to Oedipus’s final revelations and self-mutilation.   â€Å"Friends, it was Apollo, sprit of Apollo.   He made this evil fructify (Sophocles 73).†Ã‚   Oedipus recognizes that the gods, notably Apollo had ushered him along, leaving him with little else than to explore his origins and eventually go mad.   Oedipus is not put into some fate machine and chewed around.   Oedipus is subjected to his own curiosity and the play of his own gods.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Anouilh, a tragedy must be very clean, whereas a melodrama is sloppy in nature.    Tragedy is clean; it is restful; it is flawless.