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Oedipus the King - Research Paper In the fourth century B.C., Aristotle formulated his own definition and concept of a tragedy, outlining the rules by which he thought a tragedy should follow. Corresponding with Aristotle's view of tragedy, Oedipus the King meets the strict and detailed standard of Aristotle's idea. The handling of the elements of plot is masterly, and even a modern audience has little difficulty in seeing this. In Oedipus the King, …

…himself blind. But these ironic reversals are not used merely for the more superficial theatrical effects (though some of them function admirably as dramatic effects), properly understood, they underline the critique of human knowledge which is made by the play as a whole. The simplest explanation, which covers all the facts, may be the one in which the human mind is necessarily constrained to accept; however, the simplest explanation may not be the true explanation.