A Comparative Study Of Plot In King Lear And Oedipus The King

As a well-known ancient Greek philosopher and theorist,Aristotle made academic contribution in all walks of disciplines.In the field of literature,the most famous work is Poetics,a systematic and complete theoretical masterpiece,in which the tragedy theory he proposed has a far-reaching influence until now.King Lear has been regarded as the greatest tragedy work of Shakespeare and still is discussed and explored by contemporary scholars.Based on Aristotle’s tragic theory in Poetics,especially discussion about the plot of tragedy,through close textual reading,compared with Sophocles’ Oedipus the King—model of tragedy proposed by Aristotle,the author intends to explore the plot elements and arrangement in King Lear and analyze how Shakespeare and his work has adopted and developed the western tradition tragedies in terms of plot.“Reversal” and “Recognition”,the two important elements of plot,exist in both main plot line and subplot line of King Lear.Through plot layout and materials selection,character and action,time and space in stage performance,Shakespeare exert the tragic effect to the largest extent and trigger audience’s emotion of pity and fear.The plot setting of double-plot and double ending reflects the inheritance and innovation of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy.