During the ancient Greek period, Aristotle, a great philosopher, wrote a book called The Poetics to describe what constitutes a great tragic play. Using Sophocles' Oedipus Rex as the basis for his book, Aristotle goes into great detail about plot, character, and more, breaking down the components of a tragedy. Since Oedipus the King played an important role in the creation of Aristotle's book, it meets many of the Greek philosopher's requirements for a tragic play. According to Aristotle, plot is one of the most important elements of a tragedy. There must be a clear beginning, middle, and cascade of events leading to the end. The inciting moment in Oedipus Rex is when Creon returns from his visit to the oracle at Delphi with news of how to rid Thebes of the plague, which triggers the search for the previous king's murderer. The climax of the play occurs when Oedipus realizes that he is the cause of the plague and must now punish himself. The denouement takes place when Oedipus begs Creon to exile him. Character is also important in Poetics. An important aspect o...