Greek tragedy was characterized by revenge which was either natural or imposed. The Greeks believed that there was no wrongdoing that could go unpunished. This therefore meant that the person who had been wronged will have personally seek revenge or leave it up nature to avenge his or her fore. In most cases, a person who was wronged would seek revenge which would also be considered to be a wrongdoing. No matter how much a person felt they had been wronged, nobody would accept responsibility for the wrong. Revenge was therefore a recurring tragedy in generations to come. Looking at the Greek stories like Oedipus the king, we realize that the revenge that was taking place had been there for generations. It was even worse when it is considered that the revenge involved bloodshed. This meant that a wrong involving death could satisfactorily be revenged by shedding more blood. There are a number of characters identified to qualify a story to be a tragedy which is visible in Oedipus the king.
First, there is the aspect of fear which has come out clearly. The family of the king is afraid of what may happen next and who the next victim will be. The fear can also be felt when reading through the novel as one feels the rage within the characters to avenge the wrongs done to them. Death is also a tragedy that is experienced throughout the novel. The fact that such killings are not done by distant people but close relatives due to the rivalry in the family makes it a recurring tragedy. One is left wondering why such members of the same family cannot sit down and resolve their issues instead of killing each other. There is no hope for the end of such family hatred and rivalry as each party feels that they have been falsely accused and need to stage a revenge to prove their innocence. It is hence a tragedy that will pass from one generation to the other.
