According to
Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, the noun peripeteia
refers to a turn in the opposite direction, a "reversal", a "sudden
change", or, among other definitions, a "sudden reversal of
circumstances."
With respect to ' play, the term peripeteia
became famous because Aristotle, in the Poetics (see 1452a22),
used it to describe the reversal that occurred when thefrom Corinth came to tellthat Polybus had
died. After Oedipus told the Corinthian about the dreadful oracle, the messenger thought that he
could relieve Oedipus of his fears by telling him that Polybus was not actually his
father.
My lord, since I came to make you happy,
why dont I relieve you of this fear? (Ian Johnston translation)
When Oedipus hears this news, though, he soon experiences, according to Aristotle,
peripeteia. Upon learning that Polybus and Merope were not his real father
and mother, Oedipus soon discovers that Laius andwere his parents. This discovery, of course,
leads to Jocasta's suicide and Oedipus blinding himself.
Ah, so it all came true. Its so clear now.
O light, let me look at
you one final time,a man who stands revealed as cursed by birth,
cursed by my own family, and cursed
by murder where I should not
kill.
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