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Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is one of the most influential and important analysis’ to come out of the literary world of ancient Greece. His analysis of the ideal form of tragic plays became a guideline for later playwrights in Western civilisation. When looked at in relation to Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus it seems that Aristotle’s theory is exemplified within it. From Aristotle’s Poetics through to his definition of tragedy it seems that Oedipus Tyrannus in the perfect example for Aristotle’s theory, and there seems to be no deviation from Aristotle’s notion within Oedipus Tyrannus but this will be discussed later on. To answer the question, the first thing that has to be done is to analyse Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. Aristotle obviously didn’t invent drama but he did use examples from the works of famous Greek playwrights such as Sophocles to illustrate his main ideas. The Greeks believed that tragedy was the highest form of drama, and Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were based on this belief: “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language; in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with