In Ancient Greek tragedy, the concepts of suffering, hubris and moral responsibility are all interrelated, as one simply wouldn't exist without the other. Oedipus Rex, composed by Sophocles, illuminates this. Through being structured in a Mystery Play format, the audience then witnesses the characters unravel a truth known from the beginning, distancing actor from spectator which allows the audience to see the roles of these concepts. The political, social and cultural aspects from the era in which the play has been written are then also made determinable in the work, however the play still manages to be universal as apart from the storyline and plot, it deals with humanistic issue of confronting the truth.

In Ancient Greek Theatre, suffering is presented as inevitable as well as irrevocable. According to Aristotle, the tragic protagonist is responsible for his/her own suffering but it is through the destruction of the...