A 'Recognition' occurs simultaneously with the Reversal this is a change from blissful ignorance to disgraceful knowledge8. By this I mean that The Messenger comes to give Oedipus good news but by means of his 'spoken action', he brings about the opposite result.

in accordance with probability or necessity'7. To put this in Aristotelian terms, The Messenger brings about a 'Reversal' 'A change to the opposite of the actions being performed. The noble King has carried out some horrific events but the only person who can make this public and confirm its truth is a nameless messenger. This made it hard to include much physical action as it simply would not be seen by the audience unless it was a huge physical spectacle which would have been expensive and difficult to produce.read more.Д«y looking at The Messenger's contribution to the play we focus not on the events that have occurred but the manner in which we hear about them. In Greek Theatre, tragedies such as 'Oedipus the King' were performed in huge amphitheatres, playing to audiences of thousands. There are periods in theatre, both before and after the age of melodrama, that did not place such importance on the use of physical action. Some people argue that 'actions speak louder than words', this was certainly true in the theatre of the nineteenth century, though that is only one period of theatre history. Both types of play could be said to be 'action packed' but they convey their action in very different ways. In theatrical terms, there is a huge difference between plays that portray their action through physical action and plays that portray their action through the spoken word. Before looking at any individual characters or even plays, one must first look at the term 'action' and the different meanings or connotations it can have or suggest. Consider how one character other than Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and one character (including the chorus) other than Oedipus in King Oedipus contribute to the 'action' of each of these plays. 'Linda is in Action, she's not just sitting around' (Arthur Miller).

Main character in death of a salesman