Topic:

Significance of Climax

Date of submission: 26/12/2011

Significance of Climax

The Climax is the highest point in the story where the main
character's point of view changes or the most exciting action
filled part of the story. It is also known as the turning point in
the story. This is the crucial part of the drama which
determines the outcome of the conflict. In a plot line, the
climax occurs after the rising action and before the falling
action. It is the moment in a play at which the crisis comes to
its point of greatest intensity and is resolved. It is also the
peak of emotional response from a reader or spectator.
[Collected from internet]

The climax is the most important part of a story. It's when

most problems in the story are resolved, or are about to be
resolved. The point where the reader should be the most
excited, where there is the most danger for character and,
where everything gets resolved. This is the moment people
read stories for. There is more role of the climax than the last
sequence in a story. Ideally, this is the point in the story where
every plot point, every character, and every struggle comes
together and changes everything.

Here, we can see that the rising action of a drama ends in the
climax, whereas the falling action starts depending on climax.
So, it is the central or main part of the story.
[Collected from internet]
Here, I am going to compare and contrast between Oedipus, the King and
Arms and the Man on the basis of climaxes of the plays .Here, I point out
one similarity and dissimilarity between these two plays. The similarity is
the death of fathers of both hero (Oedipus & Bluntschli) .It has little but
significant contribution in the development of climaxes. The dissimilarity is
the ultimate consequence or ending. We can see, at the ending points
Oedipus, The King becomes a tragedy, whereas Arms and the Man has a
happy ending.

Oedipus:

Oedipus, The King may be divided into three parts, each

having its point of climax and each representing a distinct
area within the play .These three parts are the condemnation
of Creon by Oedipus, the discovery of truth and the conclusion
of the play.
 [Collected from internet]

The first part put before us a picture of Oedipus as the real

king who is devoted to the welfare of his subjects. But after the
Teiresias scene, Oedipus becomes Tyrant and hot-tempered
man. The entrance of Teiresias signals a crucial turning point
in the plot. His blindness augments the dramatic irony that
governs the play. Teiresias is blind but can see the truth;
Oedipus has his sight but cannot. In this scene, Sophocles
creates suspense in readers mind about the reason of
Teiresias reluctant to supply information to Oedipus .But,
when Oedipus grows angrier and taunts Teiresias for his
blindness, Teiresias says that Oedipus himself is the cursed
polluter of Thebes in very defiant tone .Here we see an rising
quarrel between Oedipus and Teiresias which come to end by
Oedipus decision of judicial murder to Creon although he is
persuaded to revoke the punishment.
[Collected from internet]

The end of Oedipus' interaction with the Corinthian

messenger and the Theban shepherd is another major turning
point or climax .Specifically, the Corinthian messenger admits
that Theban King Oedipus is not the biological son of his
presumed parents, Polypus and Merope. The reluctant
information from the Theban shepherd backs up and
elaborates on the information about Oedipus' parentage. It is
the worst point in the course of events when Oedipus learns
that his true parents are Theban monarchs Laius and
Jocasta .The climax occurs when Oedipus realizes he has
married his mother and killed his father and he is responsible
for the calamity that has befallen his kingdom. This realization
leads to the falling action of the play when Jocasta hangs
herself and Oedipus blinds his eyes.

The last scene or conclusion of Oedipus, the king is quite

dramatic. It is the moment when Oedipuss suffering is in the
most intense. The rest of the play consists of the resolution,
which involves Jocasta's death, Oedipuss blinding himself. It
also leads to Creon to throw Oedipus out from Thebes. In this
scene, Oedipus succeeded to prove himself as a hero, although
a tragic hero.

Arms and the Man:

George Bernard Shaw brings several climaxes in Arms and

the Man in order to make it interesting and exciting to the
readers.
In the middle of act 1, Shaw introduces us with captain
Bluntschli, who had been fighting on the side of the Serbian
and who had fled from the battle to save his live. Bluntschli
climbs up a water pipe and bursts into a ladies bedroom. The
lady is no other than Raina Petkoff, the fiance of major
Sergius and the Heroin of the play .Here we see a rising
tension in the when the fugitive asked Raina for shelter. In
this moment a question enters in the mind of reader weather
Raina help him or not ?Though Raina at first refused to help
him, she gradually feels sympathetic to him and promises to
give him shelter .Rianas this changing behavior towards the
fugitive indicates the reader the coming change in her life .

Another turning point has come in play when Sergiuass

illusion about the higher love between him and Raina broke
down .After Sergiuss retuning from war, Raina and Sergius
were spending alone time in Petkoffs house and talking about
higher love. Immediately after having spoken to Raina as a
romantic lover, Sergius attracted by the physical charms and
sex appeal of Louka, the maidservant of Petkoffs house. He
can not resist the temptation to make amorous advance to this
woman. As soon as Louka discovers Sergiuss interest in her,
she goes about the matter in a systematic manner in order to
hook him as her husband. Of course, she is intelligent enough
to be able to talk to Sergius in a manner which creates upon
him a favorable impression about her. And then another
development also takes place. Louka tells him Raina had
allowed the fugitive soldier to make love to her. Sergius thus
becomes almost certain that Raina had made love to
Bluntschli. Now Sergius become more attracted to Louka as he
sees a probability to be refused by Raina. He starts to trust on
Louka and Louka almost succeeded to make conspiracy
between Sergius and Rainas love.

The final turning point comes when Sergius accuses

Raina of having allowed Bluntschli to make love to her
Bluntschli on the occasion of his very first visit to the Petkoff
house, and when Raina discovers that Sergius had been
flirting with the maidservant Louka .Raina feels insulted by
Sergius accusation that had allowed Bluntschli to make love
to her, when actually nothing had taken place between her
and Bluntschli on the occasion of his first visit to Pickoffs
house. At the same time, she feels more insulted when Sergius
does not deny that he had a secretly made love to Louka Thus,
now she is completely disillusioned about Sergius. At that
point the play gets most complicated, while Bluntschli's arrival
with the coat helps to resolve this situation. His arrival leads
the play towards happy ending that means marriage of
Bluntschli and Raina.
[Idea taken from Ramji lal & Dr.Sens reference book, sentences are self-
made]

In the conclusion, we can say that climax is like heart of

the play. It makes a play interested, though its effect is good or
bad. We see, after climax King Oedipus becomes the tragic
hero, on the contrary, Bluntschli becomes a real hero. Climax
brings changes in both play and gives them a unique
conclusion.

[THE END]