Analysis Of Oedipus ' Oedipus The King '

Those who believe they can triumph over fate deserve to be crushed by the overwhelming weight of reality that will come crashing down on them. Ordinarily confidence yields benefit in moderation, however, it proves damaging when used excessively. Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles thousands of years ago as a cautionary tale about hubris. As a king, Oedipus rules over the city of Thebes with an arrogant attitude and believes that he can defy the gods. Through the events of the novella, Oedipus lost everything after uncovering that he killed his father and had children with his mother. Conversely the real downfall of Oedipus came from his pride and failure to handle the situation carefully. Oedipus fills the archetype of tragic

He, not Teresias, can see what is good and what is bad, who is innocent and who is guilty, which is the correct answer and which answer contradicts itself. Of course, all of these beliefs will come to haunt Oedipus. In arguing with Teresias, Oedipus claims that the truth "has no strength / for you because you are blind in mind and ears / as well as in your eyes . . . [unlike] me or any other who sees the light" (26). Oedipus believes that his powers of insight will lead him to the truth and guide him down the correct path, but in fact, he is like a man who studies the ground so intensely right in front of him that he never bothers to look up. The actions that he thought were good will turn out to be bad. He professes his innocence only to discover his guilt. And, in what might be the greatest piece of irony, his cleverness and insight lead him to a contradictory truth—that he, with all his intelligence, is a fool. Oedipus has spent a lifetime looking out, garnishing cognitive power and insight, but now it is time for Oedipus to look inward. We are all blind to the truth until we have the strength to blind ourselves, to start over by seeing the world in whole new way.

When we consider a blind person and a person with eyes, we usually deem the latter to be more knowledgeable. This is because they have the gift of sight and can therefore perceive the world around them and have more knowledge. This assumption is proven wrong in the play Oedipus Rex by the Greek writer Sophocles. The plot is about a baby who is born to the king and queen of Thebes with a terrible prophecy hanging above his head. The oracle of Apollo had predicted that the boy would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Afraid of the prophecy, the parents decided to kill the boy. But, he survives and lives to fulfill the prophecy. The main part of the play is his quest for his identity and what he does when he learns the truth

Oedipus thought his life was great. Feeling powerful and almighty, Oedipus was wonderful at solving riddles, but did not like the answer to the riddle of who he really was. Although many told him to stop trying to figure out the answer, it was not in his nature to give up. Oedipus thought he could see everything, but he was actually blind of the truth about his life until the end.

One of the many symbols Sophocles portrays throughout the play is sight and blindness. Sight represents how Oedipus had eyesight, but was still “blind” to the truth of himself throughout most of the play. He was both hesitant and unaware of the events that built up to

What is sight? Is it just the ability to recognize one’s surroundings or is there more? Is it knowledge? Is it understanding? Can a blind man see? Can the sighted be blind? And beyond, when the truth is too terrible, do we choose not to see? The phrase "too see" has so very many connotations. One meaning is to know or to understand and the other is based on the physical aspects of things. As humans, we are distracted by the physical world, which causes us to be blinded by the most obvious of truths. Oedipus, the main character in Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, could not see the truth, but the blind man, Teiresias, "saw" it plainly. Sophocles’ uses blindness as a motif in the play Oedipus Rex.

From the very beginning of Oedipus, one can see that the main character of Oedipus is very sure about who he is and where he has come from. One of the most important motifs of the story is the idea of metaphorical blindness, and how Oedipus claims that everyone else around him is blind, and he is the only one that can see. However, what Oedipus soon finds out is that he has no idea who he is, and that all along he has been blind himself. Sophocles makes Oedipus suffer because of the fact that he actually has no idea who he is, and almost avoids figuring it out. It takes a defining moment for it to dawn on Oedipus that he is not who he thought he was. Oedipus’ blindness seems to have been his downfall, but the more prevalent question that

The tale of Oedipus and his prophecy has intrigued not only the citizens of Greece in the ancient times, but also people all over the world for several generations. Most notable about the play was its peculiar structure, causing the audience to think analytically about the outcomes of Oedipus’ actions and how it compares with Aristotle’s beliefs. Another way that the people have examined the drama is by looking at the paradoxes (such as the confrontation of Tiresias and Oedipus), symbols (such as the Sphinx), and morals that has affected their perceptions by the end of the play. Nonetheless, the most important aspect is how relevant the story is and how it has influenced modern ideas like that of Freud and other people of today.

The most famous scene in Sophocles’, Oedipus Rex, is when Oedipus gouges out his eyes. But, that’s not the only example of sight and blindness in this play. In Sophocles ' plays there was always extensive content where he paid considerable attention to the element of “spectacle” in his plays. When observing the theme of vision, it invites the audience to look at the action with a double perspective, through their own eyes and through the eyes of those on stage. Within this play, sight and blindness are the underlying themes. Sight is commonly associated with light or positive overtones, and blindness is attached to darkness or negative undertones. The approach to describing blindness deals with not only physical blindness but also metaphorical blindness. Oedipus ' blindness changes from bad to worse at different scenes of the play. Although the word "blindness" seems quite simple, it can be very debatable. Blindness or the inability to “see” consist of two elements; Oedipus 's ability to see vs his desire to see. Throughout many scenes, the two elements are used in pattern form. Some scholars mention the two aspects of the play in addition to discussing the theme of knowledge. Lazlo Versenyi, Thomas Hoey, Marjorie Champlain, analyze the play from different perspectives. Versenyi says the play was “a tragedy of self- knowledge”, with the use of terms

In his essay, “Introduction to Oedipus the King”, Bernard Knox supports free will by stating that Oedipus’ downfall was not caused by fate. According to Knox there is not a doubt that, “Oedipus is the free agent who, by his own self-willed action, discovers that his own predicted destiny has already been fulfilled” (86). He clearly states that Oedipus is responsible for his free actions during the play. He insists that Oedipus’s made the decisions to discover the truth about himself.

In the beginning, Oedipus and the hostage are blind due to their ignorance and act without good reason. Oedipus is in the midst of arguing with Tiresias and accusing him of being blind while Tiresias states that Oedipus himself is blind. This can be seen by Tiresias’ words, “you’re blind to the corruption of your life, / to the house you live in, those you live with- / who are your parents?[...]” (471-73) Oedipus claims that

Oedipus intelligence could not see the truth, but the blind man, Teiresias, saw it plainly. Sophocles uses blindness as a theme in the play. Oedipus was uninformed and as a result blind to the truth about himself and his past. Yet, when Teiresias exposes the truth he is in denial. It is left to Oedipus to conquer his blindness, accept the truth, and realize fate. But instead Oedipus ridicules Terirsias blindness and accuses him of being on the side of Kreon and helping him become King. He accuses Teiresias for being paid to tell a fraudulent prophecy to him. Quickly Teiresias answers him back and tells him he is BLIND, and tells him about his past of who his actual mother and father was.

During his life time, Oedipus was blind to truth, at first, he did not know that Jocasta and Laius were his actual parents. He even rebelled against anyone that would not give him the reason or someone that would contradict him. After so many attempts to evade the truth, he ends up giving up about what is the actual truth. He agrees and accepts that Liaus and Jocasta were his parents, and he ended up killing his father and marrying his mother; he was the one causing hopelessness in Thebes. After he starts to realize all these truths, he decided to blind himself, and become in Teiresias same position. “ And since you have reproached me with my blindness, I say – you have your sight, and do not see what evils are about you, nor with whom, nor in what home you are dwelling.” In this quote, a theme such as blindness is shown through Teiresias’ words to Oedipus, to whom he is telling that even with his physical sight, in the inside he is blind because he is unwilling to know the truth about his life. He also tells Oedipus that since he does not see the truth about his life, he doesn’t see the anguish of his life either.

Through the course of the play Oedipus is the detective, the judge, and the jury. He investigates, decides a verdict, and carries out his own punishment. When Tiresias arrives at Thebes Oedipus questions him looking for answers. Tiresias is a blind man, who ironically can see the future and truths of people’s lives. It is Tiresias who is the first person to tell Oedipus that he has killed his own father. He tells Oedipus “you do not see the evil in which you live.” Oedipus doubts Tiresias’ ability to see the truths because of his physical blindness and states, “ You

"Oedipus the King" is a tragic play showing a shift from the belief of fate to freedom of choice. Therefore, Oedipus the king is a great example of those who run from fate ends up fulfilling their fate