Analysis Of Oedipus The King

Oedipus may have deserved some of the punishment he was given, but the extent which he received rouses pity from the characters and audience alike. At the climax of the story Oedipus stated, “'I stand revealed- born in shame, married in shame, an unnatural murderer'” (Sophocles 88). After this realization he comes to admit the nature of his existence and no longer attempts to subvert the will of the Gods. His brother-in-law comes to pity him saying “I have not come to mock you, Oedipus, nor reproach you for the wrong you did. If you have no respect for the feelings of human beings at least show some for the sunlight, which nourishes them all” (Sophocles 101). Creon shows pity for Oedipus and all he has done, including accusing him of conspiring to take his place as king. He also directs the people on how they should respond to Oedipus and his predicament. The inescapability of

Oedipus’ inflated ego and blatant denial of the truth is apparent from the very beginning of the play, and proves dangerous to those around him. In his opening dialogue, Oedipus discusses the plague with his citizens. Moreover, Oedipus says, “I thought it wrong, my children, to hear the truth/from others, messengers” (Sophocles 6-7). Consequently, Oedipus ignored warnings from messengers telling him that his people were starving, they tried to open his eyes to what his people were going through but in his stubbornness, he refused to believe it. Furthermore, Oedipus could not believe that he was failing his people; his ego wouldn’t allow it. Unfortunately, Instead of thinking rationally and listening to the warnings, Oedipus puts himself before the starving people of Thebes and this is not even the only time that Oedipus is seen putting himself before others due to an inflated ego. Furthermore, when Tiresias revealed to Oedipus that Oedipus was the killer, Oedipus immediately denied the allegations and attacked Tiresias. Oedipus says, “That obscenity, twice--by god, you’ll pay”(Sophocles 414). Later in the conversation, Oedipus exclaims, “Creon! Is this conspiracy his or yours?” (431). Non surprisingly, Oedipus’ irrational and paranoid thoughts that Creon and Tiresias are teaming up and plotting his overthrow are supported by no evidence. Over and over during his conversation with Tiresias, Oedipus is selfish and in denial, acting out towards Tiresias just for trying to help him. Yet, the worst comes when Oedipus accuses Tiresias of attempting to overthrow him, not even on a gut feeling, but

The theme of sight and blindness is undoubtedly important to notice while reading Oedipus the King. The number of times the words “see” or “blind” are in the play make it make it undeniably obvious that they are significant. The theme is developed throughout the dialogue, through characters such as Tiresias and Oedipus, and also directly in the irony of the play. It is important in a play about the truth because almost every character was “blind” to the truth. All of the characters, except one, can physically see, but mentally cannot see the truth.

In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses his protagonist, Oedipus, to explore his pursuit of knowledge, which leads to his tragic destruction. Oedipus is a favorable king who is determined to end the curse that has been brought upon the city because the murderer of his predecessor, Laius, still lies in the city. Ironically, Oedipus delivers the curse to the city because he murdered his father, Laius. Oedipus’s desire to gain knowledge and bring the murderer of Laius to justice, results in his downfall, which causes the people around him to be greatly affected as well.

In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses dramatic irony to frustrate the audience and create suspense. After the first chorus, Oedipus vows to avenge the death of King Laius and “become [the] son” that Laius could have had if his life did not end (I.i.681). This scene frustrates the audience because they know Oedipus is the murderer, but he is either completely clueless or in denial. Oedipus’ refusal to accept the truth engages spectators by building the urge to witness the realization of his wrong doings. While Oedipus is speaking to Tiresias the prophet, he accuses the prophet of taking the life of the king. In response, the prophet told Oedipus he is “living in [dark] shame with the closest of [his]

Once Oedipus was grown up, he heard about this fate and went on the road to Thebes to escape it and killed a man. He becomes ruler of Thebes when he solves the sphinx riddle and his people are in a plague and ask for his help.. “ I know; I learned of him from others; I never saw him(8)” he actually did see him because he murdered him. “ Eventually he finds out he murdered the king of Thebes. “Put your questions. I am no murderer(30)” this quotation shows the arrogance Oedipus holds within. Oedipus has always known everything and he fears this would change everything.. And this reality tears him away from all that he has believed. Oedipus’ pride forbids him from seeing the truth---that he killed Laius. This quote also relates to Creon since he did not want to admit Antigone was doing the right thing because he did not want to seem weak.

Oedipus was in denial of the truth. He was so blind that when confronted by Tiresias with the truth of his crimes he quickly denied that he could have had anything to do with the death of Laius. When the blame was pointed at him by Tiresias, Oedipus went as far to question Tiresias abilities as a seer, and then proceeded to accuse Tiresias and Creon of having a plot to throw him out of crown. "And now you try to drive me out" (Sophocles 61). He truly believed that he had no responsibility in the death of Laius

Oedipus had been told by his wife, and as it turns out, his mother, that Laius spoke to a prophet who told him he would one day be killed by his own child. She explained how that couldn’t be true, and as she did, Oedipus realized the child she was talking about was him. Can you imagine how sick he felt learning he had killed his father and married his mother? He felt so guilty. At first he didn’t say anything, but as with any hero, the truth must come out.

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King encompasses the ideas of fate and fortune into the tragic story of the ignorant Oedipus. Scholar Bernard Knox says that Oedipus’ fall was caused by “attributes of divinity- knowledge, certainty, and justice.” Oedipus’ fall was caused by the absence of knowledge, uncertainty, and anger, which led him to show injustice. He had absence of knowledge because he did not know the truth, he had uncertainty because he acted without certainty, and he showed anger when Teiresias would not tell him the truth, which led him to display injustice to Creon.

“Is it endurable that I should hear such words from him? Go and a curse go with you! Quick, home with you! Out of my house at once!” (7). Oedipus was easily angered. He was a prideful individual who tried everyway possible to avenge the death of Laius, his real father. He did not want to listen to anyone who told him that he is the one who killed Laius and will not accept the prediction about his life and refused any idea of his fate. His pride also played apart in his eagerness trying to find the killer of Laius. He believed that he was the only one who could figure it out and wanted to show off. This led to him finding out that he had killed him! And eventually realized his wife, Locastus, was his mother! This is a wonderful example that shows that pride comes before

Creon advises Oedipus to enlist the help of the blind prophet Tiresias to solve the mystery. When he demands the answer as to who the murderer was,Tiresias told Oedipus that he, was the “defiler of this land,”(30). Essentially, Tiresias was telling Oedipus that he was the unclean thing the oracle referrers to that needs to be driven out of the land. Angered, outraged, and confused, Oedipus could not accept this truth of hearing he was the murderer, and further insulted the blind prophet. Similarly, Oedipus’s pride falsely leads him to think that he could escape his fate that he was told about in the prophecy. While in Corinth, Oedipus went to a shrine of Apollo, where he was told a prophecy in which he would murder his father, marry his mother, and have unnatural children. “The oracle of Phoebus Apollo said that I/ Must kill my father, lie with my mother. /This drove me out of Corinth. I regret nothing - /I have married happily, raised a family, known the sweetness of power” (61). Oedipus believes that since he escaped from his “parents” in Corinth, he escaped his fate and could no longer fulfill the prophecy. Because he did not believe in oracles, nor know Jocasta was his mother, nor know Laius was his father, he was certain at this point that he indeed was not king Laius’s murderer, despite Tiresias’s words. As the tragedy unfolds, it shows further evidence that he had fulfilled the prophecy. Oedipus’s pride, which was once seen as favorable to him, destroys

Julius Caesar once said that “men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true”. Because of their pride, people tend to only believe the ideas that will not damage their pride. However, because of this, one often disregards certain parts of the truth. Oedipus, because of his earlier successes, believes that he knows the correct truth concerning his role in Laius’ death and refuses to believe anyone that says otherwise. In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses characterization, light and dark symbolism and situational irony to show how hubris can prevent a person from seeing the truth.

Once Oedipus finds out the truth of his origins and finds the murderer, he cannot handle it. “Then he plunged them deep into the sockets of his eyes, shouting that he would never look upon the wrongs he had committed and had suffered” (1303-1310). The whole irony of the play is that throughout it, Oedipus could physically see but was blind to the truth that stood right in front of him. Now that he knows the truth, he cannot stand it and refuses to see the truth anymore. The motifs had worked around Oedipus throughout the play to present him as an ignorant man who could not see the truth right in front of him.

“Dismiss me, send me home. That will be the easiest way for both of us to bear our burden.” (Sophocles 19) Since Oedipus needed to figure out who killed King Laius in order to break the plague he went to the prophet Tiresias who then told Oedipus to not to look into finding the murderer since it is easier for both Tiresias and Oedipus to carry on with with their lives since the truth is too big to bear. This was the very first warning telling Oedipus to stop and just move on, but because of his ignorance and pride, Oedipus still went on and forced Tiresias to speak the truth. Tiresias told Oedipus that he was the murderer and yet he mocked and angrily rejects the prophecy and what Tiresias said, which is ultimately the first part of Oedipus’ downfall due to his ignorance and

Oedipus has several flaws that contribute to his downfall, which the audience fears, as his hubris and zeal leads to many plot actions culminating in the reversal of his good fortune to downfall. Oedipus’ overzealous attempts to seek the truth and run away from his fate evokes an amalgam of pity and fear within the audience. His obstinate desire to discover the identity of Laius’ murderer and his own origin leads to the horrific realization of his actions, despite his belief that his unyielding search for the truth will provide him with glory. He is propitiously warned to abandon his pursuit of the truth, although he unfortunately ignores them. The most significant example of this is when Jocasta pleads with Oedipus to stop pursuing the truth of the identity of his parents when she understands that Oedipus will soon face the insuperable realization of the sins they committed .“In God’s name, if you place any value on your life, don’t pursue the search. It is enough that I am sick to death (77.3.1-3)”. Oedipus is ignorant, intellectually and religiously blind, yet his pride causes him to disregard the warnings of others and hasten his own downfall. At this point, the audience is fully convinced of the veracity of the prophecies and the claims made against Oedipus. The audience feels pity towards Oedipus as they know he is going to face the inexorable realization of his deeds, and Oedipus passionately hastens his own downfall. Oedipus’ hubris plays an