Character Analysis : 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

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.

Oedipus steps out of the royal palace of Thebes and is greeted by a procession of priests, who are in turn surrounded by the impoverished and sorrowful citizens of Thebes. The citizens carry branches wrapped in wool, which they offer to the gods as gifts. Thebes has been struck by a plague, the citizens are dying, and no one knows how to put an end to it. Oedipus asks a priest why the citizens have gathered around the palace. The priest responds that the city is dying and asks the king to save Thebes. Oedipus replies that he sees and understands the terrible fate of Thebes, and that no one is more sorrowful than he. He has sent Creon, his brother-in-law and fellow ruler, to the Delphic oracle to find out how to stop the plague. Just then, Creon

Throughout the play, one can grab that Oedipus is prideful, stubborn, heroic, and fair. King Oedipus is very prideful in the play because when he is told that he is really adopted, he visits the oracle of Apollo to really find out. This proves that Oedipus is prideful because he saw himself as a prince and as a man with power who came from Merope and Polybus. He refused to believe the old man that gave him this information and so he set out to prove him wrong. Second, Oedipus is stubborn. One can see this within line 376 of the play. In this moment, Oedipus immediately claims that someone told Tiresias to call Oedipus the killer. This proves that Oedipus is stubborn because he abruptly refused to believe himself as the killer and then accused Tiresias of saying that because someone else told him to. Third, he is heroic and fair. Oedipus’s heroism is what freed the city of Thebes from the sphinx’s control, but this just added to Oedipus’s fate. This also allowed him to become king of Thebes, thus marrying the queen, his mother. Lastly, his fairness contributed to his own suffering. After realizing the truth of what he had done, Oedipus blinded himself because exile was not

Oedipus is a complex character who possesses attributes that many of us can identify with. He is an intelligent, prideful, arrogant man with a relentless, stubborn determination to find the truth. It is this arrogance and stubborn determination that ultimately leads to his demise.

The harms and pitfalls that Oedipus experiences are all an adverse effect of his attempts to avoid his fate as was foretold to him by the oracle of Delphi. The moment he heard the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother he fled from Corinth to Thebes where on the road he unknowingly kills his true father the current king of Thebes. When Oedipus makes it to Thebes he is coming to a land that has no king and is plagued by the sphinx, this is a turning point for Oedipus and brings about the fulfilment of the prophecy this is confirmed in a later conversation with Tiresias where is quoted saying "It brought about your ruin." (Sophocles 428). When Oedipus solves the riddle of the sphinx he takes his place as king and the hand of the old kings wife Jocasta, who just so happens to be his mother. By solving the riddle Oedipus is filled with confidence and it shows in the way that he addresses the people in the first lines of the play as "My children" (Sophocles 1). By using the term children instead of a more commonly used citizens or people we see that Oedipus himself feels that he is more than just a king to Thebes he feels as if he is almost like a paternal leader to those who look towards him for guidance. This pride first presents its self in a negative context in the conversation between

Through history, everyone is trying to rise to the top. However, the ones at the top are not always the most suitable. This becomes evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus becomes the ruler of Thebes after defeating the Sphinx. Throughout the story, Oedipus fails to meet the characteristics of a good leader, including: humbleness, selflessness and patience.

Although a great and admirable king, Oedipus is a character who embodies hubris as his fatal flaw, which eventually leads him to his downfall as he finds out that he killed his father and married his mother. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is presented as a strong and noble leader as the priest says to him, “On first arriving here, you rescued Thebes/ from paying the cruel musician’s deadly tax./ You didn’t get advice from us. Untaught,/ but with a god’s assistance, so it’s said/ and widely credited, you saved our lives” (Sophocles 35-39). Oedipus is adored and admired by all of Thebes as he single-handedly saved them from the Sphinx, which illustrates him as an ideal hero. Unfortunately, when Oedipus begins to relive a prophecy he heard many years ago, his perverse pride becomes responsible for leading him to his terrible fate. According to scholar Marjorie Barstow, because of his arrogant demeanor, “he has no clear vision which enables him to examine every side of a matter with unclouded eyes, and to see all things in due perspective” (Barstow 3). Oedipus’s pride overwhelms him, and it became a major weakness in his life as it blinds him from seeing any truth beyond what he believes at the moment. For example, he says, “But I am Fortune’s child. When she is kind,/ her gentle parenting brings no disgrace”(Sophocles 1079-1080). The pride

In Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Oedipus, the great king of Thebes, suffers a reversal of fortune when he attempts to change his fate. Oedipus is prophesied to kill his father and to marry his mother so he leaves Corinth to come to Thebes so this prophecy does not come true. As Thebes is being countered by a plague, Oedipus is trying everything he can to help the citizens. Throughout the play, Oedipus seeks knowledge about the plague later leading to his downfall. Oedipus is seen as a hero to his city due to his contributions, but he soon has a tragic ending when he seeks for knowledge.

In Sophocles play, Oedipus’ excessive pride and unwillingness to listen to the prophecy is his fatal flaw. When he had heard from a townsman that he was adopted he went to a prophet to confirm this news, the prophet instead told him that he would one day kill his father. Upon hearing that, he fled to Thebes, and on his journey there he killed a man at a crossroads who would come to be known as his father. All the while he had a chance to try and avoid the prophecy but he chose to ignore the knowledge that was given to him. For so long Oedipus believed he was this noble man, and in many cases he was, who never sinned and kept his word. In the end the excessive pride he had for himself about being a leader was a big part to his downfall. After finding out he had sinned by killing his father, marrying and having children with his mother, Oedipus was so ashamed of himself that he clawed his eyes out and demanded to be exiled from Thebes. In that way he seeked redemption, he had stayed true to his promise and that showed nobility.

Every good leader must listen to the people around them. In the play, Oedipus listens to his people when they tell him to back off of Creon when they are disputing. Oedipus strongly believed that Creon was coming for his throne. The people of Thebes tell Oedipus to back down because Creon has a good reputation. This action was impressive because he could have disregarded the people's suggestions and kept fighting with Creon, but he let it go. On the other hand, Oedipus had some times where he didn’t listen and it reflected on his ability to lead. Oedipus didn’t want to believe Teiresias when he told him he was the murderer of Laius. If he had listened to him, he would have gotten the truth before everything went downhill.

There are many facets of personality of a minor character that authors may utilize to supply contrast to the main character of their work. Some of these contrasts are extremely noticeable and some are not. One such facet is with the use of a neutral character; to not only showcase the main character’s flaws, but so not to detract from the moral of the story. Creon, from the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is used for both of these reasons. Sophocles wished to show that one cannot escape fate, yet did not want to cloud this issue with a possible coupe against his main character Oedipus. He also showed how, at times one character can act completely irrational, while one remains calm in the face of serious accusations.

"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

The downfall of mankind is an integral part of comprehending human nature. Every tragedy requires a hero with a tragic flaw that most likely, unconsciously leads themselves to their own downfall. The protagonist being human makes the character relatable and even more pitiable because the audience is aware that the protagonist's inevitable undoing is yet to come. The protagonist's tragic flaw not only harms the protagonist but harms others in the story as well. Drama's such as "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles is a prime example of a character with a tragic flaw that leads one's own self to their undoing. In this story, the character's tragic flaw is pride, which leads him to discover the truth behind his past and thus spurring on hopeless attempts to evade his inevitable fate and bringing harm onto himself and others in the drama, illustrating the dramatic irony in the futility of evading fate to the audience and the danger of excessive pride displayed is palpable when he attempts to find Laius’ murderer in turn discovering the truth behind his parentage.

Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy play written by Sophocles, and it made its first debut