Character Analysis Of Oedipus The King

     At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic “flawed hero”. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles’ other

Oedipus is the king of Thebes and unknown to him he is married to his mother Jocasta queen of Thebes. He does not realize that many years ago he had killed his real father without knowing it. Oedipus is seen as god like to the people of Thebes because it was him who solved the sphinxes riddles. In the play he is accused by Teiresias of killing the king and Oedipus blames his brother in law and kreon of trying to over throw him. Then his wife Jocasta comes into the scene and tells a story of how the king was killed. It is then that Oedipus learns of his childhood and becomes more suspicious then ever. He then calls a shepherd and a messenger to help answer questions. The people tell him to stop asking about the death because he may not like the answer but Oedipus makes the ultimate sacrifice and continues to

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 play Oedipus Rex, Creon's character throughout the play is very honest, brave, loyal and respectful. Creon was seen as a leader to most in people in Thebes and very religious which allowed him to believe and respect the Gods and listen to what they said. Oedipus and Jocaste are both two main characters and there relationship with Creon is a diverse relationship because Oedipus only cares about himself and power and Jocaste as his wife is on his side. Creons character serves to contrast and expose Oedipus and Jocaste’s weaknesses and emphasizes the importance of respecting the Gods by allowing Oedipus and Jocasta's do whatever they pleased because at the end they both get what the deserved and

Creon, who is Iocasta’s brother, claims in Oedipus the King that he does not wish to have the power and responsibility of being king. Towards the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus has announced that Creon is to be banished from Thebes. Oedipus was exiling Creon because he said that Creon and Tiresias were trying

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.

    The first two plays of the Oedipus trilogy, Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, were written by Sophocles around 430 BC. The first story is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes and the prophecy that leads to his downfall. The second is about the events leading up to Oedipus’s death. Oedipus’s brother-in-law, Creon is a major supporting character in these retelling of the Oedipus legend. In these plays, Creon undergoes a transformation from a loyal, diplomatic, and logical patron of Oedipus to a manipulative, aggressive, and ambitious antagonist.

His trait’s displaying calmness, rationality, and even him valuing privacy played a role as him as a foil. From Oedipus’ hasty decision being displayed by Creon’s rationale explaining. To Oedipus’ sense of urgency exhibited to be quick and dangerous from the calmness Creon showed. Oedipus’ not valuing privacy was shown when Creon said the information which was given by the oracle to all of Theobes. However, Creon contrasted that trait of Oedipus when he told his men to bring Oedipus inside valuing privacy. It is clear, Creon’s calmness, rationality, and value for privacy highlights Oedipus traits of having a sense of urgency, making hasty decisions, and the disregard for privacy. All together in which Creon acts as a foil to

Early on in the story, Oedipus is the proud and confident king of Thebes; he is a man that is not to be underestimated or degraded. This once undisputed fact becomes more debatable the longer the play continues, however. The conflict begins with Oedipus attempting to lift a curse that has been unleashed on the kingdom of Thebes. This curse was caused by the murder of the previous king, Laius, and the only way for it to be lifted is for the murderer to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus works fervently to unravel the mystery behind who Laius’ killer was. However, each new discovery ends up incriminating Oedipus as the killer instead. Along the way Oedipus discovers that his supposed parents, the king and queen of Corinth, are not his true parents. This revelation pushes him to begin a new search for his biological parents, a search that eventually leads him to one of Lainus’ shepherds. It is this shepherd that reveals to King Oedipus that his mother is Jocasta, his current wife. Consequently, Oedipus falls into a fit of despair in which he stabs his own eyes out and confronts the consequences of his shameful existence. By the end of the play, Oedipus has not only lost his status as the king of Thebes, but has also been exiled from the kingdom and has become an outcast for all of society to hate. The transition Oedipus undergoes

When Oedipus hears that he is the killer, his pride is wounded for he cannot accept the truth. His judgment is so blurred that he also begins to view Creon as a traitor for using Tiresias. Creon’s words sum up Oedipus’s rage when he said, “Oedipus, your husband, he’s bent on a choice of punishments for me, banishment from the fatherland or death” (715-717). Jocasta is even surprised with Oedipus’s unusual character, as she said, “For the love of God, Oedipus, tell me too, what is it? Why this rage? You’re so unbending” (767-769). The reason why Oedipus pride is so wounded can be because his negative experiences with the Gods. As a baby, he was condemned to death, yet he survived and learned the horrible truth of his prophecy. In attempt to escape that life, he lost belief in the word of the gods because he refused that the prophecies should come true. This struggle between God and Oedipus only tears his moral beliefs as he has to be stone cold to survive his tribulations. This meant giving no consideration against people who presently posed a great threat to him.

Then Oedipus developed strife with his brother-in-law and friend, Creon, because of the accusation that he was plotting to impeach him. Creon responded to his accusations by showing him that it wouldn’t be in his best interest if he stole the throne from Oedipus. Even the Chorus that was loyal to Oedipus tried to tell him that Creon made sense, but he would not accept it, “His words are wise, king, if one fears to

Creon makes the charge against Oedipus that his ruling is unjust. Oedipus is blinded and refuses to believe simple facts due to his pride and ego.

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.

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.

Shepherd 1 and actors enter the stage. Shepherd 1 sits upstage of the actors in a chair, while the actors seat on the floor in a rough semicircle downstage of Shepherd 1. They strike a dramatic pose and enter tableau.