Greek Tragedy as viewed from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King brings forth that humanism is always in a struggle for free will, but no matter how hard a person struggles fate fulfills its destiny. The irony with Oedipus is that the audience understood that fate had her way well before King Oedipus acknowledge that his free will did not exist. Oedipus when he first heard of the oracles prophecy that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother, attempted to invoke his freewill by running away from home so that he would never lift his spear to kill his father, but running away from his fate simple caused him to run directly into it. Sad part is that Oedipus thought he had successfully avoided fate prediction for his life. Likewise, Laius and …show more content…
Likewise, by the fates design there three day old son was rescued and found refuge in another kingdom. All three, Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta attempted to exercise freewill but only met their destiny along fate’s predetermined road. By the time the audience is introduced into the story all of the oracles predictions have come to pass. This dramatic irony of Sophocles decision to inform the audience that Oedipus is the cause of the plague upon the land precedes Oedipus ability or desire to accept. This drives the point that fate is in full control of the life of the people. Dr. Arnold Weinstein pointed out that the encounter and dialogue between Oedipus and Teiresias was volatile that caused Oedipus in a rage to retaliate not only against the seer, but Creon as well. Oedipus tries to discredit Teiresias as prophet and seer by asking why he didn’t help with the defeat of the Sphinx . Furthermore Oedipus falsely accuses Creon of attempting to take the
Sophocles' Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy. In the play, Oedipus and his parents try to avoid the prophecy that has been cast upon them. The prophecy stated that Oedipus would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta. While trying to outwit the divine will of the gods, they ultimately play right into fate’s hands and the prophecy becomes true. Throughout the duration of the story, Sophocles uses dramatic techniques such as the blindness motif to get the lesson across to the audience. Through this motif, Sophocles suggests to not be blind to fate, because destiny can never be escaped.
In “Oedipus,” Sophocles writes about a man who is hunted down by his cruel fate, and whose life is ruined in attempt to run away from it. The ancient Greek perspective reflects on the matter of the story and how the god’s highly influence the lives of humans. This viewpoint basically shows the unbounded power the Greek gods have; by being the gods of destiny, and leaving man at a helpless position. Fate plays a massive role in the lives of humans and as was believed by the ancient Greeks, their lives were simply directed by a decision of gods and goddesses. Oedipus knew his fate set by a curse cast on him; however, even when being aware it is impossible to escape fate, he still attempted to run away from it. As the play progresses Oedipus begins to understand the unbearable truth as he states “I’ve called down a dreadful curse upon myself,” followed by a response “I simply didn’t know!” (1103). It is the will of the man to realize what is inevitable and what choice is. In the Ancient Greece, Gods were praised and worshiped and any command stated by them is the undecided future. Oedipus acting as a blinded man who did not know of such fact led him to his fate and ironically is what later led him to blind himself (Gould). When Oedipus stabs his eyes out with the
Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as being determined by a supernatural power. In Sophocles play ‘Oedipus the King”, fate has taken its toll on the main character Oedipus. Sophocles exposes how manipulative factors come into play that allow Oedipus to use his own judgements in attempt to escape his fate, that eventually fail. All knowledge that is gathered by Oedipus is futile, being that the prophecy was still meant to happen beyond the control of Oedipus. While Oedipus is not restricted by his fate, he is restricted by what he understands about his fate.
Teiresias states that no matter what he does or anyone does fate will play out no matter what. This makes the case for Oedipus not being at fault for the incidence because prophecy and fate was already played out. The argument between teresias and Oedipus gets heated when Oedipus starts being very ignorant and mocking god. Teresias sees this and chooses not to tell Oedipus of the prophecy but only to inform him that is what he had coming to him.
The affairs in Oedipus the King, authored by Sophocles, show a relentless desire to discover the truth around Laius’ murder and the question neighboring his own birth, force him to the awful realization of his dreadful deeds. Oedipus’s pride depicts the distrust in the gods and the expedition for the truth, leave the king restless. The idea of fate and free-will which the Greeks believed to guide everything in creation to a balanced direction. The choices a manmade was simply accountable for his own actions. The concept of both fate and free-will play a extensive role in Oedipus’s destruction. Even Though, Oedipus was the sufferer of his fate, his intentions were
The argument on whether freewill or fate governs the destinies of human beings has been the center piece of many great writings, such as the story of Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles. Oedipus was on top of the world living a life full of luxury and thought to be worthy of praise however he had a past unknown to him. For the past he knew was a complete lie everything he thought to be true was false. When his prophecy was revealed it set off a chain reaction of events out of freewill leading to his tragic downfall that he was too blind and arrogant to see. However these attempts at preventing his fate through actions of freewill ultimately led to his tragic fate becoming reality.
Jocasta and Laius finds out that their son Oedipus is destined to kill Laius and marry Jocasta in future. To avoid the unfortunate they tried to kill Oedipus by using their free will to avoid their fate. What was meant to happen in their destiny later on happened. Though fate seems to determine but everyone does have their free will. If Jocasta and Laius raised Oedipus, knowingly Oedipus would never kill his father and marry his own mother. Both Oedipus and his parents followed their heart and free will, eventually that led them directly into the fate and fulfil the prophecy. All of the events happened were truly based on their own decisions. Ancient Greeks believed god have complete intelligence and an ordinary man’s intelligence can not confront them. Oedipus disagreed with the gods and believed he can change his fate through his intelligence. Oedipus also refuses to believe Tiresias who was representative of Apollo. “you have sight but do see not in what misery you are” (pg 123). Pride in Oedipus didn’t let his mind to accept anything other than his own free
“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.
The philosophical debate of whether human life is governed by fate or individual free will is the subject of a lot of world literature. People in ancient Greece often thought that their fate was already set from birth and there is nothing they can do to change it. In Oedipus by Sophocles, from birth Oedipus was doomed to to kill his father and marrying his mother according to a prophecy from Apollo. The parents tried to stop the prophecy by killing Oedipus but he survived. The life of Oedipus demonstrates this debate of free will versus fate.
Oedipus soon realized that all his efforts of trying to prevent the inevitable, was just fate’s way of completing the Prophecies. Whether it was predicted before his birth, told at the time of his birth or orchestrated throughout his life, Oedipus had a per-determined lot to follow. No matter the derailed plans or unplanned events could stop the sad, tortured life that Apollo had laid out for
Throughout Sophocles’ exhilarating play, “Oedipus Rex”, the reader is presented with various themes that contribute to this extraordinary play. Some of the themes explored throughout the story include: “Mercy versus Justice”, “Loyalty versus Truth”, and “Sight versus Blindness.” However, “Fate versus Free Will” is the theme that is frequently presented throughout the play and it contributes to the revelation of Oedipus’ tragic destiny. As “Oedipus the King” begins, the scene is revealed to be located at the palace in Thebes where several people express their concern of the plague that has affected Thebes in major ways. Oedipus concerned for the lives of his “children” sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to discover the reason behind the occurrences.
The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.
Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.
Sophocles states that “Fate has terrible power. You cannot escape it by wealth or war. No fort will keep it out, no ships outrun it.” Fate derives from a Latin word, fatum, meaning that one’s future is predetermined. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles unfolds the misfortune of a noble king who searches for knowledge. Evidently, Greek heroes like Oedipus are destined to rule, but are also bound to fall, therefore, he cannot alter his own fate. This tragic play proves that the power of fate is indeed stronger than one’s free will. Despite his attempts to fight his destiny, Oedipus can never outrun his fate. Regardless of his parents’ desperation to evade the predicted outcome, fate guides his journey for knowledge, leading to his destruction.
In Oedipus the King, the theme of fate vs free will appears all through the play. Oedipus throughout the play tries to avoid his inevitable fate, which ironically seems to make his fate come