Knowledge In Oedipus The King

In the play Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, ignorance is a focal point of the reading. Oedipus, the character in which the play focuses on, is an ignorant individual who is looking to find the truth about the plague in his city of Thebes, as well as finding the killer of Laius. The lack of knowledge that he possesses about these mysteries is driving him mad. Oedipus so desperately wants to find out how to stop the plague and wants to find the killer of Laius just as equally. However, after searching and finally becoming aware of his fate and becoming aware of the truth, Oedipus significantly alters his life in a way in which he cannot come back from. Ignorance is quite often seen as a negative quality to possess, but maybe ignorance is what some people need to keep themselves sane.

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

In Oedipus Rex, there is no mention from Oedipus himself that he is overly confident. This is clear in the scene with Teiresias and Oedipus, where Teiresias tells Oedipus that he is the murderer, but Oedipus refuses to believe it. This is because he is so caught up in himself, that he cannot look around and see the truth. The dramatic irony in the play falls around Oedipus’s blindness to the truth, the thing that is blocking him from it is his hubris. His excessive pride is what causes Oedipus to not see that he is the killer of Laius, because how could he, the king of Thebes, kill the previous king?

As he searched out his past, Oedipus met his downfall, unable to accept how the prophecy came true in the end. This prophecy stated that Laius, the king of Thebes, would have a son who would kill his own father and marry his own mother. When Oedipus realized that he had killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, he created the consequences of his actions. The fatal flaw that orchestrated his downfall was hubris, which then resulted in being brash and stubborn. Oedipus was prideful of being Thebes’s savior and the fact that he was portrayed as a good king that could provide the people’s needs. However, when he found out that he had fulfilled the prophecy, he felt that he was unworthy of his position and did not deserve to

Sophocles’ powerful tragedy, Oedipus Rex, details the tragic fall of Oedipus, the king of Thebes. Oedipus’ false claims of certainty of knowledge and justice, as well as his rash actions based on these presumed certainties are some of the main drivers of the prophecy stating he will marry his mother and kill his father. As the scholar Bernard Knox states, “these attributes of divinity - knowledge, certainty, justice – are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he is the perfect example of the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice.” Oedipus did not consider the possibility that he was wrong, but instead denied any attempts by others to help him see the truth of the situation. This hubris, coupled with his false beliefs based on these certainties, led to his tragic downfall at the end of the play.

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

Ignorance can blind an individual from the truth. Plays were of great importance in early Greek culture. Plays were the main source of entertainment, and one of the most exceptional examples is Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. The drama is tremendously uplifted by the character development and the excellent structure Sophocles has put forward. Interactions between characters and each character’s motivations generate brilliant themes throughout the play. Sophocles uses a technique called recognition, which illustrates a character’s turn from ignorance to the truth. The play is about the city of Thebes which is racked by a plague and a crisis that is quickly wiping humans from the earth. The great king of Thebes is Oedipus who must dispose of the problem very quickly. He welcomes information from the god Apollo, who says Oedipus must punish the killer of the former king, Laius. In one of the instances where Oedipus tries to find the killer, he encounters Tiresias, who is a physically blind man but can see everything because he is a prophet of Apollo. Tiresias possesses the information but declines to cooperate with Oedipus. After a series of verbal insults, the audience is left in awe when Tiresias puts the blame on Oedipus. Similarly to Oedipus the King, dialogue “Allegory of the Cave” written by Plato also in the early Greek times, shows that ignorance can lead an individual to be blind from the truth. Sophocles magnificently develops a question of “Who sees and who is blind”. Also in Oedipus the King, Sophocles exhibits how selflessness and ignorance can blind a person from the truth, but eventually has to go through recognition which can cause great agony.

Charles could see Erik giving up as sharply as he felt it, the small spark that he’d come to label in his own mind as ‘life force’ dwindling to an ember and extinguishing. He was stepping forward before he could stop himself, blooding rushing in his ears against time as he spoke. “Dēsístite!“

Oedipus is very prideful, because of his role as King. He’s accustomed to his power and is spoken to with respect. Having someone assassinate his

“Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that's wise!” (342-345) spoken by Tiresius in the story of King Oedipus, written by Sophocles and performed for the first time around 429 BC, the story (play) is the about King Oedipus and how fate shaped his life no matter how hard he or anybody else tried to change it. In order to save his great city of Thebes from plague he has to find out who the murdered the previous king Laius. While pursuing this truth Oedipus is told by Teiresias, that he, himself is the murderer of Laius, Oedipus refuses this preposterous proposition, convinced that Teiresias was payed by his brother Creon to say these things. When in fact this was the truth.

At the beginning, Oedipus is ignorant and is constantly avoids and ignores the truth in order to protect his reputation. Oedipus’ unwillingness to open his ears to the truth develops when Tiresias reveals that he killed Laius and one of his responses is, “Your words are nothing-- / futile” (416-417). Although Oedipus begged to hear Tiresias’ words, he was not willing to pay attention or open his eyes to the unfortunate idea. Oedipus pushes aside the words Tiresias says, refusing to believe that he could be the one who killed Laius, the one who must be cursed. Later, Tiresias brings up Oedipus’ ignorance saying “you’re blind to the corruption of your life” (471), and telling him a few lines later that “No man will ever / be rooted from the earth as brutally as you” (488-489). Oedipus was put in his place and blatantly told that he is ignorant but his rise to knowledge will also bring his demise. Sophocles foreshadowed using Tiresias in that way, but Oedipus was so into avoiding any confrontation with the truth at the beginning that he would respond calling Tiresias’ visions “absurdities” (494). Therefore, even though the truth has been revealed to him, Oedipus still chooses to remain blind to the truth in order to remain good in the eyes of his people.

During his interaction with the priest, he boastfully says, “I Oedipus whom all men call the Great.” (Oedipus the king, Sophocles line 7). Also, Giving the right answer to the sphinx’s riddle thus saving Thebes from the tribute which they paid to the sphinx, which no man before him could do, and the manner in which the Priest present his request to Oedipus to rescue them from the plague makes him haughty. While requesting for Oedipus’s help, the priest makes him feel as a superior being, which boast him and this is seen from Sophocles’ choice of word in the priest’s speech referring to Oedipus as “You the first of men”, “Greatest in all men’s eyes”, “Noblest of all men”, “You its savior.” Most of his speech is aimed at boasting Oedipus and it eventually works because as the plot develops, we see Oedipus being blinded by his pride. Being able at first to see a truth which no one else could, gives him the impression of being clever and full of knowledge, but throughout his investigation to find Laius’s murderer, he will come out of his illusion and discover his internal blindness and ignorance but way before he realises it, we see Oedipus going through a series of event during which he chooses to remain blind to the

A possible reason for his ignorance, and a fascinating twist, could be that Oedipus had originally believed that he was the murderer of Laius, and knew at the time of the story, that he had married his own mother (Daniels and Scully, 26). All the public cursing, the whole "Now my curse on the murderer" (Sophocles, 172) was really a spectacle to throw the suspicion off himself (Daniels and Scully, 26). However, most literary scholars don't believe this, as Oedipus does seem to display a great deal of remorse when he realizes that the prophecies about him are true. If it is all a setup by Oedipus, then he is both extraordinarily intelligent and stupid, by hiding the truth for so long and being self destructive at the same time (Daniels and Scully, 26). Most believe that "Oedipus has simply chosen to ignore a real possibility" (Daniels and Scully, 21). Howard Clarke said that "[Oedipus] reaches a point where he is, literally, the captive of what he is searching for." (Clarke, 593). He reached a "point in his search where he is carried along on the tide of his of his own discoveries" (Clarke, 593). A part from these interesting interpretations, Oedipus Rex can be read from cover to cover as a normal detective story with all the basic elements; suspects, crime, clues and an investigator. The whole plot rotates around one significant event, which was the killing of Laius. So now we have the crime stated, we

Ignorance may be bliss, but people cannot choose to unlearn a piece of knowledge. Throughout Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, many references are made to who is blind and who can see. Oedipus himself suffers through being ‘blind’ in the sense of always being the last one to accept his fate. He is in a state of ignorance throughout most of the tragedy, which leads to his demise. Accordingly, in the greek tragedy Oedipus the King, Sophocles informs the readers that those who cannot see are gifted with sight in some instances, and those who see possess a burden that cannot be carried by just anyone.

"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