Oedipus And Antigone Analysis

Excessive pride in oneself has been the downfall of multiple characters like Oedipus. Oedipus won't accept the fact that he cannot escape his fate because of his uncontrollable arrogance. Pride has played a role in his life when he was first told about his fate. Oedipus once went to an oracle to find out about his real father. According to the oracle, "[Oedipus], You are fated to couple

She does not believe those beliefs are right and stubbornly ignores them. By acting this way she is demonstrating pride because a prideful person does not take into consideration anything going against them and their beliefs. Also when she says that "the laws of the gods mean nothing" to Ismene she is showing her pride. Firstly it again establishes the importance she puts to the gods laws. In this time period it was important to respect the gods. By suggesting Ismene does not respect the gods Antigone is entirely discarding Ismene.

Greek tragedies often teach readers several valuable lessons, one of which is the catastrophe caused by acting on emotions. Both Oedipus and Antigone experience this as a result of their rash behavior. Even Creon ends up miserable in Antigone due to the change in his behavior. By acting on their emotions, these characters all experience tragic downfalls, while others, such as Ismene and Creon during Oedipus Rex, remain safe due to their prudence and indications of wisdom.

With pride, there are many curses and in Oedipus’s case, the curses are the reason for his pride. Knowing that fate destined him to kill his father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus thought he could outsmart the prophecy by running away from his family in Corinth. As he ruled Thebes with his wife, his arrogance and overconfidence reinforced this belief, thus furthering his complacent demeanor. When the new king discovered that the mother of his children was also his mother, he suffered the terrible consequences and realized that he was one to carry out his own curse. Because the augury, seen by Apollo before Oedipus was even born, correlated to how Oedipus will behave and how he will choose to live his life, it is no surprise that hubris ultimately

In this play Oedipus king of Thebes by Sophocles, Oedipus was full of pride he faces several number of consequences throughout the play. He challenges people, and the Gods, and told them he did not need them anymore, he is better than everyone, it turns out he was not. He needed help from the Gods, and Laius to help make decisions in life that he would not have regret. Oedipus ended up needing Gods help, he wanted Laius to care of his daughters and be the new king when Oedipus died. If Oedipus was helpful to everyone and not full of pride, he would never faced the challenges he did in life, like losing him mom forever and losing his eyes at the end.

Oedipus displays flaws like hubris and até throughout the play an example being when he was quarrelling with Teiresias and yelled at him as abovementioned. Oedipus also made a bad decision of killing the man that got in his way, and anagnorisis occurs to him where he realizes his fate came true and killed his father. This caused Oedipus to be responsible for his fate because he was the one with the prophecy, and according to Teiresias is, “the man you’ve searched for all along… for the murder of King Laius” (Sophocles 27). These traits all meet the traits for Oedipus to be considered a tragic hero in Oedipus the King by

Sophocles, a famous and renowned Greek dramatist, is the playwright to both the play Oedipus the King and Antigone. Along with Antigone and Oedipus Sophocles had also wrote Electra and Fete. Sophocles wrote many Greek tragedies which are plays in which the main character in the play suffers a tragedy due to some flaw of theirs. An example would be how Oedipus (thinking he is defying a prophecy) murders his father and weds his mother. His flaw was him trying to defy fate if he had not just stayed where he was he would’ve been fine. His works are referred to and taught all over the world in many schools along with colleges; this should give light to how will written his plays are and how

Rather than blindly accepting the strict laws put forth by Creon, Antigone abides to long held traditions and desires to revere both her family and the Gods. She is undoubtedly dedicated to her family as she takes charge to assure a respectful burial for her brother. When Antigone first confronts Ismene about the burial, she is very assertive and is “[willing] to lie by his side” (Sophocles 3). Strongly committed to her plan, Antigone is set forth on doing what she thinks is right. By placing importance on family values and long held traditions, Antigone essentially disregards the law of the city to honor her family. Critic Robert mentions that “the loss of [a] brother is irreparable to [a] sister and her duty towards him is the highest” (422). Although she must remain loyal to the city and her family, Antigone consistently settles to align her morals and desires to venerate her family. Along with her good intentions, Antigone possess moral courage as she follows her heart and full heartedly decides to accept the future consequences. Overall, Antigone’s family nobility and dignified values work to help classify her as a tragic heroine.

Oedipus starts off the play with a lot of self-admiration and haughtiness. He makes himself seem so highly honored by the people as if he was a savior chosen by the gods, and he was chosen by the gods; however, not for the reason he believes. The audience notices how he makes egoistic statements such as,”I Oedipus whom all men call great” (Barstow 1). “But I came, Oedipus, who knew nothing, and I stopped her. I solved the riddle by my wit alone” (Barstow

Hubris is exaggerated self-confidence, also described as excessive pride or defiance toward the gods. Oedipus is an extremely proud man without doubt in connection to all his honorable deeds. Such as solving a riddle, saving Thebes from the Sphinx’s plague. One of Oedipus' greatest act of hubris is exemplified when he tries to deny his already sealed fate. For example,“ I acted at once, I sent Creon, my wife’s own brother to Delphi- Apollo, the prophet’s oracle- to learn what I might do or say to save our city”(81-84). The Oracle of Delphi foretold a prophecy about him killing his father single handedly and sleeping with his mother. Oedipus tries to escape his fate by fleeing Corinth, the city where he was raised, and never seeing his so called “parents” again. Unfortunately, this arrogant decision led him to kill his real father Laius and marry his biological mother Jocasta. It is undeniable that by trying to avoid his fate Oedipus ended up doing the thing he most feared. Therefore, his superiority and accomplishments as a man cause his excessive pride.

Oedipus’ arrogance and pride taint his cognition and blinds him in his decisions causing his harrowing guilt. While Oedipus is aware of the prophecy and in spite of

One of the most striking and aspects in this play is the excessive pride that seems to possess Oedipus. This sense of pride and superior status is evident from almost the very beginning. The people of Thebes are in awe with the status of Oedipus; they see him as their “Liberator,” a man who is the “surest in mortal ways” (4). Oedipus is placed on a pedestal from the very beginning, and he seems to have the unquestioned support and faith of the people. Yet from this position, he displays

In Oedipus the King, Oedipus loses everything because of his pride. Oedipus scolded the people of Thebes to confess who the murdering of the late king Laius is. “It was not proper

In Sophocles’s Antigone, which centrals around themes such as bravery in the face of death, civil unrest, and unyielding dedication to divine justice, it is easy to understand how Ismene’s character is often called cowardly, docile, and indecisive. However, if one were to take away Antigone as a comparison, Ismene may appear in a different light. She survived her tragic upbringing through rational thought and a sort of optimism that others will do the same, while still managing to keep her love for her family intact. Though not as glorious or as charismatic as Antigone, Ismene is a sympathetic character in her own right, not merely a passive doll who does as others says.

"Here I am myself-you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus" He is conceited to think that he can shape his own destiny and the gods punish him for this arrogance.