Oedipus Rex Essay

Oedipus, outraged at the accusation, denounces it as a plot of Creon to gain the throne. Jocasta appears just in time to avoid a battle between the two men. Seers, she assures Oedipus, are not infallible. To prove her point she cites the old prophecy that her son should kill his father and have children by his mother. She prevented its fulfillment, she confesses, by abandoning their infant son in the mountains. As for Laius, he had been killed by robber’s years later at the junction of three roads on the route to Delphi.

In Sophocles play Oedipus the King, Sophocles depicts the horrible fate of Oedipus, a pompous, arrogant young ruler. The story begins in the Greek town of Thebes. A plague has descended upon the Thebians causing death and famine throughout the land. Oedipus, being the heroic king, takes full responsibility to find out the cause of their aliments. While working to discover the source of the plague, Oedipus stumbles upon the tragic truth of his heritage and the horrifying implications of his appointment to the throne. Unfortunately for Oedipus, everything ends in tragedy. With the suicide of his mother/wife and the self-inflicted blindness followed by exile from Thebes, Oedipus paved the path to his own

God help you! God keep you from the knowledge of who you are” (57 Sophocles). Jocasta pleads to Oedipus not to pursue any more knowledge because she fears the worst days of her son will soon arrive if he continues. Jocasta’s lunacy after she perceives the truth causes her to complete the truth because she commits suicide. Oedipus is held responsible for Jocasta’s death because his persistence to find out the truth about himself has caused his mother to become so wretched that she kills herself in misery. Oedipus’s ignorance is clearly evident throughout the novel because many people have known his life story, and as a result made gruesome decisions.

It is a common human flaw to only see things that are pleasing and choose to ignore distasteful situations. Falling into this trap, Oedipus, the King of Thebes in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, finds his doom by choosing to turn a blind eye to reality. The king falls from his throne by choosing to live in an illusion and failing to recognize the power of fate.

In the play, “Oedipus Rex”, many ironies took place, as well as fate playing a huge part in the story. “Oedipus Rex” is a story about a man that tries to overcome adversity but cannot escape his prophecy. His parents took him to a hillside as an infant, sliced his Achilles tendons and left him there. A shepherd soon came to his rescue. “King and Queen of Thebes, gave their infant to a shepherd in with orders that he be left on the side of the mountainside to die” (Johnson 1205). As he grew older and much wiser, he went to see the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle informed him that his destiny was to kill his father and marry his mother. The main ironies in the play are the killing of Oedipus’s biological father, the odd relationship with his mother, and the inability of Oedipus to avoid his fate.

Therefore, alternative themes which suggests throughout the course of the play are topics that happen to revolve around the subject of taboo such as incest and patricide which happen to be extremely controversial in societies old and new. Also, prophecy is paramount from start to finish throughout the story and Oedipus attempts to rebel against his own fate. However, the gods earlier predetermine his outcome. Knox writes:

It is ironic that the one individual, who comes to help the city, is the individual that has been the cause of the curse. Oedipus is the illness.

“Oedipus Rex” was a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles in the fifth century BC. It was the first of a trilogy of plays surrounding the life of Oedipus. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays approximately 100 years before Aristotle even defined a tragedy and the tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is “… an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some amplitude; in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties; acted not narrated; by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (Kennedy and Gioa 2010). According to Aristotle there were six elements to a tragedy: the plot, the character, the

rule of thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet

3. In the beginning of this play, Oedipus is a very caring, couragous, and concerned king. During the play he gets more frustrated and inconsiderate, while putting the blame on others. Finally, at the end of the play, Oedipus is a very wise and compassionate. During the play he loses both of his fathers, his mother/wife, his morals, and his eyesight. He gained knowledge about his past and future. I would say the central theme of this play is inevitability of one’s fate. I feel this theme fits the play well because it shows that one cannot hide from their

Hans Rockwell 8/26/17 Question 1 Question 1.) One of the responses people usually have about Oedipus is if he really deserved the fate that he ended up with. It’s not his fault that Jocasta and Laius tried to outsmart fate and dispose of him.

Sophocles ' play “Oedipus Tyrannus” is an enigma. His play includes incest, murder and self-enlightenment all leading into the main theme of fate. Athenians believed that fate is not left up to man, but that is provided solely on the whims of the gods. Because of his dramatic approach to his plays Sophocles was considered one of the most brilliant and creative writers of his time.

Tragedies have been written, told, and acted out for a number of years. Aristotle defined in his book, Poetics that a tragedy is to arouse the emotions of pity, fear, and finally a catharsis, or purging of emotions. A tragic play that perfectly completes this cycle of emotions is Oedipus the King by Sophocles. This play follows a king of the town of Thebes through his journey of the emotions of pity, fear, and finally a catharsis. It is a tale of a man who unknowingly kills his father and fathers the children of his mother as well. The audience is pulled into the play and experiences the plot along with Oedipus.

Sophocles Oedipus the King is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well-known to the Athenian's. Oedipus is the embodiment of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus' life and to further characterized him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of Thebes: “What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?” Oedipus correctly answered “Man” and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also, man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well-being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius who was taken to the mountain by a Shepard to be killed so the omen of the god Apollo that Laius' son would kill him and lay with Jocasta would not come true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point.

Oedipus believed Teiresias was making the accusation because he was bribed by Creon. Jocasta attempts to calm Oedipus as well, citing that oracles are nonsense. She tells of an example where an oracle prophesied to her that her first born son would one day murder his father and sleep with her, Jocasta. Believing that prophecy ridiculous, Oedipus decides not to heed