Oedipus Rex, The King, The Scarlet Letter, And Criminal Minds

As is true with characters of many other works of literature, the protagonist of Oedipus the King, must contend with the horrible reality of his past. This protagonist, Oedipus, killed his father and married his mother, and what is worse, is that he is not aware of this. Throughout the entire play, his relationship with his past is one of ignorance. His ignorance of past events is what causes the play to unfold as it does. Unaware of his own reality, Oedipus leads himself to his own demise by becoming overly confident and prideful, and by distancing himself from his supporters. Through the main character’s relationship with the past, Sophocles develops his central themes of fate, sight, and pride.

Oedipus The King, written by Sophocles, is an ancient play featuring Oedipus, the king of Thebes, and the pursuit of the murderer of King Laius, the former king of Thebes. It is later revealed that Oedipus blindly killed his own father, Laius, and is charged for the murder. When Oedipus was an infant, he was given to a shepherd to abandon him, so he never knew his real parents. The other major abandonment which occurs later in the play is when he witnesses his own mother’s suicide. With that, Oedipus’ downfall was caused by various reasons, however all of them had one theme; abandonment. Abandonment in Oedipus’ case caused; PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder of abandonment, irrational outbursts of anger, and insecure, conceited behaviors.

Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles around 400 BC. The play is about the king of Thebes, Oedipus and his discovery on how fate is inevitable. In the play, Thebes is under a curse because their last king was murdered and no one knows who the murderer is. Oedipus takes it upon himself to discover who had killed the king and in doing so he discovers that the murderer is indeed himself. He learns this through a prophecy he had heard that stated: he would kill his father and marry his mother. Which occurs when he kills a traveler on the road and marries the queen of Thebes, who is his biological mother. In the play, Oedipus is a man full of hubris as the reader observes him denying the truth, time and time again until the evidence is undeniable. The other characters in

Often the past will present answers to questions about the future as well as questions of the now, and in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’ past plays an integral role in his pursuit of righting the wrongs that are affecting him in the present. In the play, Oedipus must identify who has killed Laius in order to exile them to solve the qualms of his people, and in a dialogue with Jocasta, who happens to be his wife as well as his mother, she reveals to him details of the death of Laius that seem far too familiar for his comfort (Sophocles 27). This revelation of information acts as a catalyst that forces Oedipus to make the connection between his past and what Jocasta is telling him. This realization that he may have been responsible for Laius’ death exposes him to the weight of the pursuit of justice sometimes hold for humans. Through this dialogue, Oedipus comes to fear that he is the culprit of the scandal that is plaguing the situation, thus putting him in the position of a criminal who will face the due punishment for the crime. This internal conflict that Oedipus experiences creates and

    The Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus was written by the renowned Greek playwright Sophocles at around 404 B.C.. In the play, considered to be one of the best Greek dramas ever written, Sophocles uses the now broken down and old Oedipus as a statement of hope for man. As Oedipus was royalty and honor before his exile from his kingdom of Thebes he is brought down to a poor, blind old man who wonders, “Who will receive the wandering Oedipus today?” (Sophocles 283) most of the time of his life that is now as low as a peasant’s. Although former ruler of Thebes has been blinded and desecrated to the point where he is a beggar, he will not give up on his life and on the life of his two daughters Antigone and

Aristotle says, “Oedipus is the ultimate sacrifice for self-knowledge. Oedipus is a defective tragedy written by Sophocles a master playwright of his time. Aristotle describes a tragedy as a telling of a person of noble stature falling from greatness and Oedipus is a great example. It is a tale of a child prophesied to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Then after learning that the prophecy is true he begins to descend from greatness.

Jocasta and Emilia, important minor characters in their plays, both showcase the power of love as well as how destructive it can be. Emilia and Jocasta both unknowingly end their own lives, as well as others, and spread tragedy throughout the towns in which they lived. It is believed that in 425 B.C., Sophocles first produced Oedipus the King (Theater of Sophocles). In the play, Oedipus the King, Jocasta is the main character, Oedipus’, mother and wife. Jocasta’s love for Oedipus ultimately destroys him and results in her death. Sophocles helped shape the heroic ideal that is later embodied in medieval romance, which Shakespeare traditionally uses in Othello (Zerba). William Shakespeare wrote Othello in about 1604 (The

In Aristotle's work, the tragic hero can get caught up by hamartia which ends up leading him to his downfall. In Oedipus the King, which is a tragic play that is written by Sophocles it shows King Oedipus having many different flaws that are under the protection of hamartia that include madness, stubbornness, and pride that soon that end up leading to his final death. Oedipus shows an attitude of stubbornness during the progression of the play. Oedipus' stubbornness is uncovered early in the play when Tiresias who is a prophet of Apollo, mentions to Oedipus to terminate the investigation of Laius' killer. Oedipus quickly disagrees with him, he wants to find the man who murdered Lauis and brought the plague upon Thebes. Oedipus states, "By all the gods, do not deny us what you know. We ask you, all of us, on bended knees." Tiresias' persistence to withhold the truth is demolished by Oedipus' stubbornness and madness. Tiresias surrenders to Oedipus' stubbornness and states the truth which outrages Oedipus; "...The murder of the man whose murder you pursue is you." Oedipus stubbornness is so overpowering that he disregards Tiresias' bluntness without even a slight thought. Oedipus' statement, "To your heart's content. Mouth away!" which obviously shows his stubbornness when he disregards Tiresias' prophecy and regards it as gibberish. Oedipus' stubborn persistence will ultimately lead to his mother's death. At the end of the play Oedipus becomes aware that he was adopted and instantaneously investigates his origin. Jocasta, Oedipus' wife hesitantly encourages Oedipus to end his identity search, fearing that Oedipus would learn of his shameful sins of killing

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.

    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.

In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses dramatic irony to frustrate the audience and create suspense. After the first chorus, Oedipus vows to avenge the death of King Laius and “become [the] son” that Laius could have had if his life did not end (I.i.681). This scene frustrates the audience because they know Oedipus is the murderer, but he is either completely clueless or in denial. Oedipus’ refusal to accept the truth engages spectators by building the urge to witness the realization of his wrong doings. While Oedipus is speaking to Tiresias the prophet, he accuses the prophet of taking the life of the king. In response, the prophet told Oedipus he is “living in [dark] shame with the closest of [his]

Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles and was is titled Oedipus Rex in Latin. It is one of the most well-known Greek tragedies. As is the case with Greek tragedies—or roughly most tragedies that make their way to stage—fate plays a key role in the events in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus discovers there is a plague on his city. The only way to lift the plague is by slaying the former king’s killer. As the play’s acts unfold one discovers about the prophecy concerning Oedipus. The prophecy states that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. But was this just by chance or his predetermined fate.

Oedipus the King is perhaps one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. It is a tragic play which focuses on the discovery by Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment.

The truth that Sophocles is trying to communicate in Oedipus Rex is that the truth is a powerful thing. This truth is communicated in Oedipus not knowing that he is the murderer of Laius, then finding out; the result of Oedipus and Jocasta discovering the truth, and all the horrible events that are caused by this truth. The plot of the story is the uncovering of the truth for Oedipus, which causes Oedipus to gauge his eyes out and for Jocasta to commit suicide. It is about the hardships faced whilst not knowing this truth. Oedipus suffers through not knowing, discovering, and harmful events after discovering he is the murderer of Laius. His hardships last all throughout this play - making it a tragic tale, to say the least. This suffering brought upon Oedipus is caused by the truth that his prophecy has been fulfilled and he has killed his father and married his mother, like the prophecy says he shall.

Throughout the play Oedipus is given clues to his past and the fate that is to come, the moment that he gouges his eyes out shows these clues that he has missed. Jocasta says wildly, “In the name of heaven, don’t proceed! For your own life’s sake, stop! And I’ve been tortured long enough.” (59) This shows a moment of caution for Oedipus to not continue to seek the truth. The dramatic irony of this situation illuminates the horrors that are to come because of fate as well as Oedipus’ free will. Oedipus: “Laius was killed—I thought I caught the words—where three highways meet?” Jocasta: “So they said. That is how the story goes.” (41) Oedipus is first hearing the true story of the late king’s murder and seems to be beginning to realize that it was he who did the killing. Even though this could be his illuminating moment, Oedipus is unwilling to accept this fact and must hear