Oedipus The King Analysis

In his essay, “Introduction to Oedipus the King”, Bernard Knox supports free will by stating that Oedipus’ downfall was not caused by fate. According to Knox there is not a doubt that, “Oedipus is the free agent who, by his own self-willed action, discovers that his own predicted destiny has already been fulfilled” (86). He clearly states that Oedipus is responsible for his free actions during the play. He insists that Oedipus’s made the decisions to discover the truth about himself.

The theme of sight and blindness is undoubtedly important to notice while reading Oedipus the King. The number of times the words “see” or “blind” are in the play make it make it undeniably obvious that they are significant. The theme is developed throughout the dialogue, through characters such as Tiresias and Oedipus, and also directly in the irony of the play. It is important in a play about the truth because almost every character was “blind” to the truth. All of the characters, except one, can physically see, but mentally cannot see the truth.

Oedipus himself caused his own downfall with selfishness and pride. He only cared about his wellbeing and no one else. Selfishness was the burden he carried all through his

In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses his protagonist, Oedipus, to explore his pursuit of knowledge, which leads to his tragic destruction. Oedipus is a favorable king who is determined to end the curse that has been brought upon the city because the murderer of his predecessor, Laius, still lies in the city. Ironically, Oedipus delivers the curse to the city because he murdered his father, Laius. Oedipus’s desire to gain knowledge and bring the murderer of Laius to justice, results in his downfall, which causes the people around him to be greatly affected as well.

Sophocles gives the readers many different views of the play Oedipus the King in which we can take and analysis accordingly to things we are most interested in. Throughout the play Oedipus personally changes. He starts off as a being a smart leader, calm, and determined, but at the end of the play it reveals how he is angry, irrational and is blind to certain aspects, which becomes his downfall.

Oedipus the King is a tragedy revolving around a murder, the murder of the previous king Laius. The chorus in the play represents the voice of the society, the elders of the Thebes men. They help provide a broader understanding of the play as it unfolds, by evaluating the characters and the themes as well as the sequences of the tragedy. As part of the play they also portray their religious knowledge as they call upon the Gods and Goddesses for guidance. The commentary by the chorus helps the audience follow the development of the play. At the beginning the chorus supports the ideas of Oedipus and comments on his greatness “It was said he was killed by certain wayfarers” Oedipus the King (294-95) the chorus in this scene supports Oedipus’s thoughts of the murderer. As well as supporting Oedipus they begin to give him different ideas on discovering the murderer, “I know that what

Beliefs and Ideals A person’s individual beliefs strongly influence their views of the world and how they act in it. In Oedipus the King, the main character Oedipus goes against society's beliefs by trying to avoid and ignore his prophecy. In Greek society, each individual had a predetermined fate that could not be escaped. Oedipus’ fate was to “lie with my mother”; additionally to “be the killer of my father” (Sophocles 45).

Oedipus displays to be a good leader one must understand what his people need and choose decisions that will benefit Thebes and the people whom live in it. By making decisions he was able to gain the support of the people and pursues to end the plague ravaging the city. Oedipus constantly seeked answers improve the city, he found out the reason Thebes was cursed with a plague was due to that they were sheltering the murderer of Laius, he then responded with a statement to all his people,“If any man knows by whose hand Laius, son Labdacus, met his death, I direct that man to tell me everything. No matter what he fears for having so long withheld it.” (Sophocles 211) Oedipus begs that if anyone knows who anything even the shortest of statements would suffice his current concern of the situation. What Oedipus doesn’t realize is how dramatically ironic his statement was, he was the one whose hands met Laius’s death, only one man knows the truth. Although, even if any man were aware of what had happened, Oedipus would not punish the man, he would probably as well reward the man with wealth and fame. A good leader would not punish or

Oedipus is in a constant struggle with the situation of determining the murderer of the King of Thebes. The death of the King has marked the plaque and sickness of the kingdom, and the only way to remove it is to remove the King’s murderer from the kingdom. In Oedipus Rex there is a noticeable change in Oedipus throughout the play during these harsh times which would greatly change everything about him which starts with him being noble and smart, then being ignorant and thinks he is smarter than everyone else, and then when he figures out his past. Oedipus was once a helpful man who had always stood up for the people of his kingdom; to resolve any issues that may arise to harm any innocent person.

     The heart of the story unravels when Oedipus apparently begins to suffer a reversal of fortunes. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is referred to by the priest as the “king of the land, [the city of Thebes’] greatest power” (16). Through all of Thebes he is thought of as a hero, a man who saved the city from the Sphinx and in his bravery has promised to find the killer of King Laius in order to save the city from doom and death. However, at the climax of the story Oedipus learns that he has been “cursed in [his] birth, cursed in marriage / and cursed in

The tale of Oedipus and his prophecy has intrigued not only the citizens of Greece in the ancient times, but also people all over the world for several generations. Most notable about the play was its peculiar structure, causing the audience to think analytically about the outcomes of Oedipus’ actions and how it compares with Aristotle’s beliefs. Another way that the people have examined the drama is by looking at the paradoxes (such as the confrontation of Tiresias and Oedipus), symbols (such as the Sphinx), and morals that has affected their perceptions by the end of the play. Nonetheless, the most important aspect is how relevant the story is and how it has influenced modern ideas like that of Freud and other people of today.

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.

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 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

Oedipus did not have a fair start in life. His father, Laius, heard prophecy that Oedipus would one day kill his father and sleep with his mother. In order to prevent this, Laius gave Oedipus to a shepherd to be killed. Fortunately, through a string of events, Oedipus's life was saved, and he even went on to become the honored king of Thebes. Despite this feat, Oedipus still managed to make several decisions that ultimately fulfilled the original prophecy told to Laius, and inevitably sealed Oedipus?s fate.