Oedipus The King Literary Analysis

My new question is, was Oedipus blind before he saw the truth or after? When finally accepting the truth the blind prophet mentioned, Oedipus blinds himself because the truth is darkness. When he had his sight, he was blinded by ignorance, and to see the truth was to see the horrors he had committed that caused himself to be blinded both before he saw the truth and after. I suppose in this way, Oedipus is blind throughout the entirety of the play.

In his excess of anger he fails to see what is blatantly placed in front of him and he ceases to use his brain or any rationale he commits acts in haste and has little to know patience for any reasoning. He strikes the man at the carriage for little or no reason which he does not know yet is his father; he has a murderous temperament. He dismisses Teiresias without ever giving him a chance to openly say what he wants too. He does not let Teiresias finish what hes saying because he gets too angry too fast with out even listening to everything with an open mind he jumps to conclusions and does not use or listen to any reasoning. When Teiresias calls him the cursed polluter of the land Oedipus immediately becomes enraged and tries to silence him at once with threats You are say it! Have you no shame at all? And do you expect to escape the consequence? (Sophocles, 35). Instead, if he had questioned Teiresias about what he meant by that statement or asked him for evidence. By having control over his anger Oedipus could have been knowledgeable to the truth sooner.

Pride,a mere five letter word yet when resides in a person’s soul can blind him to his own faults and eats all his good deeds thus converting him into a beast. Sophocles’ Oedipus The King and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart skilfully mirrors this overbearing characteristic of pride through the stories of Oedipus and Okonkwo.Although both the characters work hard to attain their present fame,respect and honor yet somewhere in between this they forget to keep in check the amount of pride they are incorporating in their spirits until they become addictive of this drug.And slowly and gradually this drug formulates the basis of their tragic endings In Things Fall Apart and Oedipus The King pride functions as a driving force in determining the destruction of Oedipus and Okonkwo.

Ironically, Teiresias is blind, but he has the power to see what others cannot, and his wisdom goes beyond words. Moreover, Creon said to Oedipus “If he says that, you are the one that knows it! / But now it is my turn to question you” (542-543). Nobody but Oedipus has enough evidence to know if indeed Teiresias is telling the truth, but Oedipus refuses to accept it, and perhaps it is because he is afraid of that being his reality. The readers can also imply that Oedipus is driven by power, and he does not want to lose it. Power can be good or bad, in this case for example, it is bad because the ego and the desire to have that absolute power is what has Oedipus blind. In

Oedipus thinks his human powers can match anything put in front of him. He forces other characters to tell him things, which again creates his tragic ending. (O790) Oedipus by not knowing his identity seems to create his own tragedy. Throughout the entire play, he is blind to everything people are telling him. (O320) He continues to badger Teiresias to answer things that Oedipus does not believe is true. If he

When Oedipus refuses to believe him, Teiresias cries, “You live in foulest shame unconsciously and do not see where you are in calamity.” (401) Oedipus is blessed with the gift of perception, after all he is the only man that could solve the answer to the Sphinx’s riddle; however, he cannot see the truth, which is right before his eyes. He is blind to the truth about his life, even when he seeks it. Teiresias warns him not to look into these matters, but pride in his intelligence leads Oedipus to continue his

Moreover, Oedipus’ anger is controlling his words and actions; and in his rage he accuses Teiresias of having a “hand [i]n plotting” (Sophocles 35) against him. His anger is causing him to insult and offend the one person who knows the truth. In doing this Oedipus remains ignorant about his past and does not learn the truth until it is too late and tragic events have already occurred. Additionally, the blame for the harsh and accusatory words of Teiresias is being put on Creon. Oedipus in his anger goes as far as to accuse Creon of being a “[p]roved plotter against [his] life” (Sophocles 40).

Unwillingly, Teiresias the blind seer provides Oedipus with the hurtful truth. Although before the truth is announced, Oedipus describes Teiresias as a "seer: student of mysteries." Oedipus looks to Teiresias for help in finding the murderer of the former king. He is trusted and respected by everyone in the city as evidenced by his introduction as "the holy prophet In whom, alone of all men, truth was born." Yet, when Teiresias speaks, reluctantly but honestly to Oedipus, he is shunned and his credibility and motives are attacked. Oedipus

The prophet Teiresias says “Alas, how terrible wisdom is when it brings no profit to the man who is wise!” (Sophocles 316-317). An important distinction to make is that the truth which is revealed to Oedipus is not painful because it is true. Rather, the choices Oedipus made having no knowledge of this truth which make it painful. Teiresias is one of many characters who fears telling Oedipus the truth and fear discovering it for themselves.

Although Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles when the Ancient Greek civilization was at its peak, far before the textbook you will read it from was created, its ideas and themes can still be applicable. Despite being far older than the simple platitude, one theme of Sophocles’ tragedy is perhaps best explained with the phrase “ignorance is bliss”. Oedipus the King also has a second theme, people pick and choose what they want to believe as it suits them. Both themes, developed through the symbolism and irony throughout the tragedy, cause us to question our own pursuits and beliefs, making it a story worth examining further.

Once Oedipus is made aware of the importance of the situation in Thebes he assumes to be the savior. In addressing his people, Oedipus regards them as his children - his pride in his abilities enables him to take on the task of leader. His faith in himself results in a lack of discretion on his part. Although Creon hints at bad news, Oedipus eagerly insists that Creon announce the oracle's words publicly, so that he will be thought of as an open, honest leader, and he did not pick up on Creon's hesitation. Oedipus later assumes the role of a mortal god, "Let me grant your prayers". He is now arrogant, believing that he has divine power to solve a city's problems. Oedipus again proves to be confident of his abilities, "if I'd been present then, there would have been no mystery". When Oedipus makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, he loses patience, hostily condemning the murderer, and cursing him to a terrible death. "Now my curse on the murderer... let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step" Ironically, his curse is a foreshadowing of his own impending doom.

I feel that Oedipus has a feeling that he himself is the guilty man after telling the story of when his first came to Thebes and killed a group of men on the road. Then his fear is confirmed when the shepherded tells the story of him giving the seconded massager a baby witch was the son of Iokaste and King Laios. Iokaste realizes that Oedipus is the man who killed her husband and that he is also her son. These moments are significant because they are the moments that cause everyone to realize that all of the prophesies have come true. They are also important because they are the climax of the story and they lead the demise of the both Iokaste and

At first, a need for knowing the truth was beneficial for Oedipus to unravel the mystery of the murderer of Laius, but ultimately led to his tragic fate.His need for knowing the truth helped him to free Thebes from the plague in the city. When the news was brought forth to him about an “unclean that was born and nourished on our soil,” (Burgess 16), Oedipus quickly came up with a resolution and prided himself in saving the city again. He first called upon the prophet Tiresias, looking for answers. Tiresias told him all that he needed to know, yet Oedipus was not content. Oedipus continued his search for the murderer in spite of the warnings he was given each time he inquired. When a messenger from Corinth came bearing “good news” about Oedipus

Teiresias, the blind seer, plays an important role in the play “Oedipus Rex”. He is kind, wise, a man of truth, and easily angered. He reveals the major conflict in the play, and important aspects about Oedipus’s personality. In the play, the new king Oedipus attempts to find the murderer of the previous king, Laius to rid his kingdom of a curse and help his people. He consults, Teiresias, the blind prophet, who hesitantly tries to avoid giving Oedipus an answer. After Oedipus accuses the old man of being the murderer, Teiresias angrily informs him that Oedipus himself murdered Laius. In disbelief, Oedipus asks Teiresias to repeat himself. When Teiresias does, Oedipus threatens to punish him. The enraged seer then adds that Oedipus commited vile acts with the people close to him, referring to how Oedipus unknowingly married and had children with his biological mother. Oedipus, still doubting Teiresias’s words, blames his brother-in-law and uncle, Creon for plotting against him. Teiresias tells Oedipus that Oedipus is blind to the situation and Creon didn’t plot against him. Oedipus angrily tells Teiresias to leave. As Teiresias turns away he tells him that he will soon realize what has happened, insults Oedipus by questioning his ability to solve puzzles, and tells him that he does not fear Oedipus punishing him for the things that he told him. Everything the blind prophet told the king turns out to be true in the later scenes of the play. (Sophocles, 1.2) The text describes

In the play, we learnt that King Oedipus could not escape his destiny, no matter how much effort the other parties tried to prevent the tragedy from happening. King Oedipus tried to uncover the truth regardless of the consequences that he might be facing. During the process of investigation, Oedipus believed that he was innocent. Teiresias was trying frame him because Creon’s instigation. However, the truth was exposed when Oedipus came into contact with more information and secrets. In the end, Oedipus cast judgment upon himself.