Oedipus the King

The Greek drama “Oedipus The King” evidently leads to the unveiling of a tragedy. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play uncovers his tragic birth story and the curse he had been baring his whole life. Oedipus is notorious for his personal insight that helped him defeat Sphinx, which lead him to becoming the king of Thebes. He is admired by the people of Thebes and is considered to be a mature, inelegant and a rational leader. From his birth, his story began with a prophecy that Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Through out the play numerous people, who tell him of his unknown past, visit Oedipus. Blind to the truth he casts them away until a blind man named Therisis gives a sight of truth to Oedipus. As Oedipus learns the truth he realizes the great evil his life carries. After finding his wife and also mother hung in her bedroom, Oedipus blinds himself with the gold pins that held Jocasta’s robe. Oedipus blind to the truth is finally able to see when the old blind man visits him and tells him the truth about his life. Both metaphorically and physically sight plays a significant role in understanding the irony of a blind man seeing the truth while Oedipus who isn’t blind doesn’t seem to the truth that’s right in front of him.

“Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is, a lone man unknown in his crime - or one among many, let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step - I curse myself as well … if by any chance He proves to be an intimate of our house, Here at my hearth, with my full knowledge, May the curse I just called down on him strike me!”(p. 1137). Oedipus’s intense pride or hubris, and his steadfast determination to uncover the mystery of Laius’s murder ironically leads him to unwittingly curse himself.

Many people go through events throughout their life that have a disastrous outcome. In Sophocles’ book, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is not able to change his fate, whereas in Shakespeare’s book, Julius Caesar, Brutus’s fate is determined by his actions. The many things that are included in the outcome of Oedipus’ and Caesar’s fate include the unities in how the tragedy happens, the characteristics of the men, the relationship between the gods and humans in both books, and also the importance of knowledge. All of these characteristics of a tragedy are included in the calamities these men face. In Oedipus Rex, because Oedipus is ultimately powerless to change his catastrophe, the idea of fate is emphasized significantly throughout the tragedy; however,

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

Many people believe that fate has planned out their lives and despite efforts on their part what was meant to happen, will eventually happen. This belief has been handed down over the centuries from some of the first civilizations, such as the Greeks. However, not all Greek citizens wanted destiny to take control of their lives. Some decided to choose freewill over the will of the gods. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles writes a cautionary tale meant to warn the doubters in Greek society that regardless of their beliefs in gods and prophecies, it is necessary to heed their warnings. Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius are Sophocles’ characters that prove that escaping one’s fate is not possible, as each of their predicted fates is realized despite extensive efforts to thwart them.

The task of tragedy is to bring ‘Catharsis’ to all its spectators, the belief of witnessing a spectacle consisting of tragic themes, is to provide the spectators a feeling of being cleansed and renewed which purges the spectators’ emotions. However, the idea was to strike pity and fear to all who go to see it. Tragedy is commonly defined as a play involving a main character who is born of royal blood with good intentions, the mistakes they commit leads to their downfall. However, what makes Oedipus The King a highly-regarded piece of Greek Theatre is due to Oedipus not realising that he has already fulfilled his fate by committing the deeds that were

Oedipus, the main character of Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. A tragic flaw is defined as “an otherwise good trait that turns destructive when taken to an extreme” (Stary). In a tragedy one can see the suffering of the main character, which is evident in Oedipus’ case. Oedipus’ tragic flaw is his determination, when he intensely seeks to find Laios’ murderer, forces the unwilling blind prophet Teiresias to reveal the truth, and when he stopped at nothing to prevent the prophecy from becoming true.

From the very beginning, what makes Oedipus ' actions in his quarrel with Teiresias and also throughout the play so dramatically compelling, is the fact that the audience knows the outcome of the story. We know Oedipus ' fate even before he does, and there is no suspense about the outcome itself, instead, the audience anxiously awaits Oedipus to reveal his fate unto himself in his desperate quest to rid his city of the terrible plague, or maybe even more so, to simply discover his own unfortunate tale. Oedipus is relentless in his pursuit of the truth, and his determination is commendable. There is nothing that compels him to act in this way, instead he freely chooses, with much zeal, to initiate the chain of events that will ultimately lead to his downfall. It is this interplay between Oedipus’ own free will and his fated eventuality that is the crux of the play, and constitutes the main dramatic power.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, “Oedipus the King” contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his/her own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia or a tragic flaw which causes his/hers’ downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape.

Hubris is defined as excessive pride or self-confidence, while fate is defined as the supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines events. Ancient Greeks believed in Hubris, or pride. Pride may have been seen as good or bad. Many people that exhibit pride may come off as being proud of their achievements or lives; however, pride can rise to levels in where it may annoy or offend others. Therefore, pride may cause ones downfall. Sometime fate can also cause ones’ downfall such as pride. , since events in someone’s life are predestined. In a play, there may be such a

In Sophocles’ 5th century Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, Oedipus Rex infamously murders his father and weds his mother in a bout of dramatic irony. This engenders the predicament of whether these crimes are justifiable or not. Those who are procrustean in regards to Oedipus’ crimes may insularly claim that they cannot be rationalized. However, further acknowledgement of this quandary brings forth the idea that Oedipus’ crimes of patricide and incest are clearly justified by how his lack of phronesis is inherited, his unawareness influences his actions, and his fate is ultimately under the gods’ control.

In Sophocles Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses Oedipus’ character as a method through which to introduce increased tension and drama in the play. Oedipus, through a series of ironic statements, creates a growing sense of nervousness amongst the audience as they already know the Oedipus’ story. From Oedipus’ first line in the play, to his last monologue, ironic statements create tension amongst the other characters and force these characters into difficult situations due Oedipus’ statements. By the end of the play, Sophocles, successfully uses Oedipus for the purpose of creating tension and ultimately adding drama to the play.

King Laius was married to Jocasta, a distant cousin. He was expected to be killed based off Apollo’s oracle. Apollo’s oracle stated that King Laius were be killed by his son. To rid of this oracle once his son was born he tied his feet together and left his son on a mountain by himself. King Laius was killed and everyone thought that it was five robbers who killed him. One of the robbers lived. Oedipus arrived in the country of Thebes to leave his “father” Polybus who again was expected to be killed by his son. Polybus was Oedipus’s father after his real father gave him up. When Oedipus come to Thebes he solved the riddle that was unsolvable. Sphinx, a monster

During the story of Oedipus the King, readers discover that one of Oedipus’s flaws is his temper. Just as the story begins to turn around, a prophet tells Oedipus that King Laius’s killer brought on the plague. However, when Oedipus questions the prophet, Tiresias, he is denied an answer. He grows mad, calling Tiresias “scum of the earth” (Episode I. 381). Oedipus then goes on criticizing the blind prophet about the arrival of the Sphinx saying, “it cried out for a prophet. Where were you?” (Episode I. 448), justifying that he is smarter and stronger than the prophet is. Furthermore, readers can observed the effects of Oedipus’s anger. His anger leads him to name-calling and disrespect towards Tiresias. Tiresias is only trying to save Oedipus

The play “Oedipus Rex” recounts about the King of Thebes who was destined by prophecy to murder his father and wed his mother. Regardless of his attempts to evade his fate, he inadvertently fulfills it, which unavoidably led to his demise. Prior to the start of the play, the reader learns Oedipus ascended to the throne of Thebes after unraveling the enigma of the Sphinx. While under the jurisdiction of Oedipus, the Theban city was struck with a plague, respectively due to the death of the former king. Oedipus is considered a tragic hero because he meets all five criteria designed by Aristotle: the hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, hubris, and acquiring a fate that is greater than deserved.