Oedipus the King

From the very beginning of this story it is evident that the character wanted everything their way. King Laius not only tried to change his own fate but he also tried changing his own son’s fate by trying to kill him. Before Oedipus was even born he tried to change his fate because he was so reluctant to allowing his own son to kill him. It is so selfish to want to kill your own son. He didn’t even think that maybe he can change this prediction in other ways.

The use of hamartia is a key component to a tragedy in Greek times. In the festival of Dionysus, the use of hamartia played a key role in the production of tragic plays that enhances the audience experience in establishing morals and ideals in many different ways. Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a key example of this, a play about the unfortunate destiny bestowed upon Oedipus. During the play, Oedipus attempts to flee from his destiny that he will marry his mother and kill his father. The dramatic irony where Oedipus tries to doubt the gods is imprudent and foolish, and his hamartia further led him to his tragic downfall. Throughout this tragedy, the use of hamartia is used to justify the catastrophic events that happened to Oedipus and his

“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.

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

Oedipus’ foolish decisions ultimately lead to his downfall in the play. Oedipus chooses to kill Laios. He chooses to marry Iocaste. He chooses to forcefully, and publicly, assume the mission of discovering the identity of Laios’ murderer saying ironically, “I say I take the son’s part, just as though I were his son, to press the fight for him and see it won,” (633). He proceeds on this mission and chooses to ignore the warnings of Creon, Iocaste, Teiresias, the messenger, the shepherd, and anyone who attempts to stand between him and the truth; and, he chooses to blind himself. In the end, Oedipus’ most foolish choice prevails throughout the play; the choice of illusion over reality ultimately costs him his life.

The king of Thebes will decide to see this matter through on his own terms, no matter the cost. For Oedipus finding the truth becomes something of an obsession, and it is far more important than what that truth might actually reveal. It seems as if the more facts that are uncovered about the murder of Laios, the more determined Oedipus becomes, perhaps still unconvinced about his own possible implication in the death of Laios (even though he remembers killing a man at a crossroads). He relentlessly marches on, ignoring the pleas from his wife, Jocasta, to abandon the

Before there was the play, Oedipus the King, there was King Laius and Queen Jocasta, rulers of the cursed Thebes. However, things weren’t going their way as Laius learned from the oracle that his son, which was trying to have, would kill him and marry his wife. With this information, he said that he wouldn’t have a son, but by that time, it was too late. And with that, he ordered a servant to bind the child to the wild, and let nature the rest. However, the servant couldn’t bare it, so the servant decided to send the child to Corinth, another kingdom, as he would be raised by royalty. Yet, that wouldn’t last long as Oedipus, the named son, was told by the oracle that would eventually kill his father and marry his mother. Determined not to follow that fate, he left home and head towards Thebes, where he would do his father no harm. Little did he know that during his travels, he would meet Laius, his real father, and get into a fight, eventually killing him. After that, he decided to be a hero and solve the riddle of the Sphinx, where he

Did you ever wonder that Antigone was going to be the tragic hero? In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone’s family history is what sets up her tragic story. Eteocles and Polynices were both brothers who inherit the curse by their father Oedipus. Both were to serve as a king. Once Eteocles served his year as a king, he was going to be replaced by Polynices. Eteocles did not meet the rule peacefully with his brother Polynices, so they both faced each other in a battle before the gates of the city of Thebes. They both killed each other. Eteocles died defending his city, while Polynices went against the city he had come from, dying a traitor. King Creon, their uncle, favored Eteocles for defending the city of Thebes and awarded him with a

Because Oedipus knows nothing about the past of Thebes, he is not an assassin. Oedipus committed murder but unknowingly of who King Laius was. Oedipus' honor was his claim against the murder. Had it been the other way around and Oedipus had lost the battle, King Laius' alibi would have also been for reasons of honor: for reasons of royalty. Oedipus was royalty and knew it as well did King Laius. The main idea behind Oedipus' innocence is this "royalty." Regardless of either of their class standings a fight occurred and the one to start had been King Laius? men, or group, the fact that they lost is not the fault of Oedipus. In other words, King Laius and his men wanted to discipline Oedipus for not

Along with Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone is one of Sophocles’ three Theban tragic plays estimated to have been written – or at least performed for the first time - in 442 BCE. At the start of the play it is communicated that Antigone, along with her sister Ismene, are the sole surviving children of Oedipus. Their brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, have recently been killed in a battle in which they fought on opposing sides. Polyneices led a mercenary force to conquer Thebes, while Eteocles remained loyal to the state. Emerging from the ashes of this failed conquest Antigone and King Creon are at an impasse. Creon orders that Eteocles be given full funeral rites while forbidding the same for Polyneices, who was a traitor. Antigone, on the other hand, believes that it is her family duty to bury her brother Polyneices and perform full funeral rites for him regardless of Creon’s edict that anyone who does so will forfeit their lives. Antigone believes it is pious and good to honor her family and the laws of the gods, whereas Creon believes it is of utmost importance to honor the state and the laws proclaimed by the ruler. This essay will show that Antigone and Creon have very different views on what is good and pious, and that they completely reject the views of the other which results in their mutual destruction.

There are many characteristics that make someone a tragic hero. In the story Oedipus The King, there are several characteristics that benefit Oedipus as a ruler. In the play Oedipus The King, Oedipus displays three heroic characteristics: he is a man of action, caring, and trustworthy.

Oedipus king of the dying city of Thebes had a prosperous life. Fulfilling king duties and taking care of the people around him. Oedipus life wasn't all that bad until he went on a search for the killer of the last king Laius, Not knowing his fate awaited him by doing so, earlier Oedipus announced that their would be a reward for whoever revealed the killer, and the killer will be banned from the land. Oedipus continually searched for answers, even when people tried to steer him away, he still wanted answers. What is done in the dark will come to light. After many days of research one of the servants finally confesses that Oedipus is indeed the killer of the last king Laius. The fact that many people told Oedipus not to pursue the situation

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.

Oedipus’ biggest flaw is that he is does not fully know the truth which holds him back from understanding his past and accepting himself. In scene two, He learns more about the murder and realizes that he is the one guilty of killing King Laios’. Oedipus says, “Swinging my club in this right hand I knocked him out of his car, and he rolled on the ground. I killed him”(43). Oedipus does know part of the truth: that he killed the King, but still is unaware that King Laios is his real father. Oedipus says, “Polybos of Corinth is my father. My mother is a Dorian: Merope”(42). Not knowing the truth about his parents disables Oedipus’ ability to understand his past and his identity. It will certainly be difficult for him to find out the ugly truth

“Is it endurable that I should hear such words from him? Go and a curse go with you! Quick, home with you! Out of my house at once!” (7). Oedipus was easily angered. He was a prideful individual who tried everyway possible to avenge the death of Laius, his real father. He did not want to listen to anyone who told him that he is the one who killed Laius and will not accept the prediction about his life and refused any idea of his fate. His pride also played apart in his eagerness trying to find the killer of Laius. He believed that he was the only one who could figure it out and wanted to show off. This led to him finding out that he had killed him! And eventually realized his wife, Locastus, was his mother! This is a wonderful example that shows that pride comes before