Political Issues In Oedipus Rex

Sometimes humans are incapable of making the right judgment or judge before we have our fact’s. This kind of judgment can do the damage we cannot reverse. In the play, Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, is one of the prime examples of judging them without knowing facts. Oedipus Rex is a tragedy. A tragedy is a play that portrays a conflict between human beings and some superior, overwhelming force. It ends sorrowfully and disastrously, and the outcome seems inevitable. Oedipus the king, seem to be very quick to react and rage. Thebes is suffering a plague which leaves its fields and women barren. The king of Thebes has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the house of Apollo to find how to end this plague. Creon returns, bearing good news: once the killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be cured of the plague. After hearing that Oedipus swears he will find the murderer and banish him. At the beginning of the play, Kreon inform’s Oedipus that they need to kill the man who had killed the king Laios in order to get rid of the deadly disease. Laios death will open so many facts that Oedipus isn’t expecting.

Similarly, both figures are kings; rulers of communities which reflect their ruling. In Gilgamesh’s epic, the people knew of his endeavors and had to live with his sporadic acts because he was their ruler and accepted him as so. As declared, “Day and night his behavior became overbearing. He was their shepherd, yet powerful, superb, knowledgeable and expert, Gilgamesh would not leave young girls alone,”(199), and it is a positive reflection of his ruling due to the community accepting his antics through their approval of his leadership. On the other hand, Oedipus’ ruling was a negative concept on the fate of the people. The people see his flaws and have their doubts of his rule once they realize he is the root of their suffering, yet do not fully accept the reality of the situation. “This god of plague guts our city and fills the black world

Oedipus first demonstrated his ability to be a good leader in his helping the city escape the Sphinx.  He continued his leadership in the same manner, doing good things for the city and winning esteem in the eyes of the citizens.  The premise for the book is that he was trying to rid the city of a second plague.  He showed no hesitation to give it his best effort, saying "Indeed I'm willing to give all that you may need; I would be very hard should I not pity suppliants like these" (Sophocles page #). Displaying this willingness to help his citizens and earning such lofty acclaim as being called "great" or "greatest," Oedipus could not have been a poor ruler or a tyrant.  If Oedipus had ruled his subjects poorly then they would not have addressed him as "great," so he should be viewed as a good leader, one who cared for his charges, one who ruled justly.  In this light, Aristotle would have judged Oedipus to be a good man, or more precisely, a good ruler because Oedipus' labor was "for the benefit of others," one of Aristotle's characteristics of a good ruler.

“Oedipus Rex” was a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles in the fifth century BC. It was the first of a trilogy of plays surrounding the life of Oedipus. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays approximately 100 years before Aristotle even defined a tragedy and the tragic hero. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is “… an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some amplitude; in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties; acted not narrated; by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (Kennedy and Gioa 2010). According to Aristotle there were six elements to a tragedy: the plot, the character, the

Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex narrates a son who was supposed to be killed because of a prophecy that he will kill the king, who is his father, and marry his mother and ends with death from Oedipus, his mother, and the king. Although we try to fix our image, we end up impairing our image.

In comparison to the body natural, the body politic is characterized as the “divinely sanctioned ruler” (Hattaway 8). It is what “legitimates his rule and ensures his succession” as king (8). Hal acquires this part of the ‘body’ by what is appropriate to execute as the King of England. He demonstrates his body politic through his preparation for king and what he needs to do in order to retain the position of a successful ruler. Hal’s preparation in becoming the king includes crucial processes such as gaining trust and role playing. Along with the body natural, Hal’s body politic obtains the trust of the commoners in preparation for king. In comparison to the body natural, the body politic is characterized as the “divinely sanctioned ruler”

As King, Oedipus feels like it is his duty to serve the needs of his people over his own. In other words, he feels expected to do everything in his power to make the lives of his people extraordinary. He states to his people: "You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers..." (Sophocles 13).

Oedipus the King contains many different characters. The main character and protagonist is Oedipus who is also the king of Thebes. Oedipus has a wife, Jocasta, who is also his mother and Creon’s sister whom is Oedipus’s brother-in-law. Antigone and Ismene are Oedipus’s and Jocasta’s daughters which also means they are Oedipus’s sister. There is also Tiresias who is the blind soothsayer of Thebes. Oddly, the antagonist is not a person, it is actually Oedipus’ own fate. Oedipus struggles with his fate throughout the play in many ways. For example, when he is told that he is going to kill his father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus moves away to avoid

Another issue seen in Oedipus the King and today’s society is the government and its faults, for “The Ancient Greeks formulated what they believed to be a true democracy. Everyone was to have a say in the political scene, every man had a vote and no one should be disadvantaged. At the same time, however, the society was very much a patriarchal one. Power resided with the male; the leader, the logical and strong enforcer. Women, viewed as emotionally erratic, illogical and weak, were marginalised. Men were given the most noble of duties surrounding the glory of war; women were faced with trying to raise a household”(“Issues Explored in Oedipus

Hans Rockwell 8/26/17 Question 1 Question 1.) One of the responses people usually have about Oedipus is if he really deserved the fate that he ended up with. It’s not his fault that Jocasta and Laius tried to outsmart fate and dispose of him.

In the tragic play, Oedipus Rex, the Gods and religion greatly influence the social structure which in turn has a profound effect upon how the events unfold. Oedipus is the head of the state. There is a direct parallel in the demise of his household and city state which eventually comes to a full circle to destroy him. Even though Oedipus is praised by his people for being a responsible and honest king, he possesses a major character flaw in his attitude towards the gods which causes the tragic torture he faces in the end. Over the duration of the play, there is a strong sense of contamination towards the state, because it is facing a time of plague, and towards the leader Oedipus, because he is unknowingly in a relationship with his own

In the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus unknowingly murders his father and marries his mother. When Oedipus discovers this he is disgusted with himself and decides to go into exile. The Misanthrope is a play about the self-exile of the main character Alceste. Challenged in court, he refuses to take back the criticism of a sonnet written by a powerful nobleman. Alceste and Oedipus are both convicted by their knowledge of the truth. Although, the United States grants asylum to more refuges than any other country, there is one man who has decided to self-exile.

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.