Suffering In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Suffering is an obstacle that everyone has to confront at all times in their life. Most of time, suffering is painful. However, if people consider it as a chance for learning, they can gain a broader appreciation of life and success. They will grow one step further in the process of overcoming and stepping out from the disincentive. However, confronting suffering is not necessarily drawing the beneficial consequences: sometimes, suffering seems ultimately pointless. It may ruin people devastatingly and even lead them to the dehumanization by drawing out their negative hidden traits. A Long Way Gone--a book of Ishmael’s dreadful memories of being a boy soldier and the atrocious truth of the war--and Othello--a tragedy of jealousy, vengeance, and love--indicate those two

“A man who has been through bitter experiences and traveled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.” (Homer) This quote tells us that, like Odysseus, we will overcome hardships in life. In the end, we will remember the suffering that brought us to where we are. The Odyssey, by Homer, tells us that the challenge in front of us doesn't matter. Although, we can all conquer those challenges by never giving up. Like Odysseus, I will face hardships in life. However, in the end I will feel pleasure thinking about how I overcame those hardships. The Odyssey is a like journey through life. He learned many lessons on his trip, and was ultimately brought to his end goal, of getting home.

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.

Jonathan Swift is one of the most famous poets from the eighteenth century. He has written many satires including “The Lady’s Dressing Room”. This poem is about a man named Strephon and a woman named Celia. In the poem, Celia tries to make herself presentable to society while Strephon sneaks in her dressing room and there discovers what a vile and dirty creature she really is, altering his complete image of women in general. It could be said that Swift ridicules the relationship between all men and women, using his characters as a symbolisation. Lady Mary Wortley

The theme of suffering can come in numerous varieties; under categories both physical and emotional. Suffering is presented as a key concept in ‘Othello’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. All three texts explore many aspects of suffering in parts, however the most obvious and concentrated facet leans towards the psychological aspect rather then the physical side. In the three chosen texts many of the characters suffer from some sort of emotional trauma. Psychological suffering and distress is a major topic in all three chosen texts as the authors use this ailment in order to drive the storyline forward,

Oedipus is living in a dream from which he is only just beginning to awake. In this dream, he not only believes that he is in control of his own fate but that he is in control of his own identity. He assumes that he has three virtues: wisdom, reason, and self-control. When he attempts to use these virtues, however, he discovers that he is mistaken on all three counts. His first mistake is believing that he is wise. From this wisdom he hopes to maintain control over the events around him, but true wisdom is actually surrendering to the fact that control is an illusion, a "seeming." His second mistake is believing that he is a rational man. Indeed, Oedipus has great cognitive

The characters in the play Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, respond to suffering in a variety of ways. Characters like Tiresias respond altruistically to protect others from the truth, other characters similar to Oedipus tend to approach these situations with gall and are hasty with allegations, and the remaining characters respond like Jocasta with disbelief and extremity. Ironically, although suffering is painful and destructive, the way the characters dealt with suffering brought each of them to find the true value of clarity and healing that can be found when suffering.

Swift’s satirization concerns aspects applicable to all women, while Montagu vehemently describes Swift’s own moral character. Although Swift’s poem describes the dressing room of one particular woman, Celia, it is meant as a general mockery of female image in society and how they portray themselves. This becomes clear in lines 121-126 when he says “His foul imagination links Each dame he sees with all her stinks, And, if unsavory odors fly, Conceives a lady standing by. All women his description fits, And both ideas jump like wits,” (Swift) The disgusting things discovered by Strephon in Celia’s dressing room are now applicable to all women, as his imagination connects that experience to the beautified women he sees in his daily life, and what their dressing room must also look like. He also assumes a women is nearby when he smells something awful, again connected to the gross

Whether it be hundreds of years ago or this present day, suffering has been seen as a major theme in numerous pieces of art and works of literature. Suffering is defined in the Oxford dictionary as “the state of undergoing pain, distress or hardship”. With every victory there is loss, and with every loss, there is suffering. Suffering itself is a very volatile theme as it can easily be interpreted as a loss of innocence or faith, the portrayal of someone's rise and fall or even just to help the audience or readers to connect emotionally to the piece of work. This volatility allows an artist, writer or director to portray suffering as they wish to best establish a connection with their audience. Oftentimes, suffering is misinterpreted as pain. Pain is a physical ache such as the ache in your muscles or the stabbing back pain, whereas suffering is the emotional experience which may or may not be connected to pain. Though the two go hand in hand, suffering tends to leave a larger dent in a person's mind. A person may be laughing at all times, but as Robin Williams, a famous comedian and actor once said: “I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy”. What this means is that someone who is smiling may be suffering the most. Suffering, thus, becomes a volatile theme that can be applied in many different aspects of artwork and literature and leave a mark on the audience.

The allure of cathartic experiences provided by entertainment to both modern and ancient societies stems from the potent emotional cleansing and intellectual enlightenment audiences receive while simultaneously retaining the security of their viewing seats. Many prime examples of catharsis inducing works originated from the greek playwright Sophocles; specifically his theatrical creation, Oedipus Rex, exhibits these qualities and arrived at a time when his country immensely needed emotional purgation. Another prominent greek figure, Aristotle, viewed this play as a representation of both everyday life and the inescapable truth of the futility in resisting one’s destiny in a comprehensible format for the people. Through examining the text

The Lady’s Dressing Room, is a poem written by Jonathan Swift and examines the reaction of Strephon as he looks through Celia’s room. In the beginning of the poem Celia is described as a goddess who wears lace and brocade, creating an image of Celia being a beautiful and alluring woman. When Strephon notices her room is empty he gains a curiosity and begins to look through all of her belongings. Strephon realizes very quickly that all of her belongings are stained, have an odor, or are covered in dirt. Lines fifty-nine through sixty-four show how invasive Strephon is while also mocking Celia’s physical appearance.

In the poem, The Lady’s Dressing Room, the author Jonathan Swift ridicules both genders for adhering to a false sense of gender ideals set by society. He does this by looking at the poem through a male perspective, this is particularly useful as it illustrates how men want to view women but neglect that their own activities are equally as stereotypical. The societal ideals society places on women is that they are clean and they all look and act in a similar manner to a goddess. Strephon realizes this stereotype is not completely true as he rummages through Celia’s belongings. Jonathan Swift liberates men from societal norms as they see women as humans, and not goddesses.

The Greeks considered tragedy the greatest form for literature.  However, the tragic ends for the characters were not ordained or set by fate, but rather caused by certain characteristics belonging to that person.  Such is the case with the characters of Sophocles' plays Oedipus the King and Antigone.  Oedipus from King Oedipus, and Antigone and Creon from Antigone posses characteristics, especially pride, that caused their tragic ends.  As the play progress, other characteristics appear and further add to the problem to such a point that it is inevitable that it will end in tragedy.  Therefore the tragedies were not a result of a plot by the fates, but rather a result of the

Over the course of this semester we have read several books and plays that have in one way or another tie into the overall theme of human suffering. The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, Prometheus Bound, Women of Troy, etc.….all contain elements of intense suffering, despair, and struggle, which made each of them particularly hard for me to not only read, but digest. The Book of Job in fact, was at first the single most depressing piece of literature I’ve read so far in my academic career, simply because it seemed to be page upon page of suffering without any hope of relief. As I look back and reflect, I find myself asking why the concept of human suffering is so important, especially when regarding literature (because obviously we wouldn’t learn about it if it wasn’t), and why authors and playwrights throughout history have chosen to build their work around it. After further thought, I believe that in a unique way human suffering in literature is vital because it inspires hope, restores faith, reveals truths, and aids us in our daily wrestle with personal struggle.

Oedipus the King, a greek tragedy, is the story of a man's struggle against his fate.