The Conflict Between Prometheus And Jove

Euripides’s plays often featured uncanny insight into the human condition and the struggle that his characters bore due to their expected roles within society.

The author of Oedipus, Sophocles, introduces a worthy rival to the main character Oedipus.Tiresias, who considers himself to be an equal to the Great King. Tiresias admits, “You are a king. But where the argument’s concerned // I am your man, as much as a king as you.// I am not your servant, but Apollo’s.”(Sophocles) While simultaneously trying to defend his honour and bring justice to Thebes, Oedipus argues about the integrity of Creon’s source. Tiresias retorts Oedipus’ impulsive accusations, in a studious, and King like manner.Tiresias’ diligent retaliation is dramatically significant because it develops Oedipus’ character; Oedipus is humanized and revered less as a God because of his flaws. The power dynamic shift causes the audience to become more judgemental of Oedipus since someone is holding him accountable for his behaviour. Additionally, the passage adds to the mystery of the plot and creates suspense, through Sophocles’ use of paradox, and imagery which cause the mood to change and creates a compelling story. Both of these elements cause the audience to pay attention to the drastic changes in character, and mood, to highlight the major theme of pride, power, and fate. Ultimately, the passage is intended to show the ignorance of Oedipus, and the awareness of Tiresias, who are symbols for the pervasiveness of fate.

In Sophocles' play, "Oedipus The King," the continuous references to eyes and sight possess a much deeper meaning than the literal message. These allusions are united with several basic underlying themes. The story contains common Ancient Greek philosophies, including those of Plato and Parmenides, which are often discussed and explained during such references. A third notion is the punishment of those who violate the law of the Gods. The repeated mentioning of sight and eyes signify the numerous ancient Greek beliefs present in the story.

Have you ever acted out in retribution for something done to you? Some examples could be if you punched someone for intentionally kicking you, or if someone deliberately hurt the feelings of someone you love and you retaliated in kind. You probably thought the punishment you received for your actions was too harsh or lenient. Many factors went into the decision of what discipline you received for this act and some were fair while others probably were not. This is true for the actions of many people in Aeschylus’s Oresteia. In each of the three plays, someone is seeking vengeance for a wrong done unto them, someone they know/love, or both. For this paper, I will be focusing on the vengeance enacted by Clytemnestra, Orestes, and the Fates. The vengeance that each person enacted was deemed just or unjust depending on many factors including the people who were doing the judging. Vengeance in Aeschylus’s Oresteia is viewed through the social lens of the society that it was enacted in. This lens is made up of the popular values, beliefs, and social conventions of the period as well as the judge’s personal views and/or experiences. These factors (such as gender and relation to the victim, as well as the presence or absence of transgressions on the characters part) lead to different opinions about the guilt of the accused individual and the individual themselves. The view of vengeance in Aeschylus’s Oresteia is very subjective.

In the poem, the mother takes her daughter to a pool party composed of boys. The speaker watches the children dive into the pool and imagines her daughter working math problems to calculate the gallons of water. As she watches the young girl climb out of the pool in her hamburger and french fry print swimming suit, she notes that the other young girls are looking at the boys, and as well as her daughter, she is beginning to recognize the appeal of their masculinity. The language of the poem is associated with the childness of the young girl. The description the speaker gives of the girl leads the reader to believe she is a child. She calls her “my girl,” and describes her of having a sweet face and a sleek ponytail. “She will glisten in the brilliant air, and they will see her sweet face” (1115), the diction of Olds word choice demonstrates the innocence of a young child beginning to approach maturity. She provides detailed portrayal of the character to provide the reader with an image of the diminishing childhood innocence of the

All three of these works show the authors’ speakers’ experiences leading to their childhood innocence being stripped from them or otherwise crushed beneath the weight of reality. Cullen plays with the lightness of childhood innocence in the first quatrain. This is highlighted in line two “...heart-filled, head-filled with glee,” (Fader/Rabinowitz pg.

    Children are beautiful because they possess the quality of innocence. In Gary Soto’s autobiographical narrative “A Summer Life”, he recalls a boyhood experience that left him striped of his innocence and purity in the form of a glaring pie tin. Many different literary elements such as imagery, diction and repetition are used to recreate the experience of his guilty six-year old self.

Truly, when Aeschylus commences the wretched tale of Prometheus, one whose cruel providence commands him to be torn per diem, one is bestowed a variation to the common theological account of a shrewd individual desiring to conquer the will of the gods. Moreover, Prometheus Bound transpires within the initial stages of the Epic Cycle, as Zeus has ultimately established his hegemony quite recently, and his decree is established to be absolute. It commences immediately when Prometheus has been charged with treason towards Zeus, and will be punished accordingly for neglecting the reality that the king of the gods has grown into the principle to abide by. Nonetheless, Aeschylus’ saga of Prometheus is one occupied with the dogmata of one’s hubris

Lord Byron’s take on the story, however, is unique in that he does not allow Prometheus a single sigh of agony; instead he describes the silence with which Prometheus bore the pain and suffering wreaked upon him by Jupiter. This differs from many Promethean works, both previously written and later, as most depict Prometheus crying out in pain constantly. The Prometheus in Byron’s poem however, uses his suffering to become a martyr that people look up to for thousands of years in the

Duffy exaggerates the child’s “kissed feet glowed” as a hyperbole to provide the sense of service for glorification of the child, demonstrating the speaker’s willingness to provide everything the child needs. “Language glittered like a river” compares language to a river, explaining how the child had no difficulty speaking because a river flows smoothly. The simile supports the adolescent stage of the cycle of life because the child is learning communication skills, which marks the beginning of independence from the parent as the child no longer relies on the parent as much as in the stage of infancy. The “w” alliteration in “with,” “whole,” “where,” and “watching” creates soft and pleasant sounds that supports the tenderness of the speaker’s tone as though the speaker is lulling the child to sleep. The tender care for the child showcases a mother’s unconditional love that supports the child’s development and protect the child in the most vulnerable state of

Through the play one can see that Oedipus’ flaw is hubris. His aggression and arrogance prevents him from making rational decisions and blinds him from seeing the truth. Oedipus refutes fate and consequently, when he is forced to see reality he destroys himself. The tragedy presents hubris as a fatal flaw of human nature and therefore warns against excessive pride. Sophocles also expresses the power the gods through Oedipus’ fight against fate. Through Oedipus’ demise the audience understands that man only has free will to an extent and in the end god’s plan with follow through. The play keeps an audience entertained through drama while simultaneously depicting a warning to humanity. Overall, Sophocles’ work is revered because of the effects his precise diction

“‘Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery’” (Milch 12). This statement by Aristotle reflects the ideas portrayed in the play Oedipus Rex. Written by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex is a play which combines tragedy with irony to tell a story of a noble king who falls short of his greatness. The play was written around 430 BC and originally intended for an Athenian audience. They considered Sophocles their most successful playwright and consequently, his works continued to be valued highly throughout the Greek world long after his death. A closer examination of this play is needed to see just why it has been regarded as Sophocles’ masterpiece and the greatest of all Greek tragedies (Milch 16, 36).

“Eumenides”, the third and final piece in Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy, resumes the tale where “Choephoroe” left it as Orestes is pursued by the vengeful Erinyes. The primary plot point in “Eumenides” is the judgement Orestes undergoes for his act of matricide, and the conflicting ideas of justice provided by the various parties that are associated with it. Topic In “Eumenides”, the best idea of justice Argument is Athena’s Reason because her lack of a personal stake in the matter allows her to give a truly fair solution to the situation. (topic) The Erinyes do not have the best idea of justice because, as they have a personal stake in the matter, they twist their ideals to fit the situation and lean it in their favor.

Although Ovid’s Metamorphoses is filled with selfish characters, Ovid, notably, chooses to laud their selfish behaviors. Ovid’s depiction of Perseus is particularly notable. The language Ovid uses to describe Perseus separates him from others in the story and thus celebrates him. Perseus, however, does not deserve his hero status because of his selfish and vengeful actions earlier in the poem. Thus, because of the poetic nuances he uses to laud the Perseus, Ovid also lauds selfishness and vengeance. This message, upon first glance, seems surprising—Ovid praises a sin. However, Ovid’s praise of selfishness connects with a larger point about the Emperor Augustus and the importance, or rather unimportance, of virtue in Roman culture. Thus, in a historical context, Ovid’s glorification of selfish acts makes sense.

The plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone, written by Sophocles, display the themes defined by Aristotle. Are we the authors of our fate or is our fate written and destined to happen? In both plays, Oedipus and Antigone face their downfall because of self-will. They bring on their own doom because of their actions. The author explores many themes such as the high-standing and heroic traits of the tragic heroes as well as to the flaws and pride of Antigone and Oedipus. Finally, the author explores the theme of recognition and catastrophe. These topics are directly linked to the poetics of Aristotle. The two plays display many literary devices, the most significant ones being characterization and conflict. Oedipus and Antigone were of high-standing and had many heroic traits which influenced their actions.