The Downfall Of Sophocles ' Oedipus The King

In the famous playwright, Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King”, a Greek tragedy which explores the idea of destiny, Oedipus is a tragic hero, who, in the exploration of his troubled past, discovers the truth of actions that render him guilty of the heinous crimes of murder, and incest. Although Oedipus was not privy to the truth behind his actions, it does not make these crimes any less unlawful, or unethical, proving that Oedipus is guilty of the murder of his father, Laius, and of having an incestuous relationship with his mother, Jocasta.

Sophocles’ play brings up the complex issues about the relationship between human’s free will and fate predestined by the Gods. It examines the nature of human confidence to defy fate as well as human’s limited ability against the unknown force that they do not completely understand (p. 609). Several remarks were made in the play to question the authority of the divine powers. If the prophecies are wrong, however, how could the play ends with the realization of the prophecies? It is because of fate serves as the framework for Oedipus’ frailties in the play. Oedipus was originally bound by his fate. However, his downfall was brought upon more by the irrational decisions he

“Oedipus the King” is a tragic story written by Sophocles. Oedipus is a king that is trying to escape his fate. An oracle had predicted that he was going to be the killer of his father, and was going to sleep with his mother. When he was first born, his parents attempted to kill him yet he survived and was adopted. Instead of getting away from the atrocious future that was predicted, Oedipus walks right into his fate. This Greek tragedy is about transitions. He starts off as arrogant, unknowing, and full of ego but this drastically changes as we reach the end of the play. Oedipus becomes a wise man and has accepted how life is. No matter how much power or knowledge you have there is no way of tampering with fate, instead accept and learn from it.

In our world today, fate and free will remains the biggest mystery of all; is everything we do controlled or do we have the freedom of choice? In the story "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author uses the idea of fate and free will to explain the struggle of Oedipus's life. Fate and free will is explained as; fate is controlled by an outside supernatural force, and there is no way of controlling it. Free will is when each of us is responsible and controls all aspects of our own life. The author of "Oedipus the King" uses ironic devices to convey a tragic attitude toward the struggle of fate and free will.

In Oedipus the King, one of Sophocles’ most popular plays, Sophocles clearly depicts the Greek’s popular belief that fate will control a man’s life despite of man’s free will. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Throughout Oedipus the King, the concept of fate and free will plays an integral part in Oedipus' destruction.

The great question that Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex poses to its audience is the existence of true and real fate and how it affects the life of human beings. In the context which Sophocles wrote the play - c. 441 BC - the fate which the representatives of the gods communicate is the official course of that life. One’s future was not questioned besides what the fates foretold. It is easier to understand the dramatic course of action that Oedipus’ parents took to avoid the told fate of their baby son. Therefore, for the dramatic and theatrical purpose of the play, I do believe that Oedipus’ life was controlled by fate.

Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles, emphasizes the role of fate in the world’s everyday life, but specifically in the life of Oedipus. The events that occur in Oedipus the King show how the relationship between Oedipus and his fate are inseparable. His quest --starting with fleeing from his foretold fate-- becomes more difficult to digest when his fate catches up to him in his race to salvation. Through the confabulation between Tiresias and Oedipus, Sophocles compares fate being told by Tiresias to Oedipus with the life he is living.

Oedipus fell victim to the chaotic brainstorming set forth by fate. Predisposed destiny cannot be altered, no matter who it affects. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus murdered his father, fathered his own siblings, and married his own mother. The crazy sequence that occurred for those events to line up called for some tremendous destiny and will, apart from the one of Oedipus. The tragedy that happens to Oedipus is the result of a calamitous inevitable destined purpose.

Oedipus the King is a famous play written by the renowned author Sophocles and first acted out back in 429 BC. It is the second of three plays written by Sophocles that dealt with Oedipus; the first one being Oedipus at Colonus and the last one being Antigone. This play relates the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes King of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling an old prophecy that said that he would kill his father Laios and marry his mother Jocasta. He embarks on a journey to try and find the man who killed his father, and promises to banish this man from Thebes forever. In the end, he will learn the ugly truth; he is the one who killed his father, and the woman he considered to be his wife is actually his mother. This play is a classic tragedy, considering that Oedipus’ own faults will lead to his tragic downfall at the end of the play. One of the important aspects of this play that makes it so good, although unknown to many, is the fact that this is a piece of climatic drama, which means that most of the action and of what constitutes Oedipus’ misery in the end occurred before the play even starts. In fact, the prophecy that will end up being the focal point of the play was set on Oedipus when he was a little boy, which is long before the action of the play even started. This is where the Chorus comes in handy. According the “Glossary of Dramatic Terms”, the Chorus is “a masked

The philosophical position Sophocles takes in Oedipus Rex is shown through the depiction of the role of fate versus the role of free will. Sophocles takes a character, Oedipus, who possesses significant arrogance as a leader, and humbles him through the fulfillment of his fate. By being subjected to the fate defined by the gods, and given by the oracles, “Oedipus finds modesty because he has learned to know himself” (Kallich 1). Fate is once again attached to the idea of free will, because Oedipus experiences a dramatic shift in his personality due

A motif in Oedipus Rex is the matter of fate and the amount of control that the characters have over their own. Fate, when used as a noun, is defined as events beyond a person's control, usually developed by supernatural beings. I think Sophocles’s work misused the word “fate”. Throughout this work, I believe the characters were trying to reconstruct their future, not their fate, since it’s inhumanly possible to do so even for the Greeks. Sophocles does demonstrate the human desire to control their future and ultimately accept the consequences through three characters; Oedipus, Jocasta and King Laius.

In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the king, Oedipus Rex fits the true definition of a tragic hero, especially by Aristotle standards. He is a vitreous man whose misfortune is brought about not by depravity, but by some error or frailty. Oedipus is highly regarded as being renowned and prosperous. In the play we can tell Oedipus is well renowned because the people pray towards him “Not judging you an equal of the gods” (Line 31), “you raised up our lives” (Line 39). And prosperous when Tiresias says “rich, through foreign lands” (Line 460) and again when Oedipus says “in wealth, kingship, artistry” (Line 385) “wins much admiration” (Line 386). Oedipus is imperfect like us because he is human and has human qualities. On his way to Corinth, Oedipus

In Oedipus the King, the theme of fate vs free will appears all through the play. Oedipus throughout the play tries to avoid his inevitable fate, which ironically seems to make his fate come

For many centuries it has been debated whether the downfall of man is fate or the result of man’s actions. This same conflict is seen in Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex. Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a prince that left his home city Corinth due to a prophecy that an oracle prophesized saying that he would kill his own father and marry his mother and because of this Oedipus left Corinth. He later ventured out of the city and came to Thebes in which he saved the city from a plague. He was then made King in which he served the city well. However, as the play unfolds we see Oedipus’ character starts to change in which this change brings about his downfall. Therefore, due to the tragic character flaw of his character, Oedipus is responsible for his own fate.