The Fate Of Shakespeare 's ' Oedipus The King '

Often one wonders whether their choices are consequential. Are we destined to an irrevocable destination or do we choose the path for our life? Oedipus Rex is a play that deals with this question. As a Greek tragedy, sadness ultimately is its end. However, the conclusion can be seen as foreordained or a result of poor choices. Sophocles probes his audience to think about their own life through the story of an unfortunate man. Oedipus Rex is established upon the foundation of fate versus free will.

“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.

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.

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

This can be seen as even in the year 429 BCE, when Oedipus the King is written, there is the idea that we cannot change our fate and that our life is predestined. This idea can still be clearly seen today in many religions such as Calvinism (carm.org) who believe that God has created a plan for everyone that has ever existed and who ever will exist and whether or not they will go to heaven or hell. If it has been such a prevalent idea throughout history how do we know that this isn’t true and that we actually don’t have any free will and if we do have free will to what extent do we actually have control over what we are meant to do and who we are meant to be. Do we all have a prophecy in this world or is it old stories such as Oedipus the King and others that have implanted the idea of predestination and the lack of free will that is put forward in this book. Is it possible that plays like Oedipus have changed the and formed the way people have thought for centuries and

Sophocles', Oedipus the King, is a fatal story about a king named Oedipus who does everything in his power to avoid the commands of the prophecy; murdering his own father and marrying his own mother (Sophocles, 45), however, destiny pushes Oedipus towards the path he was destined to follow by the god Apollo and he ended up realizing how he had already done such catastrophes without even realizing it before. According to D'Holbach, all of one's life experiences are pre-determined and are not free of choice (D'Holbach, 1772 [80]). However, Sider would argue that it includes how the person's character reacts to their desires of the certain situation (Sider, 130). D'Holbach would state how Oedipus' destiny was pre-determined since before he was

The ancient Greeks acknowledged the role of Fate as a reality outside the individual that shaped and established human life. There are many themes in Oedipus the King; among them is whether man or a higher power crafts fate in this play, we can see that men have limited control over their destiny. Their fate is already decided by a higher power and cannot be avoided. No matter what path you choose or how you react, your destiny will be fulfilled one way or another. The first clear example of this can be seen when Laius, the king of Thebes learns from an oracle that "doom would strike him down at the hands of a son” (Sophocles, 04).

Throughout all of history, a common theme found in literature has been the idea of whether or not humans have the ability to determine their own futures or if each person has their life predetermined and nothing can be done to change that. The ancient Greeks were no different, and the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles has this idea intertwined throughout the entire plot. The play revolves around a king named Oedipus who rules over the land of Thebes. Oedipus deals with a prophecy about him that he does all he can to avoid, but in doing so he inadvertently causes his fate to become reality. The play “Oedipus the King” demonstrates the fate versus freewill conflict based on how Ancient Greek culture viewed prophecy, and Oedipus’s prophecy and his attempt to prevent it which was ultimately unsuccessful.

Most people in today's society live their lives based on the belief that fate controls their destiny. But some people still debate on whether we have free will or if some other source, fate, controls our destiny. In Oedipus the King, fate is used and proclaimed much throughout the play. Fate plays an important role in the lives of the characters just as it plays one in our lives to this day.

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.

Response to Literature: Oedipus the King Fate: be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way. In the play, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, the main character Oedipus is a victim of fate. Whether he tried to change what was supposed to happen or not, it still happened. When Oedipus was first born, the oracle put on his life damned him from the beginning.

This forces Macbeth to decide whether killing the current King is worth the hassle and straying down an evil path. Macbeth chose his fate and eventually became mentally unstable from the grueling journey. In Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, the main character Oedipus is thrown into a whirlwind life and prophecy as soon as he is born. Oedipus' parents tried to prevent his fate from unfolding by sending him to die. However, fate had other things in mind when Oedipus survived the event, turns full circle, proves the prophecy true, all the while being unbeknownst to

Are all events predetermined? Does everyone have a prophetic destiny that they must fulfill? If so, who determines their fate? Who—or what—binds them to their fixed ending? Is there really no way to resist? Is fatalism—the theory that all events are preset and inevitable—true? And if it is—is there ever such a thing as free will?

Following the victories of the Greeks invading the Persians at Marathon in 490 B.C. and Salamis in 480 B.C., Athens experienced a period of social optimism and period expansion during the first half of the fifth century B.C. The second half of the fifth century B.C. was also very successful in that Athenians tremendously developed culturally and intellectually. This was the era of Sophocles and a period where everything and anything seemed possible through man effort and reason. Sophocles wrote a trilogy of tragedies, which contained of 3 Theban plays. Oedipus Rex, the first play in the trilogy, was written during a period of political instability and plague. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, many themes such as the quest for identity, the nature of innocence and guilt, and the abuse of power are portrayed and are pivotal for the play to build up to the tragic ending.

"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