The Past In Oedipus The King

Sophocles gives the readers many different views of the play Oedipus the King in which we can take and analysis accordingly to things we are most interested in. Throughout the play Oedipus personally changes. He starts off as a being a smart leader, calm, and determined, but at the end of the play it reveals how he is angry, irrational and is blind to certain aspects, which becomes his downfall.

Tragedy can either be the darkest part of life for one person or it can be a learning opportunity for the other person. Of all the tragedies written in the literate, “Oedipus the King” written by ‘Sophocles’ is one of the oldest and the most prominent tragedy written till date. It is the story of the king, who is brutally left to die by his own parents, luckily survived, unknowingly killed his own father and married his mother. Although this story was written 2000 years ago, but it still has a great significance in the modern world. Of the most powerful tragedies of the time, “Oedipus the king” discloses such values and situations as parental aggression, child abandonment, self-confidence, ability to handle trauma, and parent-child intimate relationship that people are struggling with in today’s world. Sophocles reveals these behaviours and incidents through the actions of Oedipus.

Oedipus, throughout his journey, appears to be ignorant but the reality is that he was subconsciously repressing the truth for his own benefit. Throughout the play, Sophocles creates this relationship between the motifs of sight and blindness. These motifs are immensely important and very obviously portrayed. They give us the dramatic irony of Oedipus being blind to the truth but being able to see in real life. Oedipus is not aware of his doing so, but he constantly represses memories and changes his tone when something about his past is brought up. This symbolizes the blindness that overtakes Oedipus throughout the play. Zachrisson agrees with this and also supports this thesis in “Oedipus the king: Quest for self-knowledge – denial of reality. Sophocles’ vision of man and psychoanalytic concept formation”. In his work, Zachrisson uses his knowledge of psychology to explain Oedipus’ conscious and unconscious actions and his battle within.

Most tragic heroes are revered and loved by many until they face a plight that ultimately leads to their demise. This plight not only affects the fate of the hero ,but how they are seen by others. The tragedy, “Oedipus the King” (KO), written by Sophocles, is no exception. King Oedipus is popular to all the citizens of Thebes for his work in solving the Sphinx’s riddle and ridding of a disastrous plague, however, a truth unbeknownst to him is slowly revealed throughout the play and causes him great humiliation. The truth unravels itself slowly, and then all at once causing a great discrepancy in how Oedipus is viewed in the eyes of his people. Oedipus experiences the great polarities

Oedipus the King: Literary Analysis Essay Sophocles was one of the great classical Athens’ playwrights, creating dramas to not only captivate but also to deliver a message, wisdom being the main idea behind most of his tragedies. In Sophocles’s Oedipus the King, the plot was driven by Oedipus’s ignorance towards his prophecies. Because of his ignorance he acted on impulse rather than finding the truth, therefore, creating an iron barrier around himself, trapping the image of an heroic and innocent savior to the people of Thebes. Oedipus is used to portray the lack of truth due to blindness by putting up a shield of ignorance.

Then Creon tells the story of the murder of Laius, and how all of his people were killed, and then he talks about the curse of the Sphinx . Oedipus then decides that he is going to find the murderer of Laius, and resolve it. Oedipus, Creon and the Priest exit.The chorus enters and calls upon the gods, asking why the have stricken Thebes. Oedipus reruns and asks anyone if they know who murdered Laius, he tells them that they will be rewarded if they tell him, but no one comes forward, so Oedipus curses the name of whoever killed Laius, including himself and his own family, and threatens the murderer with exile if he should be found. The chorus says that Oedipus should call upon the God Tiresias, but Oedipus tells them that he already did. The chorus leader then goes on to tell Oedipus that there are rumors going around that a group of travelers are responsible for the death of Liaus, and Oedipus tells the chorus leader that he heard the same thing. Oedipus and Tiresias get into an argument because Tiresias refuses to help Oedipus and the people of

Upon hearing this information Oedipus begins to accuse those around him. He denies the truth by telling the Tiresias that, “you’ve lost your power, stone-blind, stone-deaf –senses, eyes blind as stone”. Furthermore, he then charges Creon with treason, accusing, “I see it all, the marauding thief himself scheming to steal my crown and power”. The knowledge bestowed by Tiresias, that he is the murderer he seeks, has pushed him into a state of anger and denial. Through Oedipus’ rage Sophocles shows how knowledge, that of the blind seer Tiresias, can be a great burden. Oedipus, through his inability to cope with the truth demonstrates the burden of knowledge.

Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex exemplifies the psychological conflicts that arise as an individual undergoes a drastic realization of character, ultimately leading him on a search to recover his true identity, and along the way bringing to light the darkest demons of his past. The play unfolds through a calamitous tone, which foreshadows the impending downfall of the ruler of Thebes, Oedipus, and the consequences that this downfall will bring to him and all of those around him. The calamitous tone deepens through the regal imagery of the play, in which the main character, Oedipus, lives his life along the ideals of a king, thus fraying his once trustworthy vision by his constant need for control and power. The calamitous tone and regal imagery conjure up a restive mood, which belies melodramatic atmosphere of the play as a whole. As a modern audience we experience the dramatic irony that a play like this brings forward, and we struggle to watch these tragic events unfold before us.

Tragedy has always been considered the highest form of literature; Oedipus the King is written by Sophocles who is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians, it fully represents the enduring charm of the ancient Greek tragedy, leaving the reader endless thinking. Through Oedipus’ misfortune, Sophocles tries to reveal the cause of their tragedy is ubiquitous and ever-present fate, rather than people themselves, dominates that people’s destiny. This essay aims to analyze the characteristics and the root causes of Oedipus’s misery to discover the fatalism the playwright want to state. To investigate the characteristics and the root causes of the tragedy Oedipus is beneficial for us to have more in-depth, objective insight to ancient Greek culture and understand the essence of tragedy correctly, leads us to think of the ultimate fate of life. In the face of powerful forces of fate, humans are too weak. In spite of this, human never stop struggling with limited strength, challenging fate in their ways.

Oedipus the King is a play rich with character development, surprises, irony, and most importantly: tragedy. The plot takes you and the characters of the play on a twisting and turning journey as Sophocles weaves an intricate web as the story unfolds. The main dilemma in this play is the characters’ ability to face up to the truth. Oedipus doesn’t want to believe that Iocaste is his mother, Iocaste doesn’t want to hear the truth, although it seems like she knows before anyone else, and the Choragos seems particularly resistant to anything that means negative consequence for Oedipus. This rejection of truth creates an empathetic connection between the audience and the characters by making their internal struggle apparent.

The Oedipus Rex, a Sophoclean tragedy, mainly aims to deliver the idea how a king learns to be modest before the gods through sufferings. In the play, readers can acquire the theme by analyzing King Oedipus’ tragic flaws. Describing the changing process of Oedipus changes from a powerful and majestic king to “the world’s outcast”, Sophocles vividly leads readers to perceive the theme. For instance, at the very beginning of the play, readers can easily feel Oedipus’ hubris through Sophocles’ description on Oedipus’s behaviors when he steps down from the altar. Addressing the people of Thebes to discuss the deadly plague attacking Thebes, Oedipus explains

Sophocles is widely recognized as one of the greatest drama and play writes of all time. Sophocles’ writing takes place in the classical period. His unique style of writing involves symbolism, archetypal characters and tragedies. This type of style is shown in the “Oedipus the King” which can consists of either a great man or woman who has fallen. Sophocles paints a clear picture of exercising free will and it’s benefits, and the disastrous effects it can have on ones’ life. Oedipus was determined to end the plague in the city of Thebes by finding the murderer of King Laius. Oedipus also struggled with not knowing the identity of his parents. Oedipus ignored the advice of those around him and chose to pursue the truth,

Upon the request of the chorus, Oedipus sends to fetch the blind prophet, Tiresias. When Tiresias arrives, he seems hesistant to answer Oedipus’s questions. After some pestering from Oedipus, Tiresias finally cracks under the pressure and reveals to Oedipus that he is the murderer he seeks. Oedipus, however, blind to his own atrocities, does not believe him. He even goes as far as accusing Tiresias and Creon of conspiring against him to take his throne. Tiresias leaves and casually throws a prophecy at Oedipus before exiting the stage. Creon then enters the stage. Oedipus is still upset from his talk with Tiresias and continues to accuse Creon of wanting the throne for himself. This leads to a heated argument between both men. The commotion causes Jocasta, Oedipus’s wife to step outside.

Splendidly imagined and composed, Oedipus Rex is a show of self-disclosure. Sophocles accomplishes an astounding pressure and power by restricting the sensational activity to the day on which Oedipus takes in the genuine idea of his introduction to the world and his fate. The way that the gathering of people knows the dim mystery that Oedipus unwittingly slew his actual father and wedded his mom does nothing to devastate the tension. Oedipus' look for reality has all the rigidity of a criminologist story, but because groups of onlookers definitely know reality they know about every one of the incongruities in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That learning empowers them to fear the last disclosure while they feel sorry for the man whose past is bit by bit and tenaciously revealed to him.

It is in great storytelling that men begin to question the merits behind humanity and perhaps even the existence of life itself. With great storytelling comes, inevitably, great tragedy; tragedy that spikes a sense of dread into every living man as if he’s been blind all along, and to a great degree feels even more blind after having questioned such things. One story to lose oneself in, via deep question, is that of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Of the 120 or more plays by Sophocles, even though history only retains seven of them, the story of Oedipus is one that was and continues to be of great investigation. Although the reasoning behind this may always be up for debate, it is worthy to note the two main perspectives of how to analyze Oedipus Rex; through psychoanalysis and through the viewpoint of tragic heroes.