The Structure Of The Play As An Unfolding Of Ironic Revelation

With his great knowledge and accomplishment establishing him as a man of insight and honor he is crowned King of Thebes. Oedipus, unwilling to hear or see truth, smites a blind man in the midst of his own ignorance and denial to reality. Teiresias, a blind prophet, is stood before Oedipus to reveal his visions about the identity of the murderer. “PAGE 11/40 TEIRESIAS thou hast not spared To twit me with my blindness--thou hast eyes, Yet see'st not in what misery thou art fallen, Nor where thou dwellest nor with whom for mate. Dost know thy lineage? Nay, thou know'st it not, And all unwitting art a double foe...” Teiresias reveals Oedipus' fate to him. He reveals that Oedipus doesn't know who his true parents are, and is living a doubly bad fate. Oedipus becomes engaged and accusatory of Teiresias at the thought of someone threatening his preconceived reality. “PAGE 10/40 OEDIPUS There is strength where there is truth, but not in you Oedipus. You don't possess this quality, for you are blind in your ears, mind, and eyes.” Oedipus even goes as far as to suggest that Teiresias murdered King Laius. “PAGE 10/40 OEDIPUS Thou methinks thou art he, I think that you are he who planned this crime, and he who even committed it too..” Oedipus, self righteous and pompous, believes that he can do no wrong. His ego is so big that he tears down and slanders

The blind prophet gives Oedipus a taste of his own medicine and leaks that he is in fact figuratively more blind than Teiresias. The truth is right in front of his eyes and yet Oedipus does not believe it, instead allows his own determination to stand in the way by avoiding the facts. Throughout the entire story Oedipus’ tragic flaw that would otherwise be a positive trait becomes negative when he stops at nothing to prevent the prophecy from becoming true.

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).

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.

Hannah Olvera AP Literature and Composition Mrs. Dixon-Willden 17 September 2014 Oedipus the King In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, disastrous situational irony, visual verbal irony, and poignantly repetitive dramatic irony play the most important stylistic roles. Through the use of tragic motifs such as sight and blindness along with light and darkness, Sophocles conveys that even though arrogance and fate can turn a hero into a tragedy, decision making helps reveal leadership and a true inner self. Sophocles utilizes a dramatic motif, sight and blindness, throughout the play.

Sophocles' Oedipus the King is a Greek tragedy. In the play, Oedipus and his parents try to avoid the prophecy that has been cast upon them. The prophecy stated that Oedipus would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta. While trying to outwit the divine will of the gods, they ultimately play right into fate’s hands and the prophecy becomes true. Throughout the duration of the story, Sophocles uses dramatic techniques such as the blindness motif to get the lesson across to the audience. Through this motif, Sophocles suggests to not be blind to fate, because destiny can never be escaped.

In Sophocles tragic Greek story of Oedipus the King, the author wanted to prove to the people of Greece that the Greek gods are all powerful and that one’s fate is established in advance and you cannot change what is already set in stone. Sophocles shows this by telling the readers that this story is about people who try to avoid their fate and shows that it doesn’t do any good because eventually when it comes down to it, what the oracles predict ended up being the truth. In this story there are a lot of situations where people try to avoid their fate. The play is about a man named Oedipus who is ill fated to what was predicted by the Oracle at Delphi before he was even born. Oedipus is informed of his fate and right away he tries to hinder it from happening, just like his father and mother tried to do.

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.

In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the protagonist named Oedipus falls to his ruin. Throughout the story, Oedipus struggles against the fate prophesied by the gods, his pride not allowing him to accept the horrible future of sin that was decided for him the moment he was born. In an attempt to avoid his inevitable future, Oedipus makes a series of unwise decisions, pushing himself further onto the path of misery and ultimately causing the pain he was trying to escape. In this way, Oedipus is also the antagonist of the story, constantly getting in the way of his own happiness in his search for the truth.

Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex details the catastrophic downfall of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who kills his father, marries his mother, and plagues his kingdom unknowingly. Aristotle’s discourse Poetics references Oedipus Rex as containing several elements of the ideal tragedy (CITE). Among other factors, Aristotle stresses that the tragic hero’s collapse does not occur in response to his or her depravity, but in reaction to a “serious error” (CITE). Throughout the play, Oedipus demonstrates to readers “vice or depravity” did not incite his actions (cite). Rather, he is an ethical man who makes fatal mistakes. Oedipus Rex is not a corrupt villain, but an impulsive man who lacks the knowledge to understand the implications of his actions. Oedipus

Unwillingly, Teiresias the blind seer provides Oedipus with the hurtful truth. Although before the truth is announced, Oedipus describes Teiresias as a "seer: student of mysteries." Oedipus looks to Teiresias for help in finding the murderer of the former king. He is trusted and respected by everyone in the city as evidenced by his introduction as "the holy prophet In whom, alone of all men, truth was born." Yet, when Teiresias speaks, reluctantly but honestly to Oedipus, he is shunned and his credibility and motives are attacked. Oedipus

Sophocles ' play “Oedipus Tyrannus” is an enigma. His play includes incest, murder and self-enlightenment all leading into the main theme of fate. Athenians believed that fate is not left up to man, but that is provided solely on the whims of the gods. Because of his dramatic approach to his plays Sophocles was considered one of the most brilliant and creative writers of his time.

The famed tragedian Sophocles is known for his unique ideas and intellect. Sophocles carefully utilizes of all of his intelligence and creative ability in order to make use of illuminating moments throughout the play which allow his audience to draw conclusions about free will, fate, knowledge, and power throughout perhaps his most iconic play, Oedipus Rex. the main character Oedipus experiences an illuminating moment when he gouges his eyes out at the discovery of the truth about his actions. This illumination is expressed in order to express Sophocles’ idea that fate overpowers free will.

Oedipus, to the reader, carries the potential to act according to rational thought and inner sense of righteousness, but at the same time may very well deny his fate altogether in a move that serves as a sort of ultimatum, effectively ostensibly destroying any of its influence upon him. However, the audience knows that Oedipus cannot truly escape fate, for the prophecies will come true in one way or another - they have never proven false, and will never be proven false, for they descend directly from the heavens. In itself, the fact that Oedipus maintains the struggle against his inevitable fate - that which drastically alters his psyche and mental sanity throughout the play - is dramatically ironic, and adds to the suspense of the climax in that the reader is left to ponder whether the revelations Oedipus has undergone were earnest; whether they will amount to him finally coming to terms with his