The Themes Conveyed By Oedipus

As is true with characters of many other works of literature, the protagonist of Oedipus the King, must contend with the horrible reality of his past. This protagonist, Oedipus, killed his father and married his mother, and what is worse, is that he is not aware of this. Throughout the entire play, his relationship with his past is one of ignorance. His ignorance of past events is what causes the play to unfold as it does. Unaware of his own reality, Oedipus leads himself to his own demise by becoming overly confident and prideful, and by distancing himself from his supporters. Through the main character’s relationship with the past, Sophocles develops his central themes of fate, sight, and pride.

When you think of blindness you think of sight and when you think of ignorance you think of knowledge. Throughout the play Oedipus, sight and blindness imagery is very noticeable, along with ignorance and knowledge. Sophocles creates Oedipus as a character of ignorance, confidence, and good insight. The story starts out as Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta. The oracle told the parents that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. The parents refused to let this happen and sent the servant to pin Oedipus’s feet together and leave him on the mountain to die. The messenger knew this was not right and stepped in immediately to help the poor child. As Oedipus grew older he found out the truth about his life and why certain things happened. Over time, Oedipus's blindness shows him the lack of knowledge he knew about his true life story.

The Greek play, Oedipus the King, shows how easy it is for a man to fall apart, while trying to make things right. Sophocles’ tragedy tells the story of Oedipus, a regular man turned king of Thebes. Throughout the tragedy, Oedipus searches for the cause of the chaos and havoc encompassing his land; however, he discovers that he is the one responsible for the hardships plaguing Thebes. As the tragedy continues, Sophocles’ exposes a dark side to power, fame, and ambition. Further, Sophocles’ exposes the fear that many have of the truth, and exposes the grave danger in hiding from it.

Benjamin Whichcote once said, “None are so empty as those who are full of themselves.” The words ring true through the character Oedipus whose tragic flaw of arrogance brought his downfall. In his timeless play, Oedipus Rex, author Sophocles unflinchingly illuminates the haughtiness and hubris displayed by the hero Oedipus. Through his candid exploration of the ship/captain and light/dark motifs, Sophocles makes an effort to ultimately bring the reader to the realization that arrogance creates an illusion to the truth and the potential dangers such pride poses for both the guilty party and those for whom the arrogant are responsible.

Throughout the play we find that Oedipus, the protagonist of this Greek tragedy, is tested by life in a number of ways. To those in Athens who watched the performance of Oedipus the King, Oedipus appeared to be the embodiment of a perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong-willed. Ironically, these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. He is portrayed as a character of

Sophocles' play Oedipus the King has endured for over two thousand years. The play's lasting appeal may be attributed to the fact it encompasses all the classical elements of tragedy as put forth by Aristotle in Poetics nearly a century before it was written. According to Aristotle, tragedy needs to be an imitation of life according to the law of probability or necessity. Tragedy is serious, complete, and has magnitude. It must have a beginning, middle, and end and be spoken in language that is fit for noble characters. Furthermore it must be acted, as opposed to epic poetry, which is narrated. Tragedy shows rather than tells. Finally it must result in the purging of pity and fear, or a catharsis. Tragedy is based in the fundamental order of the universe, it creates a cause-and-effect chain that clearly reveals what may happen at any time or place because that is the way the world operates. Tragedy arouses not only pity but also fear, because the audience can envision themselves within this cause-and-effect chain. Tragedy as a whole is composed of six elements: plot, character, language, thought, spectacle and melody. Melody and language are the media by which the effect of imitation of action is carried out, spectacle is the manner or way the tragedy is carried out, and plot, character and thought are the means that initiate the action. Oedipus the King possesses all of these elements.

A man can only justify his actions if he regards his demeanor with deductive thinking. This man was not Oedipus mainly because he was a fu**ing douchebag. One must know who Oedipus was to understand the period in which it was written. This is my thesis statement. The Greeks contributed many things to our culture, such as olives, gyros, Lenny Kravitz, anal sex, and Oedipus. Oedipus will be remembered though out time because he suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, and that's why he couldn't play base ball in the first Olympic games. He will always be remembered for his journeys and his love for the New York Yankees.

Oedipus, from the play Oedipus the King, is a very unique character whose different aspects are revealed throughout the play. As he talks with characters such as Creon, Jocasta, and Tiresias, we get a well painted portrait of the aspects of Oedipus’ character.

Oedipus the King is the story of a king named Oedipus who is a great and respectable man coming from a noble family. His quest for knowledge in order to save his beloved city of Thebes from the plague ultimately leads to his own demise. He eventually finds out he is the cause of the plague and learns to the truth about the former King Laius' murder. E. R. Dodds a well-respected British scholar once wrote about the ultimate meaning behind Oedipus and what he symbolises. He states "To me personally, Oedipus is a kind of symbol of the human intelligence which cannot rest until it has solved all the riddles – even the last riddle, to which the answer is that human happiness is built on an illusion”(E. R. Dodds).

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.

The beginning of the play, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, depicts several themes, such as the irony. Oedipus already begins to show his excessive pride and power, and using figurative language, lexical field and imagery effectively; Sophocles heightens the hubris shown by Oedipus and how he is unable to avoid his fate. The title is simple and self-explanatory and states that the protagonist of the play is Oedipus. But this straightforward title serves the purpose of juxtaposing the thrilling themes portrayed.

The Greek play, Oedipus the King, shows how easy it is for a man to fall apart, while trying to make things right. Sophocles’ tragedy tells the story of Oedipus, a regular man turned king of Thebes. Throughout the tragedy, Oedipus searches for the cause of the chaos and havoc encompassing his land; however, he discovers that he is the one responsible for the hardships plaguing Thebes. As the tragedy continues, Sophocles’ exposes a dark side to power, fame, and ambition. Further, Sophocles’ exposes the fear that many have of the truth, and exposes the grave danger in hiding from it.

The tale of Oedipus and his prophecy has intrigued not only the citizens of Greece in the ancient times, but also people all over the world for several generations. Most notable about the play was its peculiar structure, causing the audience to think analytically about the outcomes of Oedipus’ actions and how it compares with Aristotle’s beliefs. Another way that the people have examined the drama is by looking at the paradoxes (such as the confrontation of Tiresias and Oedipus), symbols (such as the Sphinx), and morals that has affected their perceptions by the end of the play. Nonetheless, the most important aspect is how relevant the story is and how it has influenced modern ideas like that of Freud and other people of today.

Theme/Motif Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, tells the story of a king attempting to prevent a horrid prophecy from occurring. Oedipus, the King of Thebes, does anything in his power to prevent the prophecy from occurring, as it would bring shame to himself and his family. Unfortunately, his excessive pride hinders his thinking and actions, which causes internal and external struggles. As Oedipus attempts to work through these, the situation becomes increasingly worse for him and his family. In the end, Sophocles uses Oedipus to develop important themes and motifs; all of which are relevant today.

"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