The Tragedy Of Oedipus ' Oedipus The King '

Title: Oedipus Rex Author: _Sophocles Date of Publication: 429 BCE__ Genre: Tragedy Oedipus Rex Motifs and Symbols: ~Sight and Blindness: Prophecies see the past, present, and future and are portrayed as an influential and common source of information for the king. Oedipus blinds himself in the end signifying that throughout the whole play he was blind to his own fate. ~Oedipus’ swollen foot: Since birth, when he was bound at the ankles, he has had a constricting and confined movement in his life.

Fate chose him to kill his dad, marry his mom, and discover it all in Oedipus Rex, Sophocles’ tragedy. Oedipus was so determined to save Thebes from the plague bestowed on them by Apollo. But little did he know that he was the source of it all. His constant reversal of fortune, neutrality, and suffering make him the perfect example of a classic Greek tragic hero.

Oediupus’ tragic flaw is his ambition, his enthusiasm to know the full truth regardless of the consequences. This trait is exemplified near the end of the play when Oedipus urges the shepherd to reveal the full truth of his birth, even though he knows the truth may cause him misery, “And I’m at the edge of hearing horrors, yes, but I must hear!” (230). In this passage, Oedipus is insistent on having the full truth of his birth revealed to him, even though he suspects the terrible nature of it. Oedipus has the option to stop the shepherd, to tell him to say no more, to avoid hearing the horrors he suspects, but he willingly chooses to seek out the truth. His ambition is a tragic flaw because he chooses to hear the truth despite knowing that

is a trait viewed as being favorable to a character at first, but it leads to their later downfall. It was often used in ancient Greek tragedies to show that mankind was susceptible to flaw. This was present in Sophocles 's tragedy, Oedipus the King. The protagonist of the tragedy,Oedipus, was not exempt from his own flaws. Oedipus’s traits of excessive pride and desire for knowing the truth were advantageous to him in the beginning, yet were the very things that contributed to his tragic downfall.

Sophocles's Oedipus Rex is probably the most famous tragedy ever written. Sophocles's tragedy represents a monumental theatrical and interpretative challenge. Oedipus Rex is the story of a King of Thebes upon whom a hereditary curse is placed and who therefore has to suffer the tragic consequences of fate (tragic flaws or hamartia). In the play, Oedipus is the tragic hero. Even though fate victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own heroic qualities, his loyalty to Thebes, and his fidelity to the truth ruin him.

The tragic fall of Oedipus in Sophocles play “Oedipus Rex” is both self-inflicted and result of events drawn from his own destiny. First off early on in Oedipus’ life his first deadly mistake towards succeeding his self-inflicted downfall was the murder of his father the former king. In a blind rage without any motive, he kills Liaus and his men at a rode crossing. Fate may have had led him to that point but it was his own rage that resulted in his biggest mistake. Further evidence of his self-inflicted downfall Oedipus’ was at the hands of his own ignorance. This ignorance combined with his stubborn, determined attitude does not allow him foresight. This foresight would have led

Oedipus’ character was inherently built to be over-confident, which got him entangled in the fate he didn't want or have control over. Oedipus describes his actions after he heard the prophecy: “Oh, I fled from there. I measured out the stars to put all of heaven between the land of Corinth and such a damned destiny” (44). Oedipus overestimated himself too much,and believed he’d be able to outrun the prophecy of the gods, which in the end insured his life would go as the gods decreed. Oedipus’s fatal flaw left him blind to the truth, but does not give him reason to be punished for it. An author describes Oedipus’s fatal flaw as the fact that he was “but hot-tempered and too sure of himself” (Kitto 138-39). Oedipus was angry, making him jump to conclusions, and confident, making him believe he couldn't be wrong, but that doesn't mean he was guilty. He was simply unaware of what he was doing because his flaws forced him to overlook

A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

Oedipus Rex is a play that makes one clench their heart in agony and anticipation at the outcome of Oedipus as he unveils the truth of his not-so-perfect life. Although his downfall is not made by one single specific tragic flaw, he meets the requirements to be Aristotle’s ideal tragic hero because his tragedy is brought by his own character and outside influences aid in meeting his fate.

"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

Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion).

The sixth century B.C. represents a time of enormous shaping of culture and civilizations, leading people in this period to question how power can be lost as easily as gained. The use of theatre during this era for the Ancient Greeks consequently allows them to further philosophize the society they live in, resulting in tragedies becoming an integral form of drama. The Greek philosopher Aristotle states that tragedies should include the following elements: the arousal of pity, a significant frailty of the main character, and peripeties alongside discoveries that all lead to a destructive end. Sophocles, a Greek author, rises to popularity around this time period with his utilization of these qualities in his literature. The play Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, is a tragedy because of the use of a tragic hero as well as tragic irony.

This production of Oedipus the King begins with the people of Thebes arriving at the town square. The people of Thebes are seen suffering from various illnesses and disabilities. Oedipus then comes forth from his palace and addresses his people, promising to find the cause of this plague and to bring an end to their suffering. Oedipus had already sent Creon to Delphi to speak with Apollo’s oracle and see what is troubling the city. Creon gets back with word that once King Laius’s murderer is found and convicted, the plague will stop.

Almost everyone has a good idea of who they think they are. So did Oedipus, from Sophocles’s tragedy, Oedipus the King, until Creon came back with the answer to riding the city of the plague. Oven the course of that day, Oedipus is learns from a messenger that he wasn’t born to those who raised him, realizes that he has committed incest, and his unrealized hubris leads him to blow of his mother begging him to stop, and almost leads to his having Creon executed. It was written in 429 BC. Oedipus is a rare example of a man who hasn’t a clue who he is, both literally and figuratively.

The story Oedipus The King has many tragedies, yet a large percent of what happens is not in the fault of Oedipus. Oedipus really has no idea what he did and os very confused. In the beginning, he thought the prophecies were wrong and that he would not kill his dad and marry his mom. He was scared that would come true. He denied all of it, but did not know that he had done exactly that, and became the king. He was always told lies about his childhood but he eventually found out the hard way that he was the son of King Laius. . Finding the truth, he gouged his eyes out to relieve his pain. He wanted to relieve the pain, to not see his mistakes. His wife had hanged herself so she did not have to live with guilt. This situation could have been avoided very easily, but it wasn’t told. Polybus and Merope could have told him the truth, and could have his parents back. Fate had other plans for poor Oedipus and it gets him killed.