Tiresias In Oedipus The King

Oedipus’ pride and a heightened sense of confidence is very conspicuous throughout the play Oedipus Rex. From the beginning of the play, Oedipus accepts the idea that he can avoid the prophecy given to him by the gods. Oedipus is also seen interrogating Creon and attempting to banish him with Tiresias towards the end of the play because they are saying facts corresponding to the prophecy. He tries to become like a god himself by thinking he could control his own fate. Although Oedipus’ pride can be justified by his accomplishments of being king; the tragedy of Oedipus is the pure result of his overwhelming pride because he killed his father, mocked Tiresias, and blinded himself.

Due to his arrogance and narcissism, Oedipus fails to take heed of Tiresias warning of whom Creon sent him and decided that the accusations that were being made against him are attempts to steal his throne. Likewise, Oedipus tells Tiresias when he was reluctant to tell Oedipus is Laius’ killer, “What then, thou knowest, and yet willst not speak!/Wouldst thou betray us and destroy the

Prideful of his cleverness, he leaves his home to avoid his prophecy. Foolishly, he ended up fulfilling every single part of it. Unlike Creon, Oedipus is empathetic towards his people and truly tries to be respectful towards the Gods. Nevertheless, his arrogance regarding his wits puts him in the same category as Creon. Just like with Creon's ego, Oedipus shows his by questioning all those around him, including Tiresias, a blind prophet.

When Oedipus hears that he is the killer, his pride is wounded for he cannot accept the truth. His judgment is so blurred that he also begins to view Creon as a traitor for using Tiresias. Creon’s words sum up Oedipus’s rage when he said, “Oedipus, your husband, he’s bent on a choice of punishments for me, banishment from the fatherland or death” (715-717). Jocasta is even surprised with Oedipus’s unusual character, as she said, “For the love of God, Oedipus, tell me too, what is it? Why this rage? You’re so unbending” (767-769). The reason why Oedipus pride is so wounded can be because his negative experiences with the Gods. As a baby, he was condemned to death, yet he survived and learned the horrible truth of his prophecy. In attempt to escape that life, he lost belief in the word of the gods because he refused that the prophecies should come true. This struggle between God and Oedipus only tears his moral beliefs as he has to be stone cold to survive his tribulations. This meant giving no consideration against people who presently posed a great threat to him.

In the play Oedipus Rex, the city of Thebes was reviled with a torment. His brother by marriage, Creon, revealed to him the best way to lift the reveal was to discover the enemy of the previous lord. Somebody had slaughtered Laius and now Oedipus is searching for the murder since he thinks about the city of Thebes. Creon says that Laius was killed in quite a while back. Creon likewise brings a visually impaired prophet by the name of Tiresias. Tiresias would not like to state anything to Oedipus since he needed to shield him from reality. Oedipus became furious and requested for Tiresias to disclose to him reality. Incited by the outrage of Oedipus, Tiresias starts to give insights of his insight. Alter straight begin saying that Tiresias was

Oedipus Rex is a moving tragedy full of powerful speeches. The most compelling of these is Tiresias’s speech on line 464 to line 492. The speech takes place during a great cataclysm in Thebes. There is a plague sweeping the land and it is Oedipus’s duty as king to stop it. Oedipus’s brother in law, Creon has just returned from the Oracle at Delphi with information on how to end the blight.

Tiresias, a blind prophet, talks to Oedipus about his ignorance saying, “You with your precious eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life, to the house you live in, those you live with….” (Lines 470-472). Tiresias knows that Oedipus unknowingly carries out the prophecy foretold by the gods to his parents, King Laius and Jocasta, by killing his father and marrying his mother. In the play, Oedipus describes how he ignorantly kills a man at a crossroads because the man hits Oedipus, and being angered, Oedipus then reacts emotionally instead of with logical thinking. Oedipus tells Jocasta, “A man, just as you’ve described him, coming face-to-face, and one in the lead and the old man himself were about to thrust me off the road…. I strike him in

At the beginning of the play, Oedipus uses verbal violence to threaten Tiresias. A plague has struck the city of Thebes, and Oedipus learns from Kreon that the plague will only end when the murderer of Laius has been caught. When Oedipus asks Tiresias for help, Tiresias initially refuses to share what he knowns and instead comments about Oedipus’ inability to see the truth. However, Oedipus becomes infuriated and insults the blind prophet. “Now I see it all. You helped hatch the plot…with your own hands…Old man. You’ve lost your power, stone-blind, stone-deaf- senses, eyes blind as stone” (103-104). The quote is an example of verbal violence because Oedipus curses and insults Tiresias, accusing the prophet of conspiring against him with the help of Kreon. Tiresias then introduces another riddle, telling Oedipus that the murderer of Laius is both the father and sibling to his incestuous children, and also the son of his beloved wife. When Oedipus mocks Tiresias for answering only in riddles, Tiresias responds with, “Ah, but aren’t you the best man alive at solving riddles?” (105). As described here, Oedipus presents himself as extremely confident in his ability to untangle puzzles, but this ultimately leads to his own downfall. Given these examples, it is evident that Oedipus’ use of verbal violence against Kreon and Tiresias accurately illustrates his

Also, when Creon asks Oedipus the possibility that he is wrong when accusing Tiresias and himself, Oedipus disregards the needs and rights of other people in order to avoid the truth of the suffering that Tiresias has bestowed upon him: “‘What if you’re wholly wrong?’ ‘No matter-I must rule’”. Oedipus became rash and selfish when faced with suffering when he threw away the rights of the citizens for his own self pleasure despite the lack of evidence and reason to do so. Therefore, when Oedipus is faced with suffering, he blames others for his own fate to avoid the truth until it is right in front of him. Therefore, unlike Tiresias and King Laius, Oedipus is more hasty and selfish when faced with suffering.

The author of Oedipus, Sophocles, introduces a worthy rival to the main character Oedipus.Tiresias, who considers himself to be an equal to the Great King. Tiresias admits, “You are a king. But where the argument’s concerned // I am your man, as much as a king as you.// I am not your servant, but Apollo’s.”(Sophocles) While simultaneously trying to defend his honour and bring justice to Thebes, Oedipus argues about the integrity of Creon’s source. Tiresias retorts Oedipus’ impulsive accusations, in a studious, and King like manner.Tiresias’ diligent retaliation is dramatically significant because it develops Oedipus’ character; Oedipus is humanized and revered less as a God because of his flaws. The power dynamic shift causes the audience to become more judgemental of Oedipus since someone is holding him accountable for his behaviour. Additionally, the passage adds to the mystery of the plot and creates suspense, through Sophocles’ use of paradox, and imagery which cause the mood to change and creates a compelling story. Both of these elements cause the audience to pay attention to the drastic changes in character, and mood, to highlight the major theme of pride, power, and fate. Ultimately, the passage is intended to show the ignorance of Oedipus, and the awareness of Tiresias, who are symbols for the pervasiveness of fate.

In addition, it is other conflicts in the play, such as man versus nature and man versus God. This part is very interesting because Tiresias felt as though his presence there was a mistake. In the text is says “The most terrible knowledge is the kind it pays no wise man to possess. I knew this, but I forgot it. I should never have come here.”

At the beginning, Oedipus is ignorant and is constantly avoids and ignores the truth in order to protect his reputation. Oedipus’ unwillingness to open his ears to the truth develops when Tiresias reveals that he killed Laius and one of his responses is, “Your words are nothing-- / futile” (416-417). Although Oedipus begged to hear Tiresias’ words, he was not willing to pay attention or open his eyes to the unfortunate idea. Oedipus pushes aside the words Tiresias says, refusing to believe that he could be the one who killed Laius, the one who must be cursed. Later, Tiresias brings up Oedipus’ ignorance saying “you’re blind to the corruption of your life” (471), and telling him a few lines later that “No man will ever / be rooted from the earth as brutally as you” (488-489). Oedipus was put in his place and blatantly told that he is ignorant but his rise to knowledge will also bring his demise. Sophocles foreshadowed using Tiresias in that way, but Oedipus was so into avoiding any confrontation with the truth at the beginning that he would respond calling Tiresias’ visions “absurdities” (494). Therefore, even though the truth has been revealed to him, Oedipus still chooses to remain blind to the truth in order to remain good in the eyes of his people.

Through the course of the play Oedipus is the detective, the judge, and the jury. He investigates, decides a verdict, and carries out his own punishment. When Tiresias arrives at Thebes Oedipus questions him looking for answers. Tiresias is a blind man, who ironically can see the future and truths of people’s lives. It is Tiresias who is the first person to tell Oedipus that he has killed his own father. He tells Oedipus “you do not see the evil in which you live.” Oedipus doubts Tiresias’ ability to see the truths because of his physical blindness and states, “ You

“Oedipus the King” contains many characters with differing characteristics. Some of these characteristics go hand-in-hand with the two main themes in the play.Tiresias and Oedipus in the play “Oedipus the King” are conflicting characters. These two characters illustrate the contrasting the differences of blindness & sight and knowledge & ignorance, and different interpretations of these ideas. The themes blindness & sight and knowledge & ignorance are similar in how they relate to each character.

Characterized as a noble figure who the audience admires and respects, Oedipus is the determined and caring king of Thebes. Oedipus’ noble characteristics are shown through “my spirit within me mourns for the city, and myself, and all of you”(7), which dictates that he is sympathetic and human as he shows concern for his people’s wellbeing. Oedipus’ determination as his “search has found one way to treat [the city’s ] disease - and [he had] acted already”(7), illustrates his thoughtful and forward thinking as he thinks ahead of his people. Oedipus is characterized as genuine and honest as he proclaims for Creon to “speak out, before all of us”(9), having consideration for his people and not wanting any information withheld from them. His resolute personality as he announces, “I shall shrink from nothing in my search to find the murderer of Laius”(16), dictates his determination in search for justice .