William Shakespeare 's ' Oedipus The King '

In the beginning of the story, Oedipus is very taken back by the situation. He will not accept the truth of his fate and accuses Tiresias of lying to him so Oedipus’s bother- in- law, Creon, could take the throne. Oedipus is extremely dumbfounded by this news because he had no knowledge of killing his father or marrying his mother, but what he learns later is that who he thought were his parents were not his real parents. When he finally realizes that he did in fact marry his own mother and kill his father, he accepts it and punishes himself in order to uphold his promise to his people. By this point there is no way Oedipus can escape his fate. Tiresias says to Oedipus, “No man in the world can make the gods do more than the gods will” (811). Since he did kill his father, the previous king, Oedipus has to be shunned by all of Thebes. Because there is no way of changing his fate, he accepts his responsibilities by giving himself the punishment he assigned to the murderer of Laius.

In Aristotle's work, the tragic hero can get caught up by hamartia which ends up leading him to his downfall. In Oedipus the King, which is a tragic play that is written by Sophocles it shows King Oedipus having many different flaws that are under the protection of hamartia that include madness, stubbornness, and pride that soon that end up leading to his final death. Oedipus shows an attitude of stubbornness during the progression of the play. Oedipus' stubbornness is uncovered early in the play when Tiresias who is a prophet of Apollo, mentions to Oedipus to terminate the investigation of Laius' killer. Oedipus quickly disagrees with him, he wants to find the man who murdered Lauis and brought the plague upon Thebes. Oedipus states, "By all the gods, do not deny us what you know. We ask you, all of us, on bended knees." Tiresias' persistence to withhold the truth is demolished by Oedipus' stubbornness and madness. Tiresias surrenders to Oedipus' stubbornness and states the truth which outrages Oedipus; "...The murder of the man whose murder you pursue is you." Oedipus stubbornness is so overpowering that he disregards Tiresias' bluntness without even a slight thought. Oedipus' statement, "To your heart's content. Mouth away!" which obviously shows his stubbornness when he disregards Tiresias' prophecy and regards it as gibberish. Oedipus' stubborn persistence will ultimately lead to his mother's death. At the end of the play Oedipus becomes aware that he was adopted and instantaneously investigates his origin. Jocasta, Oedipus' wife hesitantly encourages Oedipus to end his identity search, fearing that Oedipus would learn of his shameful sins of killing

There are two excellent tragedies in world literature, Hamlet and Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles and Hamlet was one of the famous dramas of Shakespeare. There were some similarities and several differences between the two tragedies. Although the plays were both set in different time periods, they had similar themes about fate and free will. Their plots were also analogous. However, the two main character had a major vital difference that Hamlet is a tragedy of inaction and Oedipus is a tragedy of action.

In the beginning of the epic poem, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus was confronted by the priest; he told Oedipus, the king of Thebes, that he must end the plague among the kingdom of Thebes. In order to do that, he must find the murderer of the former king, King Laius, and ban him/her from Thebes. While he was gathering evidence for the case, he showed caring and carefulness with never letting anything, or so he thought, get by him.Throughout Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus was trying to find out who killed King Laius when all along he did it. Many times evidence was pointing towards him; his pride and temper didn’t allow him to see that he murdered him. Although when he had a substantial amount of evidence, he showed equality and responsibility

In Sophocles’ tragic drama Oedipus the King, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, suddenly realizes that he killed his father and marries his mother. Oedipus shows great concern for his kingdom and his people, calling to “drive the corruption from the land” by bringing Laius’s murderer to justice (109). He summons Tiresias to find Laius’ murderer, but Oedipus becomes enraged when Tiresias accuses Oedipus of being the murderer. Oedipus, thinking that Creon is involved in this so-called conspiacy as well makes false accusations against Creon. Much to his surprise, however, Oedipus learns that the man he killed long ago is Laius, his father, and that Oedipus’ wife, Jocasta, is his mother, all in

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.

Although Oedipus is an ideal leader who once saved the city of Thebes from the monstrous Sphinx, his fatal flaws of anger and pride ultimately lead to his tragic downfall. Oedipus’s harsh temper leads him to make rash decisions and often causes him to show disrespect to people. For example, Oedipus displays his quick temper when the blind prophet, Tiresias, accuses him of murdering Laius, the former king of Thebes. Although Tiresias is physically blind, he sees the truth, while Oedipus sees but is blind to the truth. Oedipus becomes furious with the old man and begins to yell at him for this ghastly accusation. “You miserable old man! You’d drive a stone to fury,” Oedipus screams violently. He even goes as far as to describe Tiresias as a “night-hatched thing.” Oedipus truly is an ideal leader; however, this flaw aids in his

A “tragic hero” can be defined as a courageous character who is destined for their own destruction. These characters usually seek out to do something for the greater good, but end up causing their own death. Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” tells the life of a king named Oedipus who is trying to solve the murder case of the former king. A similar plotline is seen in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, where Hamlet tries to uncover who killed his father, who was also the king before his untimely death. Both characters set out to do something good, but create many problems and ultimately find themselves corrupted.

From the very beginning, what makes Oedipus ' actions in his quarrel with Teiresias and also throughout the play so dramatically compelling, is the fact that the audience knows the outcome of the story. We know Oedipus ' fate even before he does, and there is no suspense about the outcome itself, instead, the audience anxiously awaits Oedipus to reveal his fate unto himself in his desperate quest to rid his city of the terrible plague, or maybe even more so, to simply discover his own unfortunate tale. Oedipus is relentless in his pursuit of the truth, and his determination is commendable. There is nothing that compels him to act in this way, instead he freely chooses, with much zeal, to initiate the chain of events that will ultimately lead to his downfall. It is this interplay between Oedipus’ own free will and his fated eventuality that is the crux of the play, and constitutes the main dramatic power.

Once Oedipus was grown up, he heard about this fate and went on the road to Thebes to escape it and killed a man. He becomes ruler of Thebes when he solves the sphinx riddle and his people are in a plague and ask for his help.. “ I know; I learned of him from others; I never saw him(8)” he actually did see him because he murdered him. “ Eventually he finds out he murdered the king of Thebes. “Put your questions. I am no murderer(30)” this quotation shows the arrogance Oedipus holds within. Oedipus has always known everything and he fears this would change everything.. And this reality tears him away from all that he has believed. Oedipus’ pride forbids him from seeing the truth---that he killed Laius. This quote also relates to Creon since he did not want to admit Antigone was doing the right thing because he did not want to seem weak.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, “Oedipus the King” contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his/her own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia or a tragic flaw which causes his/hers’ downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape.

Moreover, Oedipus’ anger is controlling his words and actions; and in his rage he accuses Teiresias of having a “hand [i]n plotting” (Sophocles 35) against him. His anger is causing him to insult and offend the one person who knows the truth. In doing this Oedipus remains ignorant about his past and does not learn the truth until it is too late and tragic events have already occurred. Additionally, the blame for the harsh and accusatory words of Teiresias is being put on Creon. Oedipus in his anger goes as far as to accuse Creon of being a “[p]roved plotter against [his] life” (Sophocles 40).

Oedipus’s anger highlights one of his tragic flaws. Oedipus first outburst of anger was when he killed his father, reminiscing, “I became angry and struck the coachman, and then I killed them all” (Sophocles 880 – 8). Oedipus’s anger continued throughout the play, especially when others inform him about his fate. When Teiresias accuses Oedipus of killing his father, Oedipus lashes out, saying “And who has taught you truth? Not your profession surely!” (Sophocles 388-389). This response is an attack on Teiresias and the principle of prophecies, as Oedipus exclaims Teirsias’s profession has not taught him truth. Oedipus angrily placed blame on his closest friend for his doomful fate, Creon, blaming, “No, certainly; kill you, not banish you” (Sophocles 687). Oedipus’s impulsive and extravagant anger make his angry characteristic all the more harmful. Oedipus’s anger eventually turned on himself, as he blinds himself in reaction to his foolishness and ignorance.

When confronted with information he does not want to believe or understand, Oedipus reacts with red-hot anger. When Tiresias accuses him of Laius’ murderer, he responds with denial and bitterness, “Blind as you are in the eyes, and ears, and mind!” (Sophocles 14) Oedipus lashes out at Tiresias and refuses to listen to him. As one of great political power, Oedipus is a dangerous man when he is angry. His temper clouds his judgment, and he makes rash decisions without considering facts or attempting to look at others’ perspectives. He immediately believes Creon is trying to steal his crown, although he has little evidence to support this hasty claim. To this Creon defends himself by saying, “Neither am I…covetous to be a king, rather than play the king,” (Sophocles 22) supporting his innocent stance in the matter. But instead of listening to reason, Oedipus persists. Whereas Creon remains calm and methodical in his responses, Oedipus is angry and unpredictable. His anger escalates, leading to him demanding more than simply the banishment of his brother-in-law – but that he be put to death (Sophocles 23). Oedipus calls Creon a “traitor” (Sophocles 23), and his temper is simply a mask covering his denial of the truth that he is Laius’ killer. This reaction is similar to when he discovers the truth that Jocasta is indeed his mother and Laius was his father, effectively fulfilling the prophecy given to him long ago. Two messengers tell of witnessing him go to Jocasta “Beseeching us to furnish him a sword and say where we could find his wife” (Sophocles 45). Although not explicitly stated, it can be inferred that Oedipus wanted to kill Jocasta out of rage. The truth ultimately proves too much for him, and his rage leads him to lashing out and attempting to kill his wife – similar to when he called for the death of Creon.

Oedipus, throughout the book, displays great determination. This may be an effect of his hubris, his overconfidence in the way he views himself has led him to believe that he can do anything, so he tries to. Soon after Oedipus discovers that he must find a murderer in Thebes, he vows to Creon that he will find this murder, and questions him vividly. “Oedipus: Where are they? Where would a trace of this old crime be found? Creon: The clue is in this land, so said the God.” (10) Oedipus truly wants to find the killer, whether this is to prove himself or save Thebes is up to interpretation, however he asks Creon many questions about the killer. If Oedipus was just hubristic and not determined he wouldn’t care about Laius’ murder, because he would view himself above the Gods and their punishments. However, he questions Creon and vows to find the murderer with him. Along with his questioning of Creon, Oedipus invokes a curse onto the