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oedipus rex

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In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, there are many themes that are woven through the life of King Oedipus, and revealed through the key points of the plot. One of the most important themes is the inevitability of ones’ fate. Although fate is considered the usual genre of the Greeks in playwriting there, are specifics that Oedipus conducts unusual to our own way of thinking of a king during the Ancient Greek times. For example: Oedipus’s ignorance of believing what is said from his wife, Iocaste and others. Also there is the prophecy and tragedy portrayed in the story. The action and plot/structure of the play is part of what makes it one of the most studied Greek, plays ever.
Even today one of the most famous themes is the idea that …show more content…

Yet, it is because of his character as a great discoverer of truth and a man determined to find out what he has decided to discover, that Oedipus meets with tragic reversal. In the scene where he is cross-examining the shepherds, Iocaste begs him not to carry the investigation further, but he pays no heed to her words, in page 1336 the shepherd says, “In God’s name do not torture a old man. Unhappy king! What more do you wish for?” It is this determination of Oedipus to find out the whole truth at any cost, which makes him tragic. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero must be a person of noble birth and prosperity whose misfortune results, form depravity or vice but from some hamartia. Hamartia is translated as an error of judgment by most critics, but interpreted as tragic flaw by some. Oedipus is clearly the intermediate kind of person stipulated by Aristotle. However, it is difficult to say that his misfortune befalls him because of some flaw in his character, or some error of judgment committed by him. There is no doubt that his character has several flaws, and that he commits some errors of judgment, but the question is whether these errors are the cause of his tragedy. Oedipus is no doubt rash, impatient, irritable and passionate. He is also very proud of his intelligence, and believes that he can find the answer to every problem. Yet, if we take his tragedy to be the basic actions of incest and parricide, then these flaws and errors of Oedipus are quite

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