Fate works in mysterious ways. Whether we succumb to our supposed fate or have the power of free will is unknown, yet such a question has been pondered throughout history. If “fate” truly exists, then who determines it, how is it determined, and why are some fates more detrimental than others? These questions remain unanswered but were expounded by Sophocles over 2,500 years ago. If one was doomed by fate there was no escaping it; fate would, inevitably, lead to their tragic demise. Oedipus the King is the epitome of the Aristotelian definition of tragedy with Oedipus serving as the tragic hero.
Sophocles structures his plot as a series of events related by cause and effect. The first incident, the sickness sweeping over Thebes, is the impetus for Oedipus’s decision to announce to the people of Thebes “If any one of you knows who murdered Laius, I order him to reveal the whole truth to me,” (171). In response to his orders, Tiresias, a blind prophet, …show more content…
Oedipus may have killed his father and married his mother, however, he had no knowledge of who his parents were at the time. He believed the king of Corinth to be his father, so when he is “thrust off the road,” (206) by a wagon, he reacts in defense, unknowingly killing his birth father. He does not consciously marry his mother either, as he believes his mother to be Merope from Corinth. These misunderstandings are not deserving of the fate Oedipus receives. He “rips off her [Jocasta’s] brooches, the long gold pins holding her robe... [and] digs them down the sockets of his eyes,” (237). His reason for beginning the search for Laius’ killer was to “Banish the man [responsible for his murder], or pay back blood with blood,” (164). Simply leaving the city of Thebes would suffice to rid the city of disease, but instead Oedipus’s fate led him to face far worse consequences of eternal suffering and
Sophocles structures his plot as a series of events related by cause and effect. The first incident, the sickness sweeping over Thebes, is the impetus for Oedipus’s decision to announce to the people of Thebes “If any one of you knows who murdered Laius, I order him to reveal the whole truth to me,” (171). In response to his orders, Tiresias, a blind prophet, …show more content…
Oedipus may have killed his father and married his mother, however, he had no knowledge of who his parents were at the time. He believed the king of Corinth to be his father, so when he is “thrust off the road,” (206) by a wagon, he reacts in defense, unknowingly killing his birth father. He does not consciously marry his mother either, as he believes his mother to be Merope from Corinth. These misunderstandings are not deserving of the fate Oedipus receives. He “rips off her [Jocasta’s] brooches, the long gold pins holding her robe... [and] digs them down the sockets of his eyes,” (237). His reason for beginning the search for Laius’ killer was to “Banish the man [responsible for his murder], or pay back blood with blood,” (164). Simply leaving the city of Thebes would suffice to rid the city of disease, but instead Oedipus’s fate led him to face far worse consequences of eternal suffering and