Theme Of Sight In Oedipus The King

Greek play writer, Sophocles, in his play, Oedipus the King, teaches how having too much pride can lead to a tragic fate. Sophocles’ purpose is to teach the reader that being blind to the gods’ power and having too much pride will lead to a terrible demise. Sophocles adopts a solemn tone in order to show the reader how the consequences of being blind to the prophecies of the gods will lead to a horrendous fate.
Throughout the play the theme of sight is common and shows how Oedipus has great pride in his ability to foresee his own fate. The author presents this theme of sight through the words of Oedipus and showing his vain desire to see the truth. One example of this from the text is, “Oh no, not that, you pure and awesome gods, never let me see that day! Let me slip from the world of men, vanish without a trace before I see myself stained with such corruption, stained to the heart” (line 919).This example shows how Oedipus believes that his sight will be his downfall and …show more content…
The author uses the theme of sight to present a sense of false sight in Oedipus. This use of sight also helps to develop the reasons for Oedipus’s fate and also assists in the formation of the second theme of blindness. The use of blindness throughout the play plays a key factor in the author’s purpose of showing the consequences of ignorance to the gods’ will. Sophocles then contrasts these two themes in order to explicitly show the direct consequences of blindness and lack of knowledge. The literary juxtaposition of these two themes is important because this contrast helps to create the solemn tone that Sophocles was hoping to achieve. In conclusion, Sophocles’ use of the two themes of sight and blindness helps to create the solemn tone and to express the consequences that result from being blind to the prophecies of the