Oedipus the King

How would you characterize Oedipus? Oedipus is described as sent from a god after saving thebes from the Sphinx’s riddles allowing the city to be open again. According to this passage “As to the man surest in moral ways And wisest in the ways of the God. You saved us from the Sphinx, that flinty singer, and the tribute we paid her so long; yet you were never better informed than we” Sophocles, Sc. 1, li. 37-41. This quote really describes Oedipus as it portrays him as a very clever man who…

The Last trait that fully makes up Oedipus' tragic flaw is his ignorance and lack of self knowledge. He is completely oblivious of his origin. He is thus metaphorically blind by not having access to the fundamental truth of his personal life. This is made abundantly clear when Tiresias ask the question of who his parents are to Oedipus, he then responds by saying: " Parents? Wait! Who were my parents after all?" (Sophocles 40). Based on Oedipus' question the audience can see that he is totally…

1051). The Shepard decides that he cannot leave Oedipus knowing that he will die, and as an alternative gives him to a Shepard that resides in Corinth. (Sophocles 1051) The Corinthian Shepard takes Oedipus to Corinth and gives the baby to King Polybus and Queen Merope. (Sophocles 1052) Later on in the story Oedipus is taunted by a drunk man informing him that he is not really his father’s son. (Sophocles 1021) Going along…

November 1 2015 Oedipus the King is indeed the perfect model of a tragedy in the sense that it has all the elements of a great tragedy. Oedipus went through many tragedies throughout his reign trying to beat his own destiny that he was doomed to live and being able to change it. Human suffering, weakness and powerlessness to in trying to control one’s destiny. Many incidents in his life, the struggles he went through to the natural destinity that was occurring no matter how hard Oedipus…

Destiny’s Child From day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month, one could often hope that “destiny be with [them] always” (48). Oedipus, a bizarre yet strangely appealing story about a man who married his mother and killed his father, revolves around the entire concept of fate. Personally, I thought it was one of the most significant themes of the play, and it was the single thing that led me to create my chronicle. I chose to write about Jocasta’s last moments; because I wanted to explore…

by a supernatural power. Fate controls every aspect in Oedipus the king and is the driving force behind every characters’ actions and thoughts. Laios and Iocaste’s attempt to kill their son, and Oedipus runs away from his adopted parents where all attempts to avoid the fate. Unfortunately they were all doomed by the prophecy of the Oracle and no matter how much they tried to avoid it, fate still prevailed. Iocaste makes it easier for Oedipus to fulfil his prophecy. Iocaste is very confident that…

influence the character of Oedipus. Oedipus is a character that stands out to me because he is very wise, but takes a long time to solve his own “riddle”. Oedipus must solve the conflict given to him by Apollo, to break the curse on Thebes from the plague that could potentially wipe out the town. After reading this play I am shocked that Oedipus, a well-respected and known man, would have killed Laius, his father and previous ruler of Thebes. Throughout the play, Oedipus was blind to what he had…

Tragic Oedipus The definition of tragedy in everyday life is a broad one. People use the word to describe loss, unforeseen consequences, or even unfortunate circumstances. When speaking of literature, however, the original definition and characteristics of tragedy were laid out by Aristotle. He describes Oedipus Rex as the work that best exemplified the definition and characteristics of tragedy. Today, there are different genres for tragedy, with Oedipus Rex fitting well into the majority of…

Throughout “Oedipus Rex”, the king of Thebes, Oedipus faces against his fate and the events that are thrown at him. Even though Oedipus could not get away from his fate, he still had his free will to make his own decisions. When Oedipus killed Lauis, believed in oracles, demanding the truth from Tieresias, and confronting Jocasta, Oedipus had control over his actions he however did not know if he was making the right or wrong choices. Oedipus’s actions believing in oracle, demanding the truth…

People can often be “blinded” to the truth. The image of clear vision is used as a metaphor for knowledge and insight. In Sophocles’ tragic play which takes place in Ancient Greece, Oedipus The King, Tiresias, the blind prophet, although blind, he can see farther than others. Oedipus have been blinded to the truth his whole life and when he does find out the truth, he loses his physical vision. It is quite ironic actually. In addition, Sophocles also conveys the theme of fate vs. free will. The…