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The role of gods in oedipus rex
The role of the gods in Oedipus
The role of gods in oedipus rex
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Oedipus Tyrannos by Sophocles
Sophocles uses a mixture of both visual and emotional imagery to create the morally questioning, Greek tragedy ‘Oedipus Tyrannos’. He presents the audience with an intense drama, which addresses the reality and importance of the gods that the Greeks fervently believed in. The play also forces the audience to ask themselves if there is such a concept as fate.
From the very beginning of Oedipus, it is made clear “that his destiny be one of fate and worse”. The irony is that Oedipus unknowingly repeatedly predicts his own fate: “It was I who called down these curses on that man.” Oedipus has unconsciously married his mother and killed his father, just as the Oracle predicted. Fate is proven to be unavoidable to Oedipus as the play shows a devout belief in the Greek gods. The Gods are seen as both “protectors” and “punishers”, who can “turn fate back away”. The gods are shown to have power over everything and everyone, and whoever ignores them will be cursed by the “darts no one escapes”. Oedipus is one of these people who is seen to have ignored the gods’ warnings and therefore has brought a curse upon himself, and all those around him: “Nothing grows in the earth, nothing in the wombs of the women.” With the idea of fate comes the question of fairness. Does Oedipus deserve his pitiful destiny and if it was so pre-decided then why? It was yet again the God’s powers.
It may be difficult to avoid pitying Oedipus, as despite his obvious sins, he is shown to be a respectable and honest man: “I bear more pain for the people than for my own soul”. Sophocles uses irony to increase your growing pity for Oedipus as he searches for the ‘abomination’ that is soon to be revealed as none other than himself: “That man must reveal himself to me”. Oedipus is frantic to find the killer of Laios (his real father) so as to save the city from the “hateful plague” that the gods have brought upon them. When Oedipus gouges out his own eyes, the difference between visual sight and insight is clearly represented: “Light, let this be the last time I look on you”. Oedipus cannot bear to see the destruction that he has brought upon his family. “Would the sight of my children have been pleasant?” he asks himself, now left in the depths of shame. Due to the severe punishment that Oedipus inflicts upon himself it makes it difficult for one ...
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...time to pass judgement on himself by first gauging out his own eyes, “Ranting, they would not see what evil he was suffering, what evil he was doing”, and by then ordering his people to “Expel me from this land as quickly as you can.” Oedipus’ sense of dignity also swiftly disappears toward the end of the play, but he manages to redeem himself by accepting all blame for his actions and does not even attempt to pass it on to someone else. He could have blamed anyone from his parents, the servant that saved him as a baby and even the Oracle, but he does not. He shows great courage when he says: “My evils are mine and will affect no one but me.” Oedipus goes from a man who has unquestionable and perhaps a dangerous amount of power to a man who himself relinquishes all rule of his land to live a life of misery that he feels he deserves.
The gods and fate play a massive role in creating the tragedy, but Sophocles leaves it up to the audience to pass final judgement on Oedipus. There is a definite moral to this play and that is no one can ever know their decided fate until they die, for “How can we say anyone is happy until he has crossed to the other side without suffering?”
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
This psychology of brand tribes explains why consumers choose the more expensive name brand compared to the off-brand that could very well be the same product with the same experience. Coca-Cola sold the youth lifestyle of peace and acceptance in the 60s. Disney understood that they were selling the American dream and a place for families that was a real-life utopia. Ikea’s brand idea is democracy in that consumers can put together their own furniture. Starbucks has branded themselves as a community center. Most young consumers go to Starbucks to meet up with a friend or relative, do homework, and simply hang out and use the free, reliable wifi; the coffee is just a byproduct. Companies have furthered their success by paying celebrities to model their clothes until they are such a household name where they no longer need to advertise to achieve success. Companies like Coca-Cola don’t need to tell consumers about their refreshing soft drink for most people already know, instead, they market the experience and life-changing moment of drinking their
Foucault, Michel. “Discipline and Punish.” A Critical and Cultural Theory Reader. Ed. Antony Easthorpe, Kate McGowan. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. Print.
When he spoke, he said “You, you'll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind from this hour on! Blind in the darkness - blind!” (Sophocles, 49) and in this speech Oedipus appeared to blame himself for the tragedy that befell himself and everyone he knew. This is a key point in how the audience feels towards Oedipus, as he changes drastically from cocky, arrogant man, to a weeping mess as he tore his eyes from their sockets. Oedipus also spoke of his metaphorical blindness (not “seeing” what was going on around him, taking the hints, and listening to those who advised him), as it turned into literal blindness. As he appeared to be yelling in this speech, Oedipus added a dramatic flair that might tug at the reader’s heart, with the raw emotion he must have felt at that time becoming very apparent. At that point in the play, the tragic hero/tragic downfall aspect became more and more apparent for Oedipus, and regardless of the specific character’s demeanor at the start of the play, when the hero comes crashing to the very bottom of their character arc, it is indeed a pitiful sight that even the most heartless of people cannot help but feel sorry
"Unruly women," "outlaws," "the female Wild," "the Other": these are some of the provocative terms used by feminist scholars in recent years to refer to Shakespeare's heroines. They have helped us to take a fresh look at these characters while we are reevaluating the position of women within our own society. But are Shakespeare's women really unruly? It would be anachronistic to believe that he created rebellious feminists in an age that had never heard the term. Nevertheless, writing many of his plays with Elizabeth I on the throne, Shakespeare created heroines who operate in, rebel against, attempt to rule, or are crushed by a social structure largely determined by men.
In addition discipline is a major aspect of Foucault’s modern view on punishment. He views this as a way of rendering the offender obedient. Discipline is important due to the supervision aspect of this factor. Offenders are looked at as individuals and are monitored for even a minimal change in behavior where discipline may need to implement. Discipline is not meant to be a punishment and this is a change from historical views. Discipline is a corrective measure that uses variations of surveillance as well as training to provide help to offenders to learn to be more controlled (Garland, 1990,
India’s rural Bottom of Pyramid (BoP) market, which consists of approximately 700 million people, presents itself as a significant business opportunity with multinational corporations as well as for small and medium manufacturers and producers. While the revenue opportunity in this market has been predicted to be at almost the same levels as that of urban markets, success in this segment has remained more or less elusive, due to the prevalence of several BoP issues
In Ancient Greece the existence of gods and fate prevailed. In the Greek tragedy King Oedipus by the playwright Sophocles these topics are heavily involved. We receive a clear insight into their roles in the play such as they both control man's actions and that challenging their authority leads to a fall.
Education is a major component of our society. Each culture has its own traditions on education, and there are many different philosophies on education. There are so many people that are involved in the educational system, and I feel that it is important to express my own philosophy on education.
Because of this omnipotent force, Oedipus’ fate is set in stone, and all of his attempts to fool his fate only sealed it. By establishing the gods as the primary source of fate, Sophocles gives the characters an ultimatum: follow your destiny and obey the gods, or your life will be ruined. This ultimatum shows the true moral of plays, and in turn, it shows how Sophocles wanted to influence his audience.This extreme moral highlights Sophocles’ belief in fate, and how that influences the interpretation of the original myth and its adaptation for the plays. Sophocles shows how fate can often be the deadliest of weapons, and through Oedipus and Creon, we clearly see how it can be such. Sophocles shows the audience what he considered to be the will of the gods, and through that, he taught an important moral and how to please the gods the people of Greece
For Oedipus, prophecy is not the main source of his fall towards society; rather, his hubris blinds himself from recognizing his personal sin in the world, thus leading to his demise. Sophocles even skillfully uses a metaphor through the words “ as led by a guide” to further explain the “supernatural being” that ultimately decides the tragic fate of the family of Oedipus. In addition, through the death of Jocasta, the reader is immediately attuned of Oedipus’ raging moment of violence and will be petrified by the overwhelming power of the gods, thus realizing the importance of being cautious before making a final choice. Indeed, after an individual settles on a decision, the gods take control of the person’s fate, hurling numerous consequences to him if he makes the wrong decision. Moreover, as Oedipus suddenly becomes the unintended victim of the gods through his sinful decision to execute Laius, he is forced to relinquish his predominate impetus for pridefulness in exchange for a heart of deep realization and forgiveness. At the end of the play, Oedipus sacrifices everything in order to remove his guilt through the consequences of his atrocious actions witnessed by the gods. After Oedipus realizes the astringent fate he was destined to encounter through his sinful murder of Laius, he immediately attempts to take responsibility for his
Sophocles demonstrates in the play Oedipus the King that a human being, not a God, ultimately determines destiny. That is, people get what they deserve. In this play, one poorly-made judgment results in tragic and inescapable density. Oedipus fights and kills Laius without knowing Laius is his father. Then, Oedipus's pitiless murdering causes several subsequent tragedies such as the incestuous marriage of Oedipus gets into the flight with Laius. However, Oedipus's characteristics after Laius's death imply that Oedipus could avoid the fight as well as the murder of his father, but did not. Ultimately, Oedipus gets what he deserves due to his own characteristics that lead him to murder Laius: impatience, delusion, and arrogance.
Shakespeare’s works had few females because women were not allowed to act in London in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Disregarding the standards imposed on women of his time, Shakespeare created many female characters that were strong-willed, intelligent, and daring. Shakespeare resided in a world dominated by men, in which women were essentially the means of exchange in power relationships among those men. Feminist criticism is interested in marriage and, gender relations, and family structures (Shakespeare, William).
* Research Scholar, Department of Rural Management, School for Management Studies, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow.
Prof Sukti Chakrabarti, “India’s Rural Market – The Fortune at the base of the Pyramid”: http://www.abesit.in/pdfs/success_through_excellence.pdf