“Oedipus is, as it were, only a tragic analysis. Everything is already in existence, and has only to be unraveled.” Throughout the history of literature, there has been perhaps no other character quite as complex and convoluted as Oedipus. Whether it be the reality of his parents abandoning him to die or the mere fact that he married his own mother Jocasta, Oedipus has been continually analyzed and processed by scholars in an attempt to discover the means by which Oedipus arrived at his eventual outcome. To summarize, Oedipus, being originally from Corinth, travels to Thebes in search of his true heritage. After a series of events, Oedipus becomes the king of Thebes and soon discovers the truth. Once thorough deliberation has been given to …show more content…
Neither could plead ignorance or innocence without denying the very validity of the oracle” (Weil). Mr. Herbert Weil presents Oedipus’s reality in simple terms: Oedipus cannot be innocent of fault if he did, in fact, know the prediction that was made for his destiny. One could argue that fate has been in control the entire time, but once the facts are taken into consideration, it becomes apparent that this understanding is not entirely true. Oedipus the King gives a detailed account of the nature of each prediction and both men disregarded the warning. If Laius would have never been married, there would have been no son to become the murderer. Also, if Oedipus would have never murdered any man, there would have been no danger of fulfilling the prophecy. Although fate has given the prophecy of what is to come, Oedipus and Laius had ample opportunities to change the outcome of their lives. Furthermore, Oedipus not only ignores his responsibility of keeping the prophecy from becoming true, he also blatantly disrespects Tiresias while he is giving his own decree. Oedipus is given his desired answer from the very beginning of the play, but because he himself wants to search for knowledge, he ignores Tiresias’s insight. If Oedipus would have accepted the truth that “[he was] the corruption of the land” (Sophocles 401), and that “[Oedipus is] the very …show more content…
However, consumed by his desire to seek knowledge, Oedipus ironically ignores all of the signs that point toward the truth. One such instance is when he is speaking to Jocasta, and she mentions how “[Oedipus is] doomed / – may [he] never fathom who [he is]!” (Sophocles, 1173-1174). Regardless of how closely related and similar both his and Laius’s predictions from the Oracle of Delphi are, Oedipus ignores the absolute truth. Another such instance is when Jocasta mentions how Laius had been “killed by strangers,/ thieves, at a place where three roads meet” (Sophocles 789-790). Although Oedipus recognizes that he had also killed a man at a crossroads, he refuses to believe the truth. Mr. Weil mentions how, despite most scholars believing Oedipus journeys from ignorance to knowledge, “his ignorance is self-willed. Oedipus has been told the truth and he has refused to recognize it-or even test it” (Weil). Anyone can see the validity of this statement once all of the hints and comments of Oedipus’s heritage are presented. He is consistently given the opportunity to accept the truth but he rejects any possibility. “The play is a tragedy not of divine fate but of human knowing”
On a warm, Summer's afternoon, I sat in my room, a Wii remote clutched in my right hand and a Wii Nunchuck in the other.
In the beginning, Oedipus not only murders his father, Laius, the reigning king of Thebes, but also solves a riddle from the mythical Sphinx (a beast with a human head and a lion body); Thebes fulfills the prophecy by marrying his mother, Jocasta. This twisted prophecy angers the gods, who curse Thebes with a second plague. Oedipus and his advisors seek the help of Tiresias, but when confronted with a bitter truth, Oedipus, enraged, says “You can’t hurt me, you night-hatched thing! Me or any man who lives in light”(22). Oedipus detracts from the predictions of Tiresias, flaunting his false sentiment of authority.
One moment, Oedipus is brimming with hope; the next, he’s sure that he is the killer of his father, King Laius. Every time Oedipus thinks that it can’t possibly be him, evidence proves otherwise. His wife, Jocasta, attempts to prove his innocence but “lets out part of the dire secret by her allusion to the ‘triple crossroads’” (Haigh). By attempting to assist Oedipus, she makes matters worse by causing him to remember his terrible assault upon several travelers at that very place. But then, the reversal comes in. Along comes a messenger with news of King Polybus’ death, which gives Oedipus false hope: “…but [Polybus] is dead and buried, / And I am here – I never touched him…” (Oedipus Rex. II. 3. 919-920). He now thinks that he couldn’t have killed his father, because he’s under the assumption that Polybus was his dad, when in reality Laius is his real father. Anyway, with yet another reversal of fortune, he reaches the deciding moment where he breaks down. When the shepherd that saved him from certain death on Mt. Cithaeron many years ago reveals the truth to Oedipus, he can do nothing but completely break down: “Ah God! / It was true! / All the prophecies!” (II. 4. 1119). The man that saved him in the first place dissolves all of Oedipus’ “hope,” as Oedipus comes to the ultimate realization that although he went to such great lengths, he could not avoid fulfilling ...
The final trait that was Oedipus' greatest enemy throughout the entirety of the play was his own truthfulness. Whenever new facts presented themselves, Oedipus gave them an honest look. As soon as it was suspect that Oedipus was involved, he acknowledged it; "I think that I myself may be accurst by my own ignorant edict".
To truly understand his fate Oedipus had to let go of arrogance and his identity as a king. If Oedipus was really the killer, he would lose all the respect and honor and turn into a petty criminal which was worst that death for him. His unknown fate (murder of Laius) was the reason that caused him to blind himself rather than to see the suffering he brought upon everyone, but in the end his ability to realize the truth and punish himself made him a tragic hero. Asking to be sent away, asking for punishment made him an honorable hero “send me from this land” (line
With every acclaim to success, there is a falling as intense as the ascent. Failure is the building block for success and without failure being the constant reminder that perfection is non-existent, great achievements could not be obtained. After an accomplishment, the world seems utopian, but not for everyone. Some feats end in the catastrophic demoralization of an individual. Aristotle believed the tragic hero to leave the mortal world in consternation after rising to a high societal stature, and using this as a basis, he developed the six characteristics of a tragic hero. Oedipus and Blanche, two tragic heroes with strong symbolic resemblance, rise to social success that ultimately seals their fate. Through desire for social attraction,
When Oedipus arrives at colonus, he is immediately told to leave, but he stays because he must die on thy land in order for it to be blessed. When Oedipus arrives outside of Colonus, he is told to leave right away, but he refuses and convinces the chorus to let him stay until anything further is heard from the king. When the king comes out, and realized who Oedipus is, and what his body can do if he dies and is buried on their land, he lets him stay. When Oedipus learns of how his two sons are fighting for the throne, he becomes mad, and places a curse on them that they will kill each other. On Polynices arrival, “He tells of how his brother, Eteocles… turned against him… he plans to regain the throne by force” (Oedipus at Colonus 2). When
Oedipus lacks the Greek guiding principle of knowing thyself. He is ignorant to the fact that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta. Oedipus shows this when he finds out that Laius, who is the king of Thebes and his father has turned up dead. When Oedipus learns this he says, “A thief, so daring, so wild, he’d kill a king? Impossible unless conspirators paid him off in Thebes” (Oedipus The King 140). Unknown to Oedipus, the killer of Laius is himself. Even though Oedipus has done this unknowingly, he has still committed a terrible crime. Oedipus again shows his ignorance when he tells Jocasta about the fate a drunken man had given him. When he tells the story he says, “you are fated to couple with you mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see-you will kill your father, the one who gave you life!”(Oedipus The King 873). Oedipus later talks about how he chose to run away from Polybus and Merope in order to prevent the prophecy from becoming reality. Since Oedipus is ignorant to whom his real parents are he unknowingly runs away to Thebes where he meets his fate. In Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays Oedipus isn’t the...
Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.
Thebes— The Thebans have dealt with misery and devastation before, but none compares to what happened to their beloved king, Oedipus. Oedipus, the clever man who once solved the lingering riddle of the Sphinx, was now a blind, old man, with his reputation tarnished.The once prosperous king, was left in exile, after he realized the mistakes he had made. What was meant to be, cannot be changed even by a king of his level. He went from hero to zero due to his high arrogance and hubris.
Outside his palace, Oedipus finds a crowd of citizens and a priest of Zeus. He walks toward the crowd to see what they have to say. He introduces himself as Oedipus, the king, and tells them that he wants to help in any way possible and to find out why they are there.
According to Aristotle's theory of tragedy and his definition of the central character, Oedipus the hero of Sophocles is considered a classical model of the tragic hero. The tragic hero of a tragedy is essential element to arouse pity and fear of the audience to achieve the emotional purgation or catharathis. Therefore, this character must have some features or characteristics this state of purgation. In fact, Oedipus as a character has all the features of the tragic hero as demanded by Aristotle.
Oedipus was a victime of fate, his futur was foretold by an Oracle, he had no way of knowing that his wife was his mother nor that the stranger he killed was his father. Oedipus could not prevent his own downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, he became king when he cured the city of a deadly plague. He cured the plague by solving the riddle of the mythical creature, the Sphinkx. Now the city is suffering from another plague and as king Oedipus must solve the riddle of this one.
Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion).
When starting to read Oedipus Rex, one might think that one will be reading about a happy event or family due to the circumstances of Sophocles’ life. Sophocles, the author, had a happy life with a well-to-do family. He was also a distinguished public official, and he had so many winnings of first place in an annual dramatic competition. “Oedipus Rex, however, is a tragedy.” In tragedies the protagonist has a downfall, due to self failure, and circumstances with which he or she can’t deal with.(Albert et al. 301.) With the thought of the protagonist of a tragedy always having a downfall, one can say that their fate is inescapable. In Oedipus Rex there are various symbols that help illustrate the theme, that a person’s fate will eventually happen.