The brooches in Oedipus Rex are used to inform the theme of fate. Its purpose is to separate the main character, Oedipus, from blindness in the physical world and seeing the truth in the psychological world. Up until he uses the brooches as his blinding mechanism, Oedipus’s perception of his life is false. His life story appears to be a fortunate and prosperous one as King of Thebes and he never recognizes the unavoidable events as his given prophecy. Even with the ability to see, he fails to trust in the gods and instead has false consciousness in his intuitions. As in Oedipus, Iokaste also exults over the failure of the oracles when in fact they prove right. The dramatic irony is prevalent every time a character tries to avert a future prediction; the audience knows the attempt is futile. With the use of the brooches, Oedipus “sees” his fate and acknowledges his avoidance of the truth. The tragic ending shows Oedipus accepting the prophecy he was unable to acknowledge in the past. In other words, the brooches cause the final darkness that was ultimately meant to happen.
The brooches in Oedipus Rex symbolize the physical world. They are beautiful when seen to the eye, but hide something beneath the clothing to which they keep closed. This is like the characters in Oedipus Rex, who look at the details and circumstances of everyday life and pretend not to see what is actually happening. Oedipus’ family have knowledge of their oracles but, never pay attention to them when they try to find the answers. The play illustrates three main prophecies that are unsuccessfully avoided: Oedipus being the son of Laios and Iokaste, the murderer of his father, and the son who would lay with his mother and give birth to cursed children. Oedipus and his parents never realize they were once family. Oedipus doesn’t agree with the prophecy Teiresias describes of him. He reflects a
This is the foundation for why Oedipus was blinded to his fate. Though Tiresias, the blind prophet, lacks the ability to see with his natural eyes, he possesses an insight into the lives of others. Oedipus believes his act of self-blinding was a justification and payment for his actions. It required a blind man to show Oedipus his own blind state of the tragic fate that was set before him. Oedipus believes his act of self-blinding was a payment for his actions he did according to his destiny. Now, he is no longer in a state to inflict plagues and heartbreak on those around him. Oedipus the king, now Oedipus the commoner, pays the ultimate price for the deeds he has done, permanent exile from those he loves and holds
In the play “Oedipus Rex by Sophocles” the themes of sight and blindness are produced to develop in the readers mind that it is not the eyesight, but insight that holds the key to truth and without It no amount of knowledge can help uncover the truth. Insight can be described as the ability to see what is going to happen. Characters like Oedipus and Teiresias hold a significant role in the play and other characters like Iocaste are also important in the play.
Finally, in the end, as in all Greek tragedies, Oedipus must come to an unhappy ending in which he dies, or is utterly lost. The symbolism here under the ankle piercing is also the first step to his bad end, since if his father did not take Oedipus out to the woods and pierce him, then leave him to die, Oedipus would never have killed his father nor married his mother.
Throughout the play, Oedipus thinks of himself as being on the same level as the gods. Oedipus is described as being arrogant, intelligent, and full of great wisdom. One of Oedipus’ greatest accomplishments includes figuring out the riddle of the sphinx, a monster that guards the city. Figuring out the riddle of the sphinx gave Oedipus the fate of the city. Oedipus is rewarded by marrying the queen and becoming king. Oedipus, being all great, believes he can solve who killed the king. Oedipus knows that it has been prophesied that the son of the king and queen would grow up to murder the king and marry his mother. Oedipus believes the kingdom is rightfully his and when his first son is born they chain him up outside the city. Oedipus thinks he has beaten the gods once again, and has escaped his fate. When Oedipus finds out the truth, that he had married his mother, his is so drowned out by his suffering. Oedipus’ former hubris leads to his
A son who kills his own father, marries his own mother, and is both the father and brother of his mother’s children. Oedipus, meaning “swollen foot”, grows up with adopted parents and a brooding prophecy on his heels. The frightful tale of Oedipus and his indescribable fate play out in the Greek theatrical production of Oedipus Rex. The horrible destiny for Oedipus is inevitable due to the unfavorable traits given to him by the author, Sophocles. Throughout Oedipus Rex, Sophocles masterfully weaves Oedipus’ fatal traits of naiveté, arrogance, and curiosity into the intriguing plot.
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows their attempt is futile, creating irony. When Jocasta and Oedipus mock the oracles, they continue to suspect that they were right. Oedipus discounts the oracles' power, but believes in his ability to uncover the truth, yet they lead to the same outcome. His intelligence is what makes him great, but it is also what causes the tragedy. When he ridded Thebes of the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's saviour, but by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, he is its affliction, causing the blight that strikes the city during the opening. Meanwhile, the characters, especially Teiresias, mention sight, light, darkness, &c as metaphors, while referring to `seeing the truth'. However, while Teiresias knows the truth and is blind, Oedipus can see all but the truth. When he discovers the truth, he becomes blind. Also, he does not just solve the Sphinx's riddle - he is its answer. His birth is mentioned throughout the play (crawling on `4 legs'), and he never relies on anybody but himself (`standing on his own `2 legs'),...
The main characters in this book are Oedipus, Tiresias, As the story progresses, however, Oedipus' power and pride are broken down. Some readers imagine a broken, pitiful old man who's been crushed by the avenging gods. From the script, it is clear that Oedipus is apparently handsome and well built. He is described as a "tower of strength," and has a sharp way of looking at people. He is quick-tempered, and often acts recklessly and violently. His followers love him, and consider him a brilliant ruler because he solved the riddle of the Sphinx and brought ease to the city of Thebes as Oedipus became their savior. Oedipus also shows wisdom, love for his children and a reputation for high moral standards. We’ve come to this conclusion because even when the threat, of whoever killed Lauis would suffer, applied to him he still followed through with the punishments. He has a passion for truth, and shows courage in the face of disaster or conflict. These same noble qualities, however, lead to his tragic flaw and brought upon his downfall. His wisdom became hypocritical, and he refused to believe anyone who didn’t agree with him. His love for his children becomes obsessive, and he refuses to see that he's married his own mother. His passion for the truth and high m...
As the play progresses his pride returns and shows that he hasn’t truly changed his old ways. Unlike the first play Oedipus, as well as the other characters, don’t seem important and religious themes are now stressed. The relationship between blindness and exile is also explored throughout the play through the actions and words of the characters. The theme of blindness is continued from Oedipus rex with the people who interacted with him to be blind at seeing him for who he is. From the people of Colonus to Oedipus’ own son and brother-in-law, the people Oedipus interacts with only see his strength and power. As the play begins, Oedipus and Antigone stop to rest on a section of land. Oedipus believes this land to be the place where he will remain until his death. The citizens of Colonus go to this place to inform Oedipus that his desire to remain on this land is impossible because it is sacred to the town, but are convinced otherwise when Oedipus tells them of his prophecy. Also included in Oedipus’ prophecy it is said that the land his body is buried in will be blessed by the gods.
Sophocles’s dramatic play Oedipus the King takes place in ancient Greece. It focuses on Oedipus, the king of Thebes. As the plot unfolds, Sophocles reveals that Oedipus, Jacosta his wife/mother, and his father Laius have tried to change the course of events that have been foretold to them. The oracles make it clear to Laius, and later to Oedipus, that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Regardless of their attempts to alter the future, the foretold events develop outside of their control. These events lead to an unhappy ending for each of them. Mythical creatures, oracles, prophets, and gods all have a hand in shaping Oedipus’s life. Although the prophecies of Apollo’s oracles set key events into motion, it is Oedipus’s tragic flaw of excessive pride that leads to the eventual fulfillment of the prophecies.
According to Dodds, “Oedipus, they point out, is proud and over-confident; he harbors unjustified suspicions against Teiresias and Creon; in one place he goes so far as to express some uncertainty about the truth of oracles.” This very flaw is held as a pillar for the foundation of the play “Oedipus the King”. It ultimately propels the main theme of the falsehood of free will forward by showing how as a human, the emotions that swell inside will subject the owner to their own demise. Oedipus is subject to this theme by allowing his pride and resulting anger from discovering the truth to send him into a frenzy in which he proceeds to submit his role and disgrace himself by gouging out his eyes.
Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him within a quagmire of spiraling tragedy. Sophocles uses the riddle of the Sphinx as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus' entangled life, the three phases of human life, and to describe how every life-changing action or decision can influence other lives.
Born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta in the city of Thebes, Oedipus is surrounded with controversy after a prophecy shows that Oedipus will be destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Fearing the potential consequences of the prophecy, Oedipus’ parents made the decision to abandon their baby at the top of a mountain to die using one of their servants. The servant’s consciousness, however, causes him to instead deliver the baby to a shepherd, who in turn sends him to King Polybius and Queen Merope of the kingdom Corinth. After raising the child as their own, Oedipus becomes suspicious that these weren’t his biological parents and leaves Corinth upon hearing the prophecy by the oracle Delphi. As he unknowingly travels to his birth city, Thebes, Oedipus murdered a man along with his servants after a dispute between them. Before entering Thebes, Oedipus is confronted by the guardian of the city’s Gates, the Sphinx who presents him with a riddle. If he solves the riddle, he will be able to pass. If he doesn’t, he’ll die. Oedipus’s superior intelligence and cleverness allows him to easily solve the riddle, however unbeknownst to him will be a foreshadowing of his tragic downfall. The citizens of Thebes praise Oedipus and Queen Jocasta offers to marry him since her husband was mysteriously murdered. Upon marry Jocasta and becoming the King of Thebes, a powerful plague decimates the citizens of
From the very beginning, Oedipus was “blind”. Oedipus has perfect physical vision. However, he is blind and ignorant to the truth about himself and his past. He desperately seeks to know about the death of his father. At this point, it is obvious what Oedipus's action must be, to overcome the blindness. All of his actions thereafter are to that end.
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
Oedipus struggles to find out who is father is and what he does, but this internal struggle will allow Oedipus to build his own future and life. Oedipus’s situation is unique because he believes one person is his actual father, when in reality he is someone else. Both of them play different roles in his life and shape him into the man he makes himself. Oedipus essentially has three father figures which differs from the one father figure in Fences whose name is Troy. Oedipus’s real father, Laius is immediately regarded as an irresponsible father figure who doesn’t care about his child’s life. He leaves him in the wilderness for the wild to take his life because he doesn’t to want to take care of him and the oracle predicted his son would grow up and kill him. This leads Oedipus to struggle mightily through his life to reach power without knowing who his father is or getting support from him. Laius could have saved Oedipus from numerous difficulties and horrible mistakes throughout his life but he doesn’t and as a result Oedipus makes terrible decisions that will affect his life in a negative way forever.