Heroes of Old In Oedipus the King the character from which the play receives its name, Oedipus, is seen as a great hero of the people. He possesses traits which are commonly associated with those of a hero. He is powerful and virtuous but like any other human he has his downfalls. Oedipus is a very intelligent being, he knows this as he is the only one who was able to solve the riddle of the Sphinx and save Thebes from it. Even his name suggest how intelligent a person he may be as the word Oidai in Greek means I know. This may be a representation of the fact that Oedipus is arrogant and believes himself to be smarter than everyone else or it could show that Oedipus is comprehensive and advanced and truly does know things others …show more content…
He is seen multiple times wanting knowledge he should not possess such as the knowledge of the prophecy that tells of his horrible fate and the things he has done to his father, Laius, and what he has done with his mother, Jocasta. Tiresias tells him he should not know this information, but he does not care and relentlessly hounds Tiresias for the knowledge he should not possess. In the end it is knowledge which is his ruin, as knowing what he has done to the king’s forces him to banish himself and the knowledge of what he has done with his mother causes him to bind himself with her brooches. Oedipus, one who is constantly seeking new knowledge is asked by the priest " Oedipus... what do you know" (161) this represents the idea that even though his knowledge is great, he knows nothing in actuality. Multiple times throughout the play Oedipus is seen as one of great knowledge but he is seen multiple times in the play being on the verge of knowledge and not receiving the truth, due to his arrogance. Such as the instance where Tiresias is telling him about what happened to Laius and it is obvious that it was Oedipus who killed him yet he still fails to realize the truth. The Greeks were intelligent people and they were proud of it. Multiple time throughout history they have found way to manipulate or have created a new weapon or device …show more content…
He says that he will "banish whoever it is." This shows that he will do what he can to avenge the death of king Laius. Even later on whenever Oedipus discovers that he is the one who king kings Laius who is also his father he still goes through with the punishment. Oedipus banishes himself from the city for the crime he has committed against the king. Oedipus is a man who does anything to find justice no matter what the consequences of the punishment are, he is blind to the idea of mercy when it comes to
In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus’s downfall can be interpreted as brought about by his certainty of knowledge. The scholar Bernard Knox expresses that, “these attributes of divinity – knowledge, certainty, justice – are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he was the perfect example of the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice.” Oedipus is first held as the king of kings, and he believed himself to hold the knowledge he needed to act upon, yet this exact confidence led him to curse himself. Oedipus’s unending search for justice shows his commendable qualities, yet this becomes insufficient; as he found the truth, he found his ruin. Even the Messenger and the Herdsman see how Oedipus’s
Oedipus follows closely to Aristotle’s views of tragedy because he possesses the specific qualities of being noble, good or fine, true to life, and true to their type. An example of this is when Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sphinx, “I came, know-nothing Oedipus, I stopped the Sphinx. I answered the riddle with my own intelligence. ”(Sophocles 27). Oedipus is a noble figure who, after solving the riddle of the Sphinx, became a hero to Thebes.
Oedipus is described as one of the greatest characters of all time in Oedipus Rex. "Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (Prologue) He solves the riddle of the Sphinx and has been very good to the people. So when this plague strikes that is killing the citizens of Thebes, they once again turn to the great Oedipus.
Aristoteles’s “Theory of Tragedy” suggests that the tragic flaw in Sophocles’ play Oedipus is the King’s “self-destructive actions taken in blindness,” but a worse flaw if his arrogance. There are a few opposing views that stray from Oedipus being fully arrogant. First is that he took actions to save himself further pain. Second by putting himself in charge was the right thing to do as the leader of his people. Third Oedipus never tried to outwit the gods but used the prophecy as a warning to leave Corinth. All three opposing arguments shows a different side of Oedipus other than that of arrogance.
In Sophocles’ tragic drama Oedipus the King, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, suddenly realizes that he killed his father and marries his mother. Oedipus shows great concern for his kingdom and his people, calling to “drive the corruption from the land” by bringing Laius’s murderer to justice (109). He summons Tiresias to find Laius’ murderer, but Oedipus becomes enraged when Tiresias accuses Oedipus of being the murderer. Oedipus, thinking that Creon is involved in this so-called conspiacy as well makes false accusations against Creon. Much to his surprise, however, Oedipus learns that the man he killed long ago is Laius, his father, and that Oedipus’ wife, Jocasta, is his mother, all in accordance with the prophecy that he had heard long before. After coming to this realization as well, Jocasta commits suicide. Oedipus gouges out his eyes after this episode and laments his birth. Although Oedipus strives to be a fair and just king by seeking Laius’ murderer, he is often not fair to his people. Also, by lamenting his birth, Oedipus blames whoever saved him for the pain he experiences. The play demonstrates the theme of injustice through Oedipus’ lament of his birth and Oedipus’ denial of justice to others—namely, Tiresias and Creon.
Oedipus is a ‘good king,’ a father of his people, an honest and great ruler, while at the same time an outstanding intellect. . . . He even shares the thro...
Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492)
When the play Oedipus The King is mentioned, what do you think of? I think of a very ignorant man that tries to escape his fate-- a man that had so much confidence in himself that he would put false accusations on people and defy his gods just because he thinks he is right. During the play, Oedipus realizes his own flaws while he investigates who the "true killer" of Laius is.
Bernard Knox says “these attributes of divinity – knowledge, certainty, justice – are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he was the perfect example of the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice”. Oedipus thinks that he knows everything that he needs to know, but he does not and that causes his downfall and leads him away from the truth. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles Oedipus thinks that he knows what the best is for him and does not let anybody else persuade him from his point which is the cause of his downfall.
Oedipus is very knowledgeable during the play and at some times still extremely ignorant. He doesn’t always put pieces together. When they are right in front of him. Many people in the play call him ignorant when he still believes that he is knowledgeable. Tiresias says “ All ignorant! And I refuse to link my utterance with a downfall such as yours” (19). In this quote Tiresias means that Oedipus is ignorant even though he acts like he knows everything. Oedipus does not know what Tiresias knows and that is that the curse, which stated the Oedipus would marry his mother, has come true. Tiresias can see what will happen when Oedipus finds out that Jocasta is really his mother and wants to prevent that from happening. When Tiresias does not tell Oedipus the information he seeks he gets angry. Tiresias also has another quote that goes along with knowledge verses ignorance. Tiresias states “I’m blind, you say; you mock at that! I say you see and still are blind-appallingly: Blind to your origins and to a union in your house. Yes, ask yourself where are you from. You’d never guess what hate is dormant in your home or buried with your dear ones dead, or how a mother’s and a fathers curse will one day scourge you with its double thongs and whip you staggering from the land. It shall be night where you now boast the day.” (23). This quote says a lot. First Tiresias accuses Oedipus for mocking him yet still not knowing the information that he knows. Which is the curse. He accuses Oedipus for being blind also and not knowing the truth of his origins, which are from a different mother, and then he grew up with. He doesn’t see he has married his mother. In one part of the quote it states “Yes, ask your self where are you from”. Tiresias is hinting at the fact even though Oedipus thinks he’s extremely knowledgeable he’s ignorant because he doesn’t know where he is from.
tells the priest and the suffering people of Thebes. If Oedipus did not care for
Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus the King is the struggle of sight vs. blindness. Oedipus’ blindness is not just physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well. Sophocles has broken blindness into two distinct components. The first component, Oedipus's ability to "see" (ignorance or lack thereof), is a physical characteristic. The second component is Oedipus's willingness to "see", his ability to accept and understand his fate. Throughout the play, Sophocles demonstrates to us how these components.
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that the impact of seeing the truth is harmful rather than enlightening. Whenever Oedipus strives to discover more to strengthen Thebes’ perspective of him, it leads him closer to his fate as determined by prophesy. Tiresias stands as a model in the play for the individual who is able to see the meaning beyond plot of events although his is blind, and Oedipus represents the oblivious arrogant individual who is never content because they need to be the unsurpassed individual. In the play, Sophocles illustrates the downside of a personality like Oedipus who desires to see the truth by ending the play with the brutality of gouging out his own eyes. Ultimately, the play reinforces that seeing the truth is harmful and being content with what you have, without greedily striving for more, can help avoid fate and a related deposition.
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
In fact, every feature in the definition of the tragic hero can be applied to the character of Oedipus. First, he is a good man. He made a virtuous service to Thebes and save the city by solving the riddle of Sphinx. In addition, he is good king and he can feel the suffering of his people because of the plague. He tells them "each one of you is enclosed to himself" he tells them that his suffering is greater than ...