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Ancient greek tragedy in oedipus the king
Oedipus tragedy
Ancient greek tragedy in oedipus the king
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In Antigone, we have Antigone who is a very determined yet disobedient girl. She goes against the King Creon’s rules to bury her brother and when confronted and punished decides to kill herself. Her death led to main tragedy as her husband and mother in law both commit suicide hence leaving the King in distress and pain. Even though the story line in Antigone is very different from that of Oedipus the King, the two plays do mirror each other in a vast number of aspects. The kings, Creon and Oedipus’ desire to do right despite being warned ultimately led both of them to their doom. Their arrogance towards Teiresas, the fear of being over throned and losing their wives are mirror images of each other. Creon and Oedipus’ love for their city and desire to do what is right led them to their doom. In both plays, the city of Thebes has been going through hard times and needs order and help from the kings. Creon and Oedipus’ love for Thebes is clearly portrayed when they respectfully say, “I call God to witness that if I saw my country headed to ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly.”(Scene 1.22-23) and “I shall assist you willingly in every way I would be a hard-hearted man indeed, if I did not pity …show more content…
Antigone also mirrors Oedipus in the behavior of the kings towards the oracle. Both Kings had bad tempers and when advised by the Oracle, they did not listen. The way Oedipus talks to Teiresias when he says, “Say what you will. Whatever you say is worthless” (Scene 1.147) mirrors how Creon’s words “No doubt. Speak: Whatever you say, you will not change my will.” (Scene 5. 67-68) shows their inability to accept advise. The horrible turnout of events for both kings would have been avoided if only they had listened and obeyed the oracle, but their arrogance didn’t let them, showing that the pride and confidence of both kings was a significant factor in their
Oedipus Rex and Antigone & nbsp; There is no curse in the house of Oedipus. Because of the many terrible things that happen to the members of Oedipus's family, a reader might be led to believe that there is such a curse. However, if that person examines the stories of Oedipus Rex and Antigone more closely, he or she will find that the reason so many tragedies happened to Oedipus's family is not because of some curse, but rather because of one common thread. Each person in the line of Oedipus tries to defy authority in one way or another.
Antigone is one of the famous plays written by Sophocles in around 441 B.C.E. This play is a dramatic and eye-opening play that really shocks the characters in the play as well as the readers. Sophocles wrote this play in no chronological order but it is better to understand the story is Oedipus the King is read before Antigone, that way it gives readers an understanding of how the time changed the characters.
As Oedipus himself describes it, Creon comes “not to take [Oedipus] home, but to dump me out on the frontier to protect Thebes from fighting a war against Athens” (Oedipus at Colonus, 783-786). Creon seeks not to help Oedipus as he claims, but to use his divine power with no regard for Oedipus’s peace or happiness. It’s impossible to be sure whether Creon would have been more genuine had Oedipus not thrown Creon under the bus himself, but it seems that way to me. More importantly, Oedipus prolongs the curse that afflicts the city as the murderer remains unexposed. This works directly against Oedipus, because he is responsible for Thebes’s well-being. By pridefully insisting he could have nothing to do with Laius’s death, despite knowing that he had killed several unidentified people, he neglects his city and lets it suffer. Socrates would have Oedipus search his life for wrongdoing and immorality, but he instead chooses to shove blame onto others, and it’s clear from the events mentioned above that he only postpones the consequences of guilt, and makes them worse to
Sophocles’ play Oedipus and Antigone have many parallel themes and conflicts. Certain characters and events are mirrored and go through similar sequences in both plays. One conflict that is prevalent in both plays is the idea of loyalty. In Oedipus, many are loyal to Oedipus, including the city of Thebes itself. In Antigone, there is much strife in the relationships as well, and the idea of loyalty arises.
Around the time where Greece was known to be the greatest civilization on earth, many people used myths and stories as an extension of their belief because they were culturally significant and important. Ancient Greece was a male-dominated civilization that created laws which would benefit only those with power, which let to the suffering of those without power. The relationship of the sexes was very important, because it showed how men were more superior and woman were frowned upon because they were treated more like minorities. Aeschylus’ “Agamemnon” is about a Greek king who would do anything, including sacrificing his daughter, because he feels as a man and a king whatever decisions he makes are always just. Sophocles’ “Antigone” is about a girl who goes against the religious values of the society, and get persecuted because state laws restrict her
Both Antigone and Oedipus, written by Sophocles, use character’s opinions and approach to leadership to show Sophocles’ ideal leadership style for a king.
Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Antigone follow the outrageous misfortunes of Oedipus and his children over the course of several generations. Throughout the events of both plays, Creon, Oedipus’ brother in law, remains a constant presence. However, Creon’s attitudes and actions change drastically between Oedipus the King and Antigone; gradually coming to mirror Oedipus himself, shifting from humility to the stubborn pride of a tyrant. Though he is the same man, Creon’s personality between the two works is so different that he can be thought of as two separate characters: Creon from Oedipus the King and Creon as he is in Antigone.
Oedipus the King tells the tragic story of Oedipus and how Oedipus unwittingly fulfills his prophecy. Oedipus prophecy was that he would murder his father and marry his mother. Oedipus grew up in the kingdom of Corinth where he believed that he was the son of the Kings of Corinth; when Oedipus discovered that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus decides to leave Corinth and try to prevent the prophecy from happening. Unknowingly to him during his escape from his destiny, Oedipus murderers his father and eventually marries his mother and fulfils the prophecy. After reading Oedipus the King I believe that one of the main ideas of Oedipus the King is that Oedipus own tragic flaws lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy and his eventual downfall.
The two plays, "Antigone" and "Julius Caesar" both contained two very similar characters. In Antigone the nobleman, Creon, claimed the thrown after his nephews, heirs to Thebes killed each other in battle. Assuming that the populous was going to find him inadequate he laid a strict rule in order to keep the people under his control. Creon wanted Thebes to prosper and grow and was willing to do anything to achieve this. Through a chain of events Creon killed his entire family.
...se Creon was not yet the king of Thebes during the period of Oedipus’s ruling, and Antigone who was not yet a renowned figure acting independently in her own will without any dilemmas. It is until the story of Antigone when Antoine’s rights are desecrated by the might of Creon’s rule and that it led Antigone to bail and revolt against it. This is the dynamic that Sophocles sees in Antigone within the society of Thebes, and through the perception of Antigone’s heroic deeds, equal to that against the behavior of Creon, Sophocles exemplify to the audience the unbalance nature in society.
According to Lines, “The flaw of hubris is easy to spot in Oedipus, but Antigone’s brilliance is so dazzling that we overlook her flaw.” (par.18) We want to root for the person that we consider being fighting for a just cause with forces fighting against her in every way. Everyone loves the underdog, and Antigone is just that. A child born to a warped family line against her will and also born a woman. At first glance, she just seems as someone who is fighting a fight that is way ahead of her time. Antigone is someone who follows her voice and does not allow others to persuade her to change her actions. Whereas, Creon does what is to be expected of him. He does not try to rock the boat. He has just gotten into the role of king and intends to keep it by maintaining happiness among the polis. In retrospect when you look deeper, Antigone is actually looking backward. In Lines article, she fails to realize that her actions actually speak of the past, something of which was addressed by Bennett and
The characters of Antigone fail to avoid irony alive; however Creon remains the sole target of Sophocles’s apparatus of irony. Specifically in Antigone, the attribute of Creon that sets him apart as the candidate in Sophocles’s eye for ironic tragedy is his incentive in his actions. Creon exhibits harsh irony on his part when he comments that Antigone’s death “gives him everything” (Sophocles, 709). His rebuttal is ironical, because it is ultimately Antigone’s death that vacuums all the love out of Creon’s life when he is left with no family. In that moment when Antigone, the daughter of his bother Oedipus, remains defiant to his laws, his desire for an assurance in power and uncontrollable rage drives him almost to an obsession in following through with Antigone’s death. Therefore, Creon’s incentive in an adamant vocalization of his desire for Antigone’s death is not because he truly feels that Antigone’s death justifies her “crime”, but rather that her death paves way Creon’s satisfaction with being a sovereign leader. Yet Sophocles takes his explanation to the...
First, the major characters in both of the plays are suffering through great pain and end up with death. The drama Antigone which is written by Sophocles, tells the story of Antigone. Antigone is a tragic heroine who doesn’t have the power to challenge the authority of the king; she has to obey the rules. However, she shows her strong will and voices her opinions and she is willing to challenge the authorities and the rules. She not only fights for her brother, she also challenges her rights to speak out her thoughts. Yet, her sister Ismene is satisfied to recognize herself as a woman in a male dominated society. Ismene argues, “I, for one, I’ll beg the dead to forgive me- I’m forced, I have no choice- I must obey the ones who stand in power” (832: 80). Ismene's words clearly state her weak and helpless character. Antigone is not happy with her sister’s response, says, “Set your own life in order"(833: 97). Antigone is telling her sister to do her own life, and that she will do what she wants to bury her brother. Antigone preferring the god's laws to man's, disobeys Creon, to bury her brother Polyneices. After her uncle found out what Antigone did, he punished her with death. However, when Creon discovered that what he did was wrong; it was too late. Antigone is already dead, and Creon is punished by Heaven with the suicide of his own wife and son.
At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In “Oedipus the King”, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic “flawed hero”. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of treachery. Even worse however, Oedipus goes against the gods. This causes them to punish him severely. Creon is the exact antithesis of Oedipus. He thinks before he acts. Creon is wise and loyal. In Sophocles’ other play, “Antigone”, however, he undergoes a drastic personality change. He becomes more and more like Oedipus. Creon commits acts of hubris, kills and humiliates people for no reason whatsoever. Once he realizes the folly of his ways, he punishes himself for going against the gods and destroying all that he loved, This is strikingly similar to the story of Oedipus. At first Oedipus and Creon seem like entirely different people. But through the course of events, they share almost identical personalities and even fates.
One may deduce that Antigone and Creon are somewhat alike. They both stand up for what they believe in, and never falter. Although their causes are completely different, the focus remains the same. Antigone is a hero in the eyes of the people, and Creon the bad guy. Therefore, when a dictator dies, his ordinance ends, but when a self-sacrificing individual dies, her legacy