Oedipus the King, the Anti-Tragic Tragedy
Sophocles’ drama, Oedipus The King plays out the misfortune of the King of Thebes, Oedipus who kills his father and marries his mother; committing two sins of the highest order. Although this drama is a tragedy; owing to the fact that the hero comes into ruination by the end of the play, it is not tragic; in the sense that his downfall is not merely pre-dictated by destiny and the will of the Gods but is brought about by his independent decisions. Aristotle defines tragic as “misfortune [that] is brought about by some error or frailty” (17), but Oedipus exercises free will and determines to circumvent his fate. Despite the fact that he is not able to avert his destiny, he does not succumb to
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Oedipus’ fall comes as a result of his relentless pursuit of truth. E.R. Dodds comments that “the immediate cause of Oedipus’ ruin is not ‘Fate’ or ‘the Gods’— no oracle said that he must discover the truth” (43). If he did not push for the knowledge of truth, it is contestable that his sins of the past would not have such a bearing on his present and his future. It is extremely telling how Sophocles presents forewarnings and emphasises Oedipus’s complicity in his ultimate fall. It is seen in Teiresias not wanting to tell Oedipus that he is the killer of Laius. More resounding is Jocasta’s plea to Oedipus to “give o’er this quest” (1063-1064) and the use of the personal first person pronoun ‘I’ in “enough the anguish I endure” (1064) subtly hints at the gravity of the truth he is about to uncover. His ruination comes from him knowing the faults he has committed and then choosing, decisively, to exact punishment on himself. Dodds further describes that “certain of Oedipus’ past actions were fate-bound; but everything he does on stage from first to last he does as a free agent” (42) and notes that his …show more content…
It is said that Oedipus “should defile (his) mother’s bed” (806) and “slay the father from whose loins (he) sprang” (808). The prophecy represents no uncertainty whatsoever in the events that would lead to Oedipus’ fall and eventual demise. While Oedipus initially entertains the idea that he could be the murderer of Laius, he does so hypothetically and the use of “if” (824) as the main determiner of the sentence alludes to this. The stark juxtaposition of certainty against a plausible idea deals with the conflict between the truth and what is plausible enough to be the truth. Although it does offer some hope in Oedipus’ predicament, it largely makes for a pendulum effect, swinging between almost the plausible truth and almost uncovering the real truth, an example being when Oedipus is relieved momentarily when he finds out that Polybus dies naturally (would mean he has evaded the prophecy), only to be resoundingly crushed when he faces the fact that Polybus was not his father. In doing so, however, the effect of the ultimate revelation of truth is intensified. It also mirrors the act of Oedipus trying to escape the prophecy; despite his best efforts, his fate remains unchanged. More critically, this describes the futility of Oedipus’ actions because despite whatever he does, his destiny is
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that the events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, are the result of the hero’s self determination and restless attempt to escape a terrifying destiny predicted for him by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. My intention is to prove that although the Fates play a crucial part in the story, it is Oedipus'choices and wrong doing that ultimately lead to his downfall.
Oedipus the King conveys many lessons that are relevant to people living today despite the fact that it was written by Sophocles twenty four centuries ago. Oedipus is a child destined to kill his father and marry his mother. During his life, he makes many mistakes trying to avoid his fate. These mistakes teach us about the nature of humans under certain circumstances. Oedipus possesses personality traits which causes him to make wrong decisions. Attributes like arrogance and his inability to make calm decisions in certain scenarios due to his anger causes his downfall. Oedipus’ excessive pride, like many people today, was an important factor that brought him grief. Oedipus’ lack of patience caused him to make hasty decisions which lead him to his greatest agony. Oedipus’ massive ego turned into excessive vanity, this was the first step to his downfall. Oedipus talks to Creon about the murderer of Laius. He declares, “Then I’ll go back and drag that shadowed past to light… but by myself and for myself I’ll break this plague” (Sophocles, 11). Oedipus is saying that he will be the on...
The downfall of Oedipus transpired due to the tragic flaw of his character. Oedipus was very temperamental and became easily angered. He was a prideful individual who desired to be a hero and avenge the death of Laius. His devout need to know the truth, and have the proof that it indeed was the truth also led to his ruin.
As predicted from the Oracle, Oedipus fate will be to kill his own father and marry his mother, he discovers that he has already fulfilled his fate by his insistent in knowing the truth. Oedipus is given a series of choice in discovering his identity or leaving it to up to fate throughout the play. His egotistical and persistent nature lead him to thoughtlessly make the incorrect decisions, consequently, it is Oedipus’s burden that the tragedy is revealed, not the responsibility of fate. In the mean well Oedipus and those close to him consider “fate” the main reason of Oedipus downfall. To the audience it shows something totally different, Oedipus is ultimately responsible for his tragedy. Possibly the most evident reason Oedipus is accountable is that by the end of the play Oedipus has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus states, "Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my fathers bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!" (Sophocles 1492). Oedipus obviously sta...
Oedipus choses to seek the truth about the murderer of Laius, honourably indeed to save the people of Thebes, but through this choice he in a sense administers his own lethal injection. Oedipus is warned about the consequences of his actions by Teresias when he prophesises the outcome of the search for truth. Due to Oedipus' ego which is built up by the pedestal that the people of Thebes have put him on, he does not accept the help of Teresias and continues to search. His opinion of himself being above the Gods leads him to then again shun the help of Jocasta who once again warns him of the consequences of the search for truth. Oedipus' persistence lands him our criticism, at this point we cannot criticise Jocasta as she tries to help him, and warn him about what will happen is he persists.
Goux (1993) defines the interactive aspects of fate that bind Oedipus to the community, but more importantly to obligations of the Oracle that cannot be reversed: “The meaning of the Oedipus myth is that of a deviant initiation” (Goux 76). This form of “initiation” defines the role of fate as the driving force in Oedipus’ life, which denounces any type of control over the doomed prophecy that he has been accused of by the oracle and
If Oedipus had not been so determined to escape and prevent the prophecy, he would not have fulfilled it. Possibly, he was doomed to fulfill the prophecy because he believed he could avoid it. Nevertheless, his fate was sealed by his actions of pride and determination. His pride of conquering the Sphinx led him to the marriage of Jocasta, his mother. When avenging Jocasta’s previous husband, and his true father, King Laius’ death, he was blinded by his pride to the concept that perhaps he was the murderer. Not knowing the truth, he cursed himself to an “evil death-in-life of misery”. Of course at that time, Oedipus failed to realize his connections to Jocasta and Laius, but recognition of the truth would bring him to his eventual suffrage.
As the tragedy comes to a close, the truth is revealed to Oedipus concerning his lineage and unnatural actions. Although the truth had been spoken to him about these matters previously, Oedipus had chosen not to believe and understandably so. True revelation comes to Oedipus through the same slave that had been ordered to kill him as a baby.
This short yet heartfelt speech made by Oedipus before he learns of his fate is packed with dramatic irony. He is blinded to the truth, but the readers are entirely aware of his dreadful fame. This makes the speech all the more painful and wrenching for the audience. Oh how we must pity a king like Oedipus, the cursed man. May what happened to him never happen to another.
After visiting Teiresias, Oedipus tells Creon, “No, not exile. It is your death I want, so that all the world may see what treason means.” (Sophocles 32) Oedipus is quick to shift the blame after Teiresais accuses Oedipus of killing Laios. His hubris does not allow him to even register that Teiresias words might be true. Oedipus’ parents from Corinth also influence his hubris when he questions them about the prophecy, he says, “The next day I visited my father and mother, and questioned them. They stormed calling it all slanderous rant of a fool.” (Sophocles 42) Their ignorance to the truth allows Oedipus to disbelieve in prophecies and reconstruct his reality. Iocaste is also and influencer, as when Oedipus brings up his worries about the prophecies she responds, “How many men, in dreams, have lain with their mothers! No reasonable man is troubled by such things.” (Sophocles 50) She also tries persuades Oedipus to not fret over the prophecy, allowing him to reconstruct reality to his advantage. It is through his parents from Corinth, Iocaste, and himself that allows in the aid of his
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
From the very beginning, Oedipus was destined to fulfill Apollo's prophecy of killing his father. Even though King Lauis tries to kill Oedipus to stop the fulfillment of this shameful prophecy, fate drives the Corinthian messenger to save Oedipus. What the gods fortell will come true and no human can stop it from happening, not even the kings. Oedipus is once again controlled by this power when he leaves the place of his child hood after he hears that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. "I shall shrink from nothing...to find the the murderer of Laius...You are the murderer..." Oedipus tried to stop the prophecy from coming true by leaving Corinth and only fate can make Oedipus turn to the road where he kills his true father. Leaving Corinth makes Oedipus lose his childhood by making him worry of such issues young people should not have to worry about and becoming a king of a strange land. Last of all, Oedipus carries the last part of the prophecy out, marrying his mother. " I would... never have been known as my mother's husband. Oedipus has no control over the outcome of his life. Fate causes Oedipus to have known the answer to the Sphinx's riddle and win his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. Had fate not intervened, the chances of marrying Jocasta would have been small since there is an enourmous number of people and places to go. Oedipus loses his sense of dignity after he discovers he is not only a murderer, but also that he had committed incest.
Oedipus’ murder of his father and his subsequent marriage to his mother in Sophocles’’ Oedipus the King are arborous and difficult to imagine one doing. The king’s character flaws of anger and pride play a part in his downfall but either alone or together, his flaws are not enough to cause him to commit the acts he does. Instead, his flaws are used against him to in an effort to lead him towards fulfilling the prophecy. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, primarily Fate causes Oedipus’ fall (fulfillment of the prophecy).
Oedipus’s actions are unintentional, which makes the consequences much harder to bear. While conversing with the Shepherd, the truth about Oedipus’s birth comes to light, he says, “O light! May I never look on you again, Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting, sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!” (Sophocles, 1156-1158). When he learns the truth he feels great despair. Oedipus is able to invoke pity from the audience easily as the once strong and powerful ruler is reduced to nothing. His nature aids in his failure, as it is his pride and relentless search for the truth that brings his crimes to light, this causes the purging of emotions to be much stronger, as he committed the sin unknowingly and took all measures necessary to prevent his misfortune, it allows the audience to feel pity towards him. Moreover, Oedipus harbours an immense amount of guilt over the actions which were predetermined by fate. He gouges out his eyes as punishment as, “how could i meet my father beyond the grave with seeing eyes; or my unhappy mother, against whom i have committed such heinous sin as no mere death could pay for?”(1372-1375). Oedipus tries his best to thwart the prophecy so it will not come true, however his fate was predetermined. Oedipus blinds himself, this shows his extreme feelings of regret as he was not able to prove the prophecy false. Since Oedipus acts according to
Elements of Tragedy in Oedipus Rex It is not the tragic subject matter of the text that is of primary interest but rather the manner in which the plot is developed. The story line progresses as if the reader is "unpeeling an onion. " The tale of King Oedipus is well known. An enraged Oedipus unknowingly slays his father (Laiusq, King of Thebes) and supplants him as monarch and as husband to his own mother (Queen Jocasta).