Oedipus the King and Antigone: Rationality Versus Emotionalism

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Recommended: Compare and contrast the characters of Oedipus and Creon

Rationality is the quality or state of being agreeable to reason; it is this item that separates man from animal. Man and beast, however, still have something in common: in an emotional state, both are subject to acting irrationally. For instance, a normally very loving pet can become violent simply because one of his toys was taken away - not to say that he is no longer loving, he is just overwhelmed by anger. Likewise, in Sophocles's Oedipus Rex and Antigone, the protagonists Oedipus and Creon (who appears in both stories) exhibit a similar disposition as the "loving pet:" while they are usually reasonable, having their fates verbally revealed to them triggers an emotion that results in them behaving irrationally. Sophocles uses confident diction and curiosity as symbols of reason and emotion respectively as well as certain metaphors in order to exhibit this complex attitude concerning rationality and emotionalism within humans.

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus's diction, as well as Creon's diction in Antigone, undergo a transformation - from confident, brave, and kingly to shamefully curious and lost. At the very beginning, Oedipus uses certain words that implicitly emit confidence: "You shall see how I stand by you, as I should, / To avenge the city and the city's god..." (Oedipus Prologue: 9) Sophocles demonstrates how Oedipus is talking down to Creon by using the words "you" and "I." "You" is only used when a person is either socially on par or superior to another and "I" is stated when one has confidence in himself. This confidence permitted Oedipus to act reasonably by trying to solve the problem by uncovering information - completed usually via questions. Once Oedipus's aggressively curious nature emerges, he changes "I" to ...

... middle of paper ...

...the truest among lies!)

Thou son of God, blaze for us!" (Reason, prevail for us!)

(Antigone Pæan: 237)

Greek philosophers centralized on reason and inquiry - "they depended on reason and observation to illuminate the true nature of the world around them, and they used rational argument to advance their views to others" (Greek Philosophy). In Oedipus Rex and Antigone, Sophocles praises man for his ability to reason, but he also displays man's flaw: emotion. In both stories, Creon and Oedipus's emotions got the best of them, and eventually, they suffer for having been so irrational. However, although their emotions brought them pain, both became better people because of it. This is Sophocles's complex attitude toward rationality and emotionalism: while emotions can lead to humanity's downfall, the resilience of man allows him to still do good things.

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