Prophecies In Oedipus The King

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Since the beginning of time, prophecies have been passed down directly from the Gods to the prophets. In “Oedipus the King”, Laius and Jocasta were told a horrible prophecy that their son would kill his father and marry his mother. To make sure the prophecy does not some true, they give the baby to a shepherd to be taken to the mountain side to be killed by exposure. The shepherd felt bad and gave the baby to another shepherd who gave him to the king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope. Oedipus is told by a drunk man that Polybus and Merope are not his real parents. He goes to the Oracle to ask the gods but they ignore his question and instead tell him that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In order to save his ‘parents’, he …show more content…

Oedipus has an emotional struggle with the crime he was committed and his fate; the fact that he killed his father and married his mother.When Oedipus finds out about everything he has done he cries out, “O light, may i look on you for the last time! /I, Oedipus, /Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, /Damned in the blood he shed with his own hand!” (Scene 4. antistrophe. 71-74). He is so overwhelmed by everything that he has just found out he starts yelling because he cannot bear what he was just told. After Jocasta hangs herself, Oedipus has a conversation with Choragos. During this conversation, Oedipus says, “But the blinding hand was my own! /How could i bear to see /When all my sight was horror everywhere?” (Exodos. strophe 2. 112-114). Because of the guilt and emotional trauma, he decides to take his eyesight. He does this because he does not want to see anymore of his life unravel in front him. He does not want to see the effect of his unfortunate fate. He does not handle his fate well and gets a little rational with his actions. The clash between him and his fate makes this a metaphysical …show more content…

It was said that the boy would kill his own father
OEDIPUS. Then why did you give him over to this old man?
SHEPHERD. I pitied the baby, my king, and i thought that this man would take him far away to his own country. He saved him-but for what a fate! For if you are what this man says you are, no man living is more wretched than Oedipus. (Scene 4. antistrophe. 62-69).
Because the shepherd saved his life, he was forced to live through his fate. If the shepherd would have let him die, the prophecy would have never come true. After the shepherd saves his life, there is nothing he can do to stop the chain of events because that is what the Gods planned for his fate to

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