Sigmund Freud, a neurologist in the 1800 and 1900s, had came up with the term called Oedipus Complex, a theory which explains a sexual desire of a child towards the parent of the opposite sex. The ideas from his theory are based off a famous Greek tragedy with the same name -Oedipus Rex- by the well-known playwright, Sophocles. Oedipus Rex is also about a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, without intentionally being evil but is blinded from the truth.
The plot of Oedipus Rex is a great example of the Oedipus Complex. The story follows Oedipus, who was predicted to murder his own father and marries his mother; as a result, his father planned to kill since he was an infant but failed due to pityness and luck. Oedipus was then adopted by the king and queen of Corinth; Oedipus then leaves Corinth when he grew up, for he believed it prevent him from the prophecy of him killing his (real)parents. Oedipus then met with his real father, King Laius of Thebes, and unknowingly killed him without even knowing that that was his real father. Oedipus then continues towards Thebes, defeated the Sphinx, crowned King of Thebes (for the old king was dead), (also unknowingly,) marries his mother and together bore four children together. Oedipus then revealed of the truth about the prophecy later in the story, when he had to find the truth to protect his city. As the truth was revealed, Oedipus then gorged out his eyes in panic, fled the city to live a long, unhappy life, and died a terrible death.
The Oedipus complex is something that happens in the subconscious and can’t be something the person chooses, just like in the play where Oedipus was already fated to kill his father and marry his mother since he was born. Also...
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...eally realistic and written with great attention to the details. The plot itself must also at the same time be realistic but has exciting twists and turns that will keep the audience interested and engaged all the time. Considering that as some of the factors, Oedipus Rex is undoubtedly one of the greatest works of art all-time.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Richard. "Oedipus as Evidence: The Theatrical Background to Freud's Oedipus Complex." PsyArt: An Online Journal for the Psychological Study of the Arts. N.p., 1 Jan. 1999. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Bartel, Nick. "OEDIPUS THE KING." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
"Oedipal Complex - Psychology - About.com." About.com Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Wilson, Sarah. "Sigmund Freud and the oedipal complex | Life and style | The Observer."The Guardian. N.p., 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.
Worthen, W. B. (2000). Oedipus the King. The Harcourt Brace anthology of drama (3rd ed., pp.
The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.
Zachrisson, Anders. "Oedipus the King: Quest for Self-knowledge." ProQuest. N.p., 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
According to psychologist Sigmund Freud, who is known for his theory of psychoanalysis, the human mind contains “a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories” (Meyers 597). These unconscious desires then resurface and develop into the impulses for one’s actions and thoughts. Moreover, one of the most prominent and often times controversial ideas of this theory is the Oedipus complex. In Meyer’s textbook of psychology, the Oedipus complex is described as affecting young males by causing the development of sexual desires for their mothers and also jealousy towards their fathers
In “Oedipus the King,” an infant’s fate is determined that he will kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent this heartache his parents order a servant to kill the infant. The servant takes pity on the infant and gives him to a fellow shepherd, and the shepherd gives him to a king and queen to raise as their own. The young prince learns of the prophecy and flees from his interim parents because he is afraid that he is going to succeed. The young prince eventually accomplishes his prophecy without even knowing he is doing it. He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate.
The "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed.
Wilson, Sarah. "Sigmund Freud and the oedipal complex." The Observer”. Guardian News and Media, 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/08/sigmund-freud-oedipal-complex>.
Sophocles. "Oedipus the King." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 1902.
Oedipus is a man of unflagging determination and perseverance, but one who must learn through the working out of a terrible prophecy that there are forces beyond any man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he fell right into the trap of the prediction by unwittingly killing his father and later marrying his mother. By doing this, he proved that his life was predetermined by fate and there was nothing he could do to change it. He could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his suffering people, he had Creon go to Delphi to plead before Apollo to relieve the curse of the plague. Instead of investigating the murder of the former King Lauis, Oedipus took matters into his own hands and cursed the murderer, now the curse would effect him as well, because he was the one who killed Lauis.. “Now my cursed on the murderer,/Whoever he is, alone man unknown in his crime or one among many, let that man drag out his life in agony, step ...
The time period of Greek theater’s popularity was a very influential time in our world’s history. Without knowing what Greek theater was all about, how can someone expect to truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth.
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his escape, he marries the widowed queen of Thebes, his mother Jocasta. Many events in the story should lead to suspicion of their marriage, but out of pride and ignorance Oedipus stubbornly refuses to accept his fate. Together, these sins represent the highest taboos of Greek society, revealed by Socphocles’s depiction of the already pervasive story. Before the Thebian plays, the myth centered more around Oedipus’s journey of self-awareness; meanwhile, Sophocles shows Oedipus’s struggles with his inevitable desire toward his mother throughout these stages of psychological development.
Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne, 1993. Print.
Realizing the heinous nature of his actions, Oedipus blinds himself in a fit of anger and remorse - now, as Tiresias, he can see. In an age where popular entertainment is apparently guided by the maxim "more is better" (see the body count in any popular "action thriller") and "special effects" dominate, Oedipus Rex achieves its climax in a refreshingly concise and intelligent manner.