Sophocles' Oedipus

Trying to figure out who killed Laius leads him to question his own innocence, and leads into the final stage of his quest. When a messenger comes to tell him of the death of Polybous, the man Oedipus thinks is his father, Oedipus is beginning to dig into his past, going deeper than the possibility of his murdering Laius. He has become obsessed with his search for truth to the point where the people around him worry for him. He finally draws a connection between Laius and himself, realizing the horrible truth of his very existence; he has murdered his father and married his mother. This prompts him to poke out his eyes, ending his search.

In fact, Oedipus’ determination towards solving the mystery behind Laius’ death ironically lead to the truth behind the oracle’s prophecy. His supercilious “energia” is present during his speech to the people of Thebes where he states, “As for the criminal, I pray to God -/ Whether it be lurking thief, or one of a number -/ I pray that that man’s life be consumed in evil and/ wretchedness,” (30). Furthermore, he explains that, “If any man knows by whose hand Laius, son of Labdacus,/ Met his death, I direct that man to tell me everything,/… Moreover: if anyone knows the murderer to be foreign,/ Let him not keep silent: he shall have his reward from me,” (30). When Oedipus seeks advice from Apollo in order to lift the curse casted upon Thebes, he lea... ... middle of paper ... ...f King Laius and a reversal of fortune. Ironically, he had cursed the murderer to a “life consumed in evil and wretchedness.” Thanks to Oedipus’ own pride and conceited ego, malediction had turned upon him.

After Laius's murder Oedipus took his place and began the hunt for the killer. A boy leads Oedipus to the blind prophet Tiresias who when asked by Oedipus who is the killer, responds "I say that you are Laius' murderer..." (Sophocles 13). Oedipus insults the prophet and sends him away. As the story progresses Oedipus finds out where the murder took place, where three roads meet, and this reminds Oedipus that he killed someone where three roads meet. Oedipus continues his search for the murderer only to find more links to himself.

By going into excruciating detail of his murder, it pulls on the heart strings of Hamlet. It lights a fire in him to become his father's avenger. Don Andrea's detailed description of his soul's passage in the underworld, he wants help is plotting for appropriate revenge. He wishes to seek revenge against his murder, causing the eternal separation of he and his "worthy dame" (1.1.10), Bel-imperia by "forcing divorce betwixt my love and me...When I was slain, my soul descended straight,/ To pass the flowing stream of Acheron"(14, 18-19). According to Clark, "Ghosts were thought to appear before...to exact justice, to revenge a foul deed" (100).

The Tragic Hero: In Oedipus Tyrannus. Is Oedipus a tragic hero? Oedipus in the play Oedipus rex, plays the villain, a murderer and even the role of a hero. As a tragic hero, Oedipus makes an error in judgement and is soon facing his own destruction and whose ultimate fate was determined by a self fulfilling prophecy. I believe that Oedipus becomes a tragic hero in Oedipus Tyrannus because he seeks justice for his father’s murder only to fulfill a prophecy of finding out he is actually the one who has killed his father.

The real tragedy is the poor of poverty. Oedipus is one of the classics tragedy character in ancient Greek. Oedipus the king is the story about a man who destined to kill his father and marry his mother. He is the main character as a murder mystery, a political thriller, and a psychological whodunit. Throughout this mythic story of patricide and incest, the author Sophocles emphasizes the irony of a man determined to track down, expose and punish an assassin, who turns out to be himself.

That is why I believe that a point of change in the story is where Oedipus the King decides what to do with the murderer who has plagued the city of Thebes, the following has lead me to believe so. Well because of what Oedipus has set for the murderer I strongly believe that all of Hatius has broken lose. Let me talk about the leading moment in which I was felt to believe the change in the story for the tragic Oedipus. Thebes a city in plague Oedipus has Finally what Oedipus has set out to do with the murderer which was to “drive him out” and “He is the plague” also he stats “Now my curse on the murderer”, and more importantly “I curse my self as well”. Ironic of him to say this due to the fact that at this point he is the murderer and does not know it.

When the blind prophet Tiresias is summoned, the king loses his temper and shows more of his true character. After relentlessly questioning Tiresias, the perpetrator of the murder is revealed. Oedipus himself is the murderer being sought. After being insulted in Corinth, Oedipus had angrily left and set out on his own. In his journey, he encountered King Laius's party enroute to the oracle.

Justin Kim 1C-2 Oedipus: the Perfect Example of Freudian Psychology In “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, Oedipus, the king of Thebes finds out that he kills his father and that his wife is his mother. Oedipus is very concerned for his kingdom and his people. He wants to “drive the corruption from the land” (Sophocles 109) by finding Laius’s murderer and killing him. Through his curiosity, Oedipus finds out that the man he kills long ago is Laius, who is his father, and that his wife is his mother—all in accordance with Oedipus’ prophecy. After coming on this realization as well, Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, commits suicide, and Oedipus gouges out his eyes as a result of this.

He wants to find the murderers of the king, not knowing that he is the murderer. Oedipus is the head investigator for the murder of King Laius. Even though he tells the people of Thebes that, "I am ready to help." He promises the people that he would do anything t...