Oedipus the King, also known as Oedipus Rex was a tragic play written by Sophocles around 429 BC. The story of Oedipus is one of blindness, growth, deception, and fate, and Sophocles gives the reader several shocks throughout the play. The play begins with the citizens of Thebes begging their ruler, Oedipus to lift the plague that is causing their city to come to ruins. His brother-in-law Creon returns with news from the Oracle at Delphi stating that they must find the murderer of the previous king of Thebes, Laius. Oedipus quickly sets out to attempt to solve this mystery. Oedipus then calls upon the blind seer Tiresias to tell him who killed Laius. Upon finding out that Tiresias has told Oedipus that he is the murderer, he sends Tiresias away. While leaving, Tiresias explains the marriage between a …show more content…
Here one sees that even after obtaining all this knowledge Oedipus, who does not believe any of it, goes on his journey to find Laius’ murderer. At this point one theme makes itself clear, Oedipus refuses to accept the truth in his life, and Sophocles makes it a point to bring this up several times through the use of tragic irony, symbolism, and repetition throughout the play. Sophocles’ use of irony displays to the reader that Oedipus is not as much of a visionary as he is made out to be. One of the more iconic portrayals of this would be the scene where Tiresias frames Oedipus for the murder of Laius. In the scene, Tiresias states, “I have said what I came here to say not fearing your countenance; there is no way you can hurt me. I tell you, king, this man, this murderer (whom you have long declared you are in search of, indicting him in threatening proclamation as
At the very core of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus the King, lies emotional confusion. Sophocles purposely creates within his readers this sense of emotional confusion and self-awareness through his use of both disquietude and pleasure.
In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the reader finds Oedipus as an overzealous king, but one that cares deeply for the people who are under his rule. After solving the mystery of the Sphinx and under the belief that he has escaped the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother, Oedipus’ self-confidence goes into over drive. His compassion, for the pain and suffering his people are under, causes him to pronounce a curse on the murderer of Laius. Unknown to the king, he is condemning himself for the crime he committed years ago.
In the play “Oedipus Rex by Sophocles” the themes of sight and blindness are produced to develop in the readers mind that it is not the eyesight, but insight that holds the key to truth and without It no amount of knowledge can help uncover the truth. Insight can be described as the ability to see what is going to happen. Characters like Oedipus and Teiresias hold a significant role in the play and other characters like Iocaste are also important in the play.
Sophocles’ use of symbolism and irony is shown in Oedipus Tyrannus through his use of the notion of seeing and blindness. This common motif is extended throughout the play and takes on a great significance in the development of the plot. In an effort to escape his god given prophecy, Oedipus tragically falls into the depths of unthinkable crimes as a result of the mental blindness of his character; thus never escaping his lot.
Oedipus’ inner blindness lead to him being a static character and having a downfall with
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that the impact of seeing the truth is harmful rather than enlightening. Whenever Oedipus strives to discover more to strengthen Thebes’ perspective of him, it leads him closer to his fate as determined by prophesy. Tiresias stands as a model in the play for the individual who is able to see the meaning beyond plot of events although his is blind, and Oedipus represents the oblivious arrogant individual who is never content because they need to be the unsurpassed individual. In the play, Sophocles illustrates the downside of a personality like Oedipus who desires to see the truth by ending the play with the brutality of gouging out his own eyes. Ultimately, the play reinforces that seeing the truth is harmful and being content with what you have, without greedily striving for more, can help avoid fate and a related deposition.
In the beginning of the passage, Sophocles uses Oedipus' begging, respectful tone coupled with dramatic irony to portray Oedipus' beguiling nature; Sophocles then shifts Oedipus's tone to a harsh one, condemning Laius’s killer. Sophocles uses these shifts in tone coupled with dramatic irony and situational irony to reference that Oedipus, obstinately ignoring his fate, would be his own downfall. Sophocles begins the passage with Oedipus attempting to please Tiresias by using flattering diction coupled with a beguiling tone as he calls Tiresias the "'master of all omens,"' Sophocles is alluding to the fact that Oedipus, like all
Through the play “Oedipus the King”, there is a recurring pattern of sight and blindness, not just physical blindness but blindness of knowledge as well. In the beginning of the play Oedipus has a fine sight of vision, but he is ignorant to the truth. On the other side Tiresias is literally blind, but he can see Oedipus past, present, and future. Oedipus eyes work fine but as the play progresses he is completely blinded by the fate that the gods have placed on him. The blindness in the play symbolizes “seeing” and “knowledge”, Tiresias who can see through knowledge where Oedipus can physically see. Sight vs Blindness is a theme that appears in the play which appears when Tiresias, who is a blind prophet is revealing that Oedipus is the killer himself. Oedipus in denial refuses to believe Tiresias and continues to blame the murder on others. Throughout the conversation between Oedipus and
Firstly , Oedipus The King , he was physically blinded by the truth and he did not know what was going on in his life . Oedipus was so blind , that he did not know he was married to his mother . Oedipus was the father of his mother’s two children , and his mother always thought of him being dead . He didn’t know that he killed his father , which is the King , and he didn’t know he was taken away from Thebes . Oedipus’ blindness led to wrong things in his life and they led to destruction . Oedipus says , “Then hear, — I’ll not be proved a murderer.”(Line 668) Oedipus is saying that he can not be proved of being a murderer , but he does not know that he killed his biological father .
Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times. The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot). A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth. Travelling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.
People can be “blinded” to the truth. The answer to their question or solution to their problem may have been obvious. Yet, they could not "see" the answer. They were blinded to the truth. Associations have been made between being blind and enlightened. A blind person is said to have powers to see invisible things. They "see" into the future. The blind may not have physical sight, but they have another kind of vision. In Sophocles' King Oedipus, Teiresias, the blind prophet, presents the truth to King Oedipus and Jocasta. Oedipus has been blinded to the truth his whole life. When he does find the truth, he loses his physical vision. Because of the truth, Oedipus blinds himself. Jocasta was blind to the true identity of Oedipus. Even when she found out the truth, she refused to accept it. In this case, those who are blind ultimately do have a higher vision - the truth.
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.
Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus the King is the struggle of sight vs. blindness. Oedipus’ blindness is not just physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well. Sophocles has broken blindness into two distinct components. The first component, Oedipus's ability to "see" (ignorance or lack thereof), is a physical characteristic. The second component is Oedipus's willingness to "see", his ability to accept and understand his fate. Throughout the play, Sophocles demonstrates to us how these components.
Rejecting the truth and being oblivious to all of the apparent signs will lead to his disastrous end. Sophocles expresses the next chronological action of Oedipus’ mistakes that tragically ruins him. Denial is the act of proclaiming that something is not true. Ironically, Oedipus often does this when the truth is presented to him. He lets his pride get in the way and builds a wall to protect his ego. For example, Oedipus says “much as you want. Your words mean nothing-futile” (lines 416). This is the scene where Tiresias finally revealed the truth to Oedipus because of his persistent desire to know. Tiresias told Oedipus that he was the one responsible for Laius’ death. Oedipus quickly dismissed the acquisition, once again letting his pride blind him from the truth. While at the same time, his stubbornness is getting in the way of listening to Tiresias. By Oedipus making this statement, it is clear that he is too stubborn to hear what anyone else has to say, especially if it is negative. It is also very ironic how in the beginning, Oedipus badly wanted Tiresias to tell him what information he knew about Laius’ killing, but when Tiresias was forced to say it, Oedipus immediately silenced Tiresias. Oedipus did not want to listen to him nor did he give him a chance to explain. He also accuses other people and puts the blame on them whenever he is uneasy
Irony used from beginning to end and with each statement made by Oedipus about finding the killer of Laius. Although the audience is familiar with the story they are fully invested in Oedipus. Because Sophocles uses irony in his play it makes the audience empathize with the protagonist. Oedipus becomes human, a tangible character that experiences the same emotions as everyday people. The thing that makes Oedipus even more human is that he is a victim of a fate assigned to him before he was born. He unknowingly carries out the prophecy destined for him which leads to the discovery that he was abandoned at birth by his biological parents; with this discovery a sense of his identity is taken from him. A character so arrogant normally does not receive empathy from the audience, however, he is still very much an innocent fragile human being punished for his father’s defiance. Sophocles used irony to bring a new twist to a familiar story. The use of irony keeps the audience ahead of the protagonist yet still eagerly awaiting his reaction to the obstacles before him; even though they know his fate the audience wants to see how he deals with his unfortunate