Communication In Oedipus The King

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One of the world’s timeless classical playwrights, Sophocles, has inspired thousands over several generations, making him one of the world’s greatest writers that is still appreciated today. Sophocles specialized in tragedies which depicted people of high status being made low through circumstance, which served as examples to common people as to what character traits will cause one’s downfall. In his play, Oedipus the King, communication method to the divine through Oedipus and the Oracle depicts that the hierarchy of divine information and its reception from the perspective of the common people is measured by the amount of good fortune or direct communication with the gods that occurs in a person’s life.
Born into a wealthy family, Sophocles …show more content…

Oedipus sends Creon, his brother-in-law, to Delphi “to learn what [Oedipus] might do or say to save [the] city.” . Meanwhile, Creon asks for the prophet of the gods, Tiresias, to speak to Oedipus while Creon is at Delphi, in case the gods were silent. Oedipus consulted Tiresias and decided that he, along with Creon, were in league to overthrow Oedipus by accusing him of the murder of the previous king. Oedipus begins to fall into madness and tries to have Creon executed due to Oedipus’ inability to accept the truth which later comes into full light. At the end, the prophecy is proven true, the queen commits suicide, and Oedipus willingly blinds himself. The story ends with the now-blind Oedipus being led out of the city to wander on the outskirts of the city until the end of his …show more content…

Oedipus was indirectly appointed by the gods through circumstance while the oracle was appointed directly by a god, which translated to the amount of knowledge they received and the reverence the people had towards each one

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