Shah Khan
All ENG
Professor Seamans-Frizzell
9/9/14
After reading the play, Oedipus The King, I’ll have to disagree with anyone who says they’ve had a bad day. I must agree with The Norton Anthology of Drama which states that Aristotle singled out the play Oedipus The King as an exemplar of tragedy. Talk about bad luck, Oedipus’s life seemed to have set forth on the wrong foot since the day he was born. Truly a tragic destined life. Despite the adversity Oedipus endures, I believe Oedipus was a great person. Oedipus’s character comes off very intelligent, articulate and prideful. His confidence may have cost him a few hardships in comprehending the truth towards the middle of the play, but for the most part he was a king who served his people. Towards the beginning of the play Oedipus manifests his concern for his people, and the extreme measures he is willing to take to achieve peace from the curse set upon Thebes. His honesty to his people is evident when Creon, who was sent by Oedipus to find out how to end the plague, returns from the Delphic oracle and relays the news to him. Creon advises Oedipus to speak in private, but Oedipus did not want to hide the truth but rather share openly what needed to be done. In my opinion this exemplifies fair leadership. As great of a man Oedipus was, at times I found that his pride also got to him. Instead of listening to the blind prophet, Tiresias, Oedipus completely rejects the truth and concocts scenarios where Tiresias and Creon try to overthrow him. I’m assuming the irony between these two characters was done on purpose. The blind prophet Tiresias sees the truth whereas Oedipus who can see rejects the truth. Oedipus is blind even with his vision. As I mention blindness, for a play written in 429 BC, there was quite some vulgarity. Things that even I wouldn’t want to envision. Towards the end of the play as Oedipus begins
Oedipus the King In this Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, Sophocles leaves a lot of inconsistencies or realistic problems within the whole tale completely unexplained in order to compose a process of revealing Oedipus Rex’s guilt. This leaves the Greek tragedy to seem unrealistic because with the thought of the other elements not told by Sophocles, the story is not possible. One of the realistic problems is why would Oedipus or Jocasta marry someone that was much older or much younger than them…
In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles has Oedipus use the metaphor of calling his people “my children”(1,6) to compare Oedipus' citizens to his children, which in result, has a couple effects. First, it puts his people in a lesser position than him because children are seen in a lesser position than parents or adults and by doing that, he has more power. Second, it gives his people a sense of helplessness, which means that that would put Oedipus in a position of having to protect and provide for…
praise in the famous Poetics and reflecting upon his definition of tragedy, Sophocles’ play, “Oedipus the King”, is seen to be a benchmark for a “model tragedy” in modern day culture. It revolves around a complex plot structure with various conflicts converging and weaving together to leave an audience with a catharsis, or emotional release that leaves viewers with a helpless sense of guilt. From the time Oedipus was born, he was faced with unavoidable doom of becoming his father's murderer and husband…
In Sophocles’ play,” Oedipus the King” there are contradictory situations relating to the ability to see things literally compared to having vision symbolically. This motif repeats again and again in this story and becomes one of its central themes. When Oedipus begins his life, his parents are told by an oracle that he will ultimately kill his father and marry his mother. In an effort to avert this fate, his father, Laius, orders that the child be killed but when his mother, Jocasta, brings him…
THE TRAGEDY OF OEDIPUS Tragedy, in English, is a word used to indicate other words such as misfortune, calamity, disaster and many more such words. However, this word has another dramatic meaning, not far from its original meaning in English. In Western theatre it is a genre that presents a heroic or moral struggle of an individual that leads to his or her ultimate defeat or misfortune. When the audience and reader share the playwright's particular social perception and social values they easily…
Vision In the play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, the motif vision have developed the theme sight does not always allow true insight. This play have lots to do with the physical vision and the real vision. This have lots to do the character Oedipus and his hermatia which cause him to lose the true vision. Oedipus talks lots about vision and sights in the play but he never have the chance to understand what the true vision or sight is until he realize all of the truth. Oedipus does not have the…
(Pages 25-39) 1. Oedipus characterizes himself by in line 7 of scene 1, Oedipus says, "I Oedipus, a name that all men know."(known afar) This shows he has much pride for himself. He feels he is very important, and that no one is above him. He knows the people need his help, and he feels prideful that they would need him. The people view him as their saviour. They are relieved to have him there to help them, and they almost worship him for his help. But as for Oedipus his attitude towards the…
The Irony of Sight and Knowledge in Oedipus the King People equate ‘seeing’ to gaining knowledge. Expressions such as “I see” and “seeing truth” are used to express understanding of something, but is seeing really the same as knowing? In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s inability to grasp the truth is despite the fact that he is physically able to see contrasts Teiresias’s knowledge of the truth even though he is blind. The irony of the blind man being knowledgeable, and the seer becoming…
Curse of Good Deeds No one would doubt Oedipus as a glorious king, especially the King of Suffering. His confronting with Sphinx, his tender empathy for the Thebans, and his resolve to rescue Thebes from the plague successfully prove his greatness, which makes him an honored king. In addition to a successful king, he possesses the capabilities of investigating as well—swiftness, perseverance, and wisdom. However it is also these great traits that curse Oedipus and lead him to the ultimate truth which…
a controversial topic and through the play Oedipus the King, it can be determined that the playwright Sophocles took the side of fate. In this play, Oedipus and the people around him attempt to change destiny for their own repose, but all of their struggles and efforts were wasted. What Oedipus, his parents, and a shepherd thought was the best for everyone, was just an approach to what was meant to be. Jocasta was the first to try in changing Oedipus’ fate. She thought she could change fate by…
