More handpicked essays just for you.
Oedipus the king. characterisation of jocasta
Fate vs freewill ancient greek society
The role of fate in oedipus
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Oedipus the king. characterisation of jocasta
Fate plays a large role in the lives of the Greeks. Fate was believed to determine people’s future, over which they had no control. In the play, Oedipus’s destiny was to be the one to kill his father, and to marry his own mother. Because Oedipus’s fate was predetermined, he had no way of controlling his actions, or the outcome of his actions, throughout the play. Oedipus’s ignorance towards the identity of his real parents lead him to perpetrate the crimes he committed. Fate and ignorance hold responsibility for the acts of crime Oedipus executed, making him innocent. There is no doubt that Oedipus was guilty of marrying his own mother and killing his father, but he committed these acts unknowingly, making him innocent. Oedipus was
There are several cases in which we, being the humans that we are, do unintelligent things. This central theme has been used throughout the ages in literature, poetry and theatre. In Socrates' Oedipus, he shows that even people in high positions, like King's, are unable to realize the information in front of them. In most Greek tragedies, characters have what is called a hubris which is pride or humans believing that they are more powerful than the Gods or people ordained by gods to be messengers. In the case of Oedipus, his hubris was also his hamartia or tragic mistake which makes him the tragic hero of the play. His hubris caused several reactions that effected the people around him including: effecting his country through the plague, effecting parents through fulfilling the profecy, and effecting his own life and his eventual downfall by making himself blind.
Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. It is a very common theme used in literature. We’ve seen examples from stories such as: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Iliad. We’ve been reading Oedipus the King written by Sophocles. My main thesis that I would be talking about is if: Oedipus was actually a victim of fate, or did he deserve what he got.
-not knowing it was his biological father- could not be avoided, his ignorance in a certain way absolves him of all blame. As for the "incest" matter, Oedipus is certainly not guilty of such a thing for it was Jocasta who promised to marry him in the first place, we can blame Jocasta for the downfall as much as we can blame Oedipus for it. Oedipus is certainly not guilty of anything.
One of the most memorable and meaningful Socratic quotes applies well when in context of Sophocles' Theban Trilogy. "The unexamined life is not worth living," proclaims Socrates. He could have meant many things by this statement, and in relation to the play, the meaning is found to be even more complex.
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus seeks out knowledge and truth, even though he is warned not to mess with the oracles. However, he is determined to uncover the mystery behind the murder of Laius and to learn the origins of his own identity. But was he better off not knowing? Is ignorance bliss? People seek to understand things that go beyond their capability to understand. Obvious examples would be sudden deaths or unforeseen disasters. No one wants to feel like a victim of fate, but know one can answer questions like: is there a God? When someone believes they have an answer to a question that isn’t built on fact but rather on faith, then they are the epitome of arrogance. We see this today in religion, politics, science, and even relationships.
In the story Oedipus the King by Sophocles’, Fate and Justice are both determined by a higher force rather than by random prospects. Throughout Oedipus Rex, several characters are involved in situations where fate and justice play a vital role. Every character in the story speculates the idea of fate and justice, however later on begins to believe it at last. Fate is important especially in relation to Oedipus because it involves itself into what resolution occurs to a character. Oedipus projects the role of a tragic hero and consequently connects to this theme perfectly because at first, he was the strong and respected Greek king of Thebes who accidentally fulfilled a prophecy with no intention of happening in the first place that resulted
In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King.
The idea of fate has existed for a long time and exists even today. Fate revolves around the idea that people's lives are predetermined and that no matter what is done it cannot be changed. With the gods it was used to explain events that seemed strange. Sophocles expands on this idea by introducing Oedipus' fate. The thought of fate is strong considering no matter how hard he struggles he still receives what was predetermined. As a baby he survived the elements on Mount Cithaeron. As Oedipus was destined to live, it shows the dominance of fate. Having fate play such a large part of the play is certainly an insight into the Greek's idea that fate controls us no matter how hard we struggle against it.
Oedipus is guilty because, despite knowing the prophecy that he will commit parricide and incest, he yet kills an elderly gentleman and sleeps with an elderly women. The choice was his, and this accounts for his guilt.
Not only does ignorance have a negative impact on people, it is also “the root and stem of all evil” (Plato), which can destroy a person. To start off, self-superiority can cloud a person’s judgment; making it evident that intelligence can easily be lost to arrogance. To add on, anger and the human tendency to make rash decisions can also contribute to ignorance, resulting in eventual downfall. Lastly, unconscious attempts to blind yourself from the truth can result in the committing of major sins. Tragedy occurs in “Oedipus the King” when ignorance causes disastrous events, proving that lack of knowledge can result in their misfortune.
Oedipus at the time does not realize that he has just condemned himself. By a strange twist of fate, Oedipus who was discarded by his great father at birth and was raised in a foreign land, comes back to his home land and kills his father, Laius, and marries his own mother, Jocasta. All of this is unknown by Oedipus making him "the tragic hero conscious or unconscious of his intentional tragic act?"²
From the very beginning, Oedipus was destined to fulfill Apollo's prophecy of killing his father. Even though King Lauis tries to kill Oedipus to stop the fulfillment of this shameful prophecy, fate drives the Corinthian messenger to save Oedipus. What the gods fortell will come true and no human can stop it from happening, not even the kings. Oedipus is once again controlled by this power when he leaves the place of his child hood after he hears that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. "I shall shrink from nothing...to find the the murderer of Laius...You are the murderer..." Oedipus tried to stop the prophecy from coming true by leaving Corinth and only fate can make Oedipus turn to the road where he kills his true father. Leaving Corinth makes Oedipus lose his childhood by making him worry of such issues young people should not have to worry about and becoming a king of a strange land. Last of all, Oedipus carries the last part of the prophecy out, marrying his mother. " I would... never have been known as my mother's husband. Oedipus has no control over the outcome of his life. Fate causes Oedipus to have known the answer to the Sphinx's riddle and win his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. Had fate not intervened, the chances of marrying Jocasta would have been small since there is an enourmous number of people and places to go. Oedipus loses his sense of dignity after he discovers he is not only a murderer, but also that he had committed incest.
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
In Oedipus Rex, fate is something that unavoidably befalls two characters. The gods decide Oedipus and Jocasta’s fate, even before they know it. Trying to avoid destiny is pointless because no matter what, it will catch up to you wherever you are. It is often thought that you can change your destiny, but in reality our fate was put into action the day we were born. Throughout the play, Oedipus tries to change his fate.