Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King is one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment. Dramatic irony is a much-used literary device in this play and its unusual structure serves as an explanation for its enduring popularity. Oedipus is portrayed as a character of social conscience whose tragedy stresses the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is brought on by a combination of human and divine actions. The central theme is the incest of Oedipus with his mother; and then, the killing of his father. Depending on how one reads the intricacies and vagueness of Athenian culture and the author's questionable character, Sophocles, in this play about King Oedipus, is viewed as either virtuous or immoral.
The most common interpretation of Sophocles' Oedipus the King maintain that the incestuous conduct that takes place between Oedipus and his mother and the murderous act he commits against his father are viewed morally. Consequently, the notion is given that Oedipus commits a sin by sleeping with his mother and killing his father, and is punished because of it. Others will argue that this sort of moral interpretation is, in fact, wrong as further research into the translation of the play reveals a rationalization of an entirely different perspective. In his individual analysis of Oedipus the King, D.W. Myatt articulates in his introduction that, "The essence of this particular Greek tragedy lies in the realm of the gods, with the relationship between individuals, their communities, and the gods. The incest in particular is merely an interesting incident which occurs to a particular mortal and whose importance lies in the realm o...
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...tever perspective is taken of Sophocles and his writing of "Oedipus the King", there is no doubt about the depth, conviction, and art with which he expresses his philosophy. These qualities have always been admired, and, as a result, the form in which Sophocles has cast the myth has often been imitated and admired. Some of Sophocles' finest choral writing is to be found in this play as "Oedipus the King" illustrates the significance of his total dramatic accomplishments. Structured within it, and suggested with exceptional dramatic diplomacy, are all the basic questions of tragedy, which are presented in such a way as almost to define the form itself. The unpredictability of fate and the way in which the individual character plays a part to that fate is what makes Oedipus the King one of the true reference points in drama and in all others aspects of literature.
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.
Oedipus’s tale of patricide and incest is fixed in the public consciousness, having been immortalized in the present era by Freud’s concept of the Oedipus Complex. Before Freud, however, much of the fame of Oedipus was due to a series of plays by the great Greek tragedian Sophocles. Instead of capturing the public’s attention with a salacious psychoanalytical concept, Sophocles enthralled theater audiences with the story of a man and his fight and ultimate failure to avoid fate. In Oedipus the King, according to Rudnytsky, the question of free will versus determinism plays a central role but is ultimately left up to the audience as the play shows both sides (108). Sophocles
In Sophocles’ tragic drama Oedipus the King, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, suddenly realizes that he killed his father and marries his mother. Oedipus shows great concern for his kingdom and his people, calling to “drive the corruption from the land” by bringing Laius’s murderer to justice (109). He summons Tiresias to find Laius’ murderer, but Oedipus becomes enraged when Tiresias accuses Oedipus of being the murderer. Oedipus, thinking that Creon is involved in this so-called conspiacy as well makes false accusations against Creon. Much to his surprise, however, Oedipus learns that the man he killed long ago is Laius, his father, and that Oedipus’ wife, Jocasta, is his mother, all in accordance with the prophecy that he had heard long before. After coming to this realization as well, Jocasta commits suicide. Oedipus gouges out his eyes after this episode and laments his birth. Although Oedipus strives to be a fair and just king by seeking Laius’ murderer, he is often not fair to his people. Also, by lamenting his birth, Oedipus blames whoever saved him for the pain he experiences. The play demonstrates the theme of injustice through Oedipus’ lament of his birth and Oedipus’ denial of justice to others—namely, Tiresias and Creon.
As with many plays from the same time period as Oedipus the King, there seems to be more to the story than the tragic story of a simple man. One way that Oedipus the King can be interpreted is as a political commentary about the str...
Oedipus has a "tragic flaw" that leads to his demise, and efforts to attribute one to him to him seem forced . In his quest to uncover the truth and rid Thebes of the plague, he exhibits all the heroic qualities that made him the savior of Thebes during the Sphinx's reign of terror. Oedipus as a victim of a fate he could not control. He had enormous control over the events of his "destiny" through the numerous decisions he makes. He chooses to believe the oracle and leave Corinth.
In the play, Oedipus the King, blindness is used metaphorically and physically to characterize several personas , and the images of clarity and vision are used as symbols for knowledge and insight. Enlightenment and darkness are used in much the same manner, to demonstrate the darkness of ignorance, and the irony of vision without sight.
Aristotle defined a tragic story as the adventure of a good man who reaches his ultimate downfall because he pushed his greatest quality too far. Sophocles advocates the definition in the tragic play Oedipus Rex. He develops the play with the great polarities of fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight to show Oedipus’ experiences in search for knowledge about his identity. Through his search, Oedipus pushes his quest for truth too far and ultimately reaches his doom. Oedipus’ reliance on his intellect is his greatest strength and ultimate downfall.
Sophocles’s dramatic play Oedipus the King takes place in ancient Greece. It focuses on Oedipus, the king of Thebes. As the plot unfolds, Sophocles reveals that Oedipus, Jacosta his wife/mother, and his father Laius have tried to change the course of events that have been foretold to them. The oracles make it clear to Laius, and later to Oedipus, that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Regardless of their attempts to alter the future, the foretold events develop outside of their control. These events lead to an unhappy ending for each of them. Mythical creatures, oracles, prophets, and gods all have a hand in shaping Oedipus’s life. Although the prophecies of Apollo’s oracles set key events into motion, it is Oedipus’s tragic flaw of excessive pride that leads to the eventual fulfillment of the prophecies.
A vital subject in the play Oedipus the King is the relation between the characters action and fate. Oedipus had the choice to either let destiny play its course, but as seen in the play Oedipus’s chooses his own downfall, he choose free will. His persistence to uncover the truth about his past and his identity are substantial. Fate on the other hand is accountable for many other important and disturbing events in the play one being responsible for Oedipus marring his own mother. Sophocles clearly suggests that both fate and one’s action works hand on hand, it is clear and becomes difficult to judge Oedipus for incest given his unawareness.
Spanning a period of thirty years, Sophocles produced three plays all with similar thematic qualities. One such production features "a noble man who seeks knowledge that in the end destroys him" (70). Although, the Athenian audience was familiar with the original narrative of Oedipus Rex, spectators still found joy in watching the play unfold before them. In the play, Sophocles demonstrates to the audience through the main character that blindness is not necessarily limited to physical blindness, but can equally afflict intellectually capabilities. Such as, he contrasts Teiresias literal loss of sight with Oedipus' metaphorical vision. Sophocles uses physical and symbolic blindness as a reoccurring concept in order to emphasize Oedipus' evolution as a character.
Even before this story begins, irony is brewing and continues throughout the pages. The creative author is using this enticing technique as a backbone for his play, and also as a key component in foreshadowing the tragic plot. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is filled with many different ironies, so much so, that this reoccurring element tremendously affects the outcome of the story.
Oedipus Rex”, by Socrates, is a play that shows the fault of men and the ultimate power of the gods. Throughout the play, the main character, Oedipus, continually failed to recognize the fault in human condition, and these failures let to his ultimate demise. Oedipus failed to realize that he, himself was the true answer to the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus ignored the truth told to him by the oracles and the drunk at the party, also. These attempts to get around his fate which was determined by the gods was his biggest mistake. Oedipus was filled with hubris and this angered the gods. He believed he was more that a man. These beliefs cause him to ignore the limits he had in being a man. Oedipus needed to look at Teiresias as his window to his future.
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.
Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error). Oedipus also evokes both pity and fear in its audience, causing the audience to experience catharsis or a purging of emotion, which is the true test for any tragedy according to Aristotle.
“Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a tragedy of a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. Aristotles’ ideas of tragedy are tragic hero, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis these ideas well demonstrated throughout Sophocles tragic drama of “Oedipus the King”.