Blindness And Sight In Oedipus The King

605 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Oedipus the king analysis

Throughout the story, different characters experience blindness and sight regarding their experiences. One character that experiences blindness and sight is Tiresias. Tiresias is a blind seer, someone who can tell the future. He cannot see, but he has a deep understanding of specific events. Oedipus says to Tiresias ‘’ Tiresias you cannot see, but you can certantly sense how ill it is” (6) this states that he is blind but also can see this happening. Oedipus is welcoming to Tiresias, but Oedipus is so blind to the truth Tiresias doesn't want to be the one to tell him, so he becomes rude and doesn't answer any questions and begs to leave. Tiresias then says "you berate me for being blind, yet even though you have eyes, you cannot see what evil circumstances you exciset"(8) that lets us know that telling Oedipus he doesn't see the truth of something, that Teiresias does.tiresias is in much words saying I may be blind but your the one that can't see something I can. …show more content…

Another character that experiences both blindness and sight is Jocasta. Jocasta can literally see, but she doesn’t recognize the clues to what is really true. Trying to calm Oedipus down jocasta tells him "once an oracle came to Laius saying that it was his fAte to die by the hands of his son-his and my son! However, word has it Laius was killed by strangers, thieves, at a three-way cross road. Not only is this information false she is totally clueless about this story she said word has it she's not even sure. This shows she is blind about the real

Show More
Related

  • Great Barrier Reef Persuasive Speech

    449 Words  | 1 Pages

    I’m Yukina Yasuda. I'm here to ensure you that the great barrier reef is best icon for Australia.

    Read More

  • Sight And Blindness In Sophocles's 'Oedipus Rex'

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sight. Sometimes even though you can see, it is not good enough. After all, the eyes can be deceiving. Sometimes it seems that life is an illusion. The moment you think you’re seeing the right thing, the image shifts on you. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, when Oedipus tries to see and control to his destiny he is blind but is blinded by his pride, and only when he is really blind does he see.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Tragic Flaws in Oedipus Rex (the King) and Death of a Salesman

    408 Words  | 1 Pages

    Blindness and vision are used as motifs in the play "Oedipus Rex," which are also the tragic flaws of the hero. Vision refers to both literal and metaphorical blindness. The frequent references to sight, light, eyes, and perception are used throughout the play. When Oedipus refuses to believe Tiersias, Tiersias responds by saying "have you eyes" and "do you not see your own damnation?" Tiersias also says "those now clear-seeing eyes shall then be darkened." The reference to sight has a double meaning. Oedipus is famed for his clear-sightedness and quick comprehension. He was able to "see" the answer to the Sphinx's riddle, yet ironically, he lacks the ability to see the truth about his own identity. Oedipus has become the very disease he wishes to remove from Thebes.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    Conversely, the soothsayer Teiresias is blind from the beginning of the story, but has full use of his prophetic vision. He knows the truth of Oedipus and his family, but at first doesn’t want to tell him, as he knows what it will mean for Oedipus and the kingdom. When he does explain his knowledge, Oedipus doesn’t believe any of it, due to his own over confidence. Teirseias says “You have your eyes but see not where you are in sin, nor where you live, nor whom you live with.” He is telling Oedipus the truth, but Oedipus refuses acknowledge that he may, in fact, be living in darkness.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Sight And Blindness Essay

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Blindness and Sight in Oedipus the King - Lack of Vision

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Dichotomy of Sight in Oedipus at Colonus

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    A simple process formed the backbone of most Greek philosophy.  The ancients thought that by combining two equally valid but opposite ideas, the thesis and the antithesis, a new, higher truth could be achieved.  That truth is called the synthesis.  This tactic of integrating two seemingly opposite halves into a greater whole was a tremendous advance in human logic.  This practice is illustrated throughout Oedipus at Colonus in regard to Sophocles’ portrayal of vision, sight, and the eye.  In Colonus, there are many and varied descriptions of the aspects of the eye, whether the eye be human or divine.  To Sophocles, the eye must have been a synthesis, both physical and spiritual, yet something apart from both.

    Read More

  • The Illusion of Oedipus Rex

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    "How dreadful knowledge of truth can be when there is no help in truth! I knew this well but did not act on it; else I should not have come" (Line 101). Tiresias admits his grief to Oedipus and tells him that it is his job to tell the truth. Although Oedipus cannot see past reality, Tiresias, who is literally blind, sees the truth in Oedipus’s life. "But I say you, with both eyes, are blind: you cannot see the wretchedness of your life..." (196). As Oedipus argues with Tiresias, he says in return, “You blame my temper but you do not see your own that lives within you; it is me you chide” (369-72).

    Read More

  • Qedipus. a Blind King

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most obvious form of blindness that Oedipus initially undertook was that of being mentally blind. It is clear to the reader from the beginning of the play that Oedipus only sees what he wants to see. Oedipus is quick to blame Creon for the plague on the city of Thebes, as he assumes that Creon, along with Teiresias, is plotting against him, in order to strip him from his crown. Oedipus worries too much about his position as being the king of Thebes, as he does not realize his mental blindness of the truth. He refuses to look at his own past, where instead he goes and blames others for his own crimes. Oedipus knows that he had killed man/men in the past but due to his blindness, refuses to accept the possibility that just maybe, that man could have been his father. The fact t...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Oedipus And Sophocles

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sincerely caring for his people, he desires to make Thebes lives better by revealing the death of Laius, meaning if he solves the problem, he will become a hero. He asks for the help of his brother in law – Creon, and he brings Tiresias, the blind prophet who can see from Apollo’s eyes, to answer Oedipus’ concern. Unfortunately, Oedipus has several weaknesses that lead to the outcomes. He fears of rebellion, subverts the laws when frightened, and refuses to listen to others when he is mad. He accuses Creon as a betrayer when Tiresias indicates that he is the killer and even wants Creon to die. He

    Read More

  • Seeing the Truth in Sophocles´ Oedipus the King

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, there are many references to sight, blindness, and seeing the truth. Characters, such as Tiresias, are able to accurately predict what Oedipus’ fate will be through their power to see the truth in a situation. Oedipus maintains a pompous and arrogant personality throughout the play as he tries to keep control of the city of Thebes and prove the speculations about his fate as falsities. Ironically, although Tiresias is physically blind, he is able to correctly predict how Oedipus’ backstory will unfold, while other characters, such as Jocasta and Oedipus are oblivious to the truth even though they can physically see. Thus, we can conclude that the power of “seeing the truth” deviates greatly from the power of sight in reality and can lead to an expedited fate or a detrimental occurrence.

    Read More

  • Sight vs. Blindness in Oedipus the King

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sophocles introduces a prophet, a seer, Teiresias, into the play. Teiresias is a wise, old man who has supernatural powers to interpret the past and predict the future. Ironically, Teiresias is physically blind, but can “see” the truth about Oedipus. Oedipus has trouble imagining that his father life was taken at his hands. It signifies that Oedipus as a man is ignorant to the true appearance of things - this blind man can "see" the truth about Oedipus, yet Oedipus, in all of his physical perfection, cannot.

    Read More

  • Sight and Blindness in Oedipus Tyrannus

    342 Words  | 1 Pages

    Ironically, into the play the prophet, a seer, Teiresias, who is physically blind, but who is clairvoyant. This just makes Oedipus more ignorant to the true appearance of things. This man is blind but can "see" the truth about Oedipus, yet Oedipus, in all his physical perfection cannot see anything.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Blindness In Oedipus The King

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses Oedipus and various other characters to convey the theme of blindness. King Oedipus ruled over Thebes, after solving the Sphinx’s riddle. After Oedipus is victorious over the sphinx, Oedipus becomes swollen with hubris leading into his figurative and literal blindness throughout the book. The author, Sophocles uses a blind seer to convey the sense that a physically blind man can know more about the issues concerning Thebes over their respected rulers Oedipus, and Jocasta who were not physically blind like the blind seer. Oedipus was not only just blind to the issues concerning Thebes he was blind to almost everything else. Then when the truth comes out blindness is even emphasized more with Oedipus blinding his self physically. His hubris is caused by many things one may be him thinking he has evaded his cursed prophecy, and even having his own townspeople pray to him as if he were one of the God’s. Blindness in Oedipus Rex was both literal and figurative. People can be physically blind as well as be blinded by the truth figuratively.

    Read More

  • tragoed Elements of Tragedy in Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    As each successive "layer of the onion" is unpeeled, Oedipus is brought a step closer to realizing the true nature of his actions. Foretold in prophecy and initiated by his anger, the downfall of Oedipus comes to fruition as all facts gradually come to light. This "enlightening" starts with the revelations of a blind prophet named Tiresias. Though sightless, Tiresias can "see" the truth. He argues with Oedipus ".you have your sight, and do not see..

    Read More

More about Blindness And Sight In Oedipus The King

Open Document