Oedipus and Pentheus are both tragic Greek characters who help create their own endings. Through their character's flaws and blindness to what is going on around each of them, the story develops. The only consistent character in both plays who is able to understand past and present dangers is Teiresias, the blind prophet. Oedipus thinks his human powers can match anything put in front of him. He forces other characters to tell him things, which again creates his tragic ending. (O790) Oedipus by not knowing his identity seems to create his own tragedy. Throughout the entire play, he is blind to everything people are telling him. (O320) He continues to badger Teiresias to answer things that Oedipus does not believe is true. If he only stopped, asking questions his fate might have been different. (O385) Because of these answers, he begins to suspect that people are plotting against him. He feels that he is above such lowly deeds. His own conceit and blind confidence in himself helps him continue towards a tragic ending. (O452-460) While Teiresias was predicting the future of Oedipus, he should have been smart enough to listen. He should have started to change his ways before he ended up destroying himself. Oedipus' guilt was beginning to play tricks on his mind. At the beginning of the play, Oedipus was on the top of the mortal world. Now he is finding out the truth about his past and his world starts to crumble around him. (O805-830) When Oedipus comes upon a carriage with a man and his servants he lets his own ego get in his way. When either refuse to allow them to pass first, Oedipus kills all of them. His own stubbornness and pride again kept him from changing his future. Since this was his father he murdered, the myt... ... middle of paper ... ...is is a new character trait that develops. Teiresias tells Oedipus "it is not fate that I should be your ruin/Apollo is enough." Oedipus' pride is hurt during this conversation and he is at the end of his patience. Oedipus is not so much challenging fate as oblivious to it. He feels his well being is not as important as the safety of Thebes. He again show anger when provoked. In Greek tragedies, you can find a common bond between characters. These characters are responsible for their own fates. In these two plays, both Sophocles and Euripides created a story based on this. I have tried to show that Pentheus and Oedipus could have changed their fate by reacting different at different points during their lives. Each chose the path, which became the tragic ending. "Both characters attempt to engage fate in a fight for truth, to win the battle only to loose the war."
Both main characters are tragic heroes, with radically different perspectives placed on the definition of tragedy with two very different stories and backgrounds. Oedipus is of noble status, he has a demanding hubris, and is in conflict with an unknown opponent, revealed to be himself. These qualities classify Oedipus as an apotheosis of a tragic hero. Oedipus feels invincible and unparalleled, something in which that his cantankerous enthusiasm aids. This hamartia leads to his exile and pain. Meanwhile, Willy Lowman expresses unquestionable pride. His passion allows him to exert so much energy into becoming a successful businessman even though his pride and drive are very impractical. His failures of the past in his career as a businessman and father show no real foundation for motivat...
Teiresias symbolizes the personification of fate itself and is an admirable character; even so Oedipus does not heed his advice or show him the respect worthy of a prophet of the gods. Citizens of the city rely highly on Teiresias’ knowledge, even when Jocasta and Oedipus are ignorant to it. Teiresias plays a huge part in revealing Oedipus’ character flaws as before Teiresias comes on scene Oedipus is very courteous of his people and seems to be a great ruler, it isn’t until Teiresias arrives that the reader gets a glimpse of Oedipus’ true short-tempered
The imagery of sight versus blindness lead to his ultimate downfall. He is transparent to the lie he has created. Also the contempt and torture he has just brought upon this city. Like the prophecy says his wife will kill herself first, then later his life will all go downhill from there. Later prophecy actually comes true. First with his wife killing herself, then Oedipus realizes that he has done wrong. He was blind when Teiresias told him the first time. He then actually saw the irony in what he has done wrong. He later then actually makes himself blind and stabs out his eyes so he cannot see anymore. This causes his downfall and later his
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.
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows their attempt is futile, creating irony. When Jocasta and Oedipus mock the oracles, they continue to suspect that they were right. Oedipus discounts the oracles' power, but believes in his ability to uncover the truth, yet they lead to the same outcome. His intelligence is what makes him great, but it is also what causes the tragedy. When he ridded Thebes of the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's saviour, but by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, he is its affliction, causing the blight that strikes the city during the opening. Meanwhile, the characters, especially Teiresias, mention sight, light, darkness, &c as metaphors, while referring to `seeing the truth'. However, while Teiresias knows the truth and is blind, Oedipus can see all but the truth. When he discovers the truth, he becomes blind. Also, he does not just solve the Sphinx's riddle - he is its answer. His birth is mentioned throughout the play (crawling on `4 legs'), and he never relies on anybody but himself (`standing on his own `2 legs'),...
The play Oedipus Tyrannus, written by Sophocles, is a play filled with symbols and irony involving the aspect of both vision and blindness. This aspect of the novel takes on an important role in the life of Oedipus, the ruler of Thebes. He originally feels as though he knows and sees everything, nevertheless, as the motto of the Oracle at Delphi states, he does not "know thyself," as he will find out toward the end of the play. The notion of seeing and blindness becomes an important and ironic symbol in the tragic fall of Oedipus, a man who could not escape his lot or moira.
Since the beginning of time epic tales have been passed on from generation to generation as a form of entertainment. Even though each epic is different in its plot, every epic has certain features in common. The prime example of their similarities is their main character, the hero of the epic. The hero's behavior changes from the beginning to the end of the tale. Since the plot revolves around the epic hero, in most cases, they are made to seem God-like, or larger then life, in their capabilities and strengths. The hero constantly has to conquer major obstacles to achieve their initial and final goal. Usually the hero is tremendously suspicious of other characters intensions. Also, this character usually demonstrates examples of hubris throughout the tale, which ultimately makes his journey more difficult. The epic heroes differences vary but in the epic tale, The Odyssey written by Homer, and the Greek drama, Oedipus The King written by Sophocles, the differences is what makes Oedipus fail and Odysseus succeed. In both these tales, the powerful gods enormously affect their decisions and the consequences they eventually have to face.
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.
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.
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
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.
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
In Oedipus The King, Sophocles presents a view of life fixed by fate. This fate, predetermined by the gods, is the sole factor in deciding human destiny. Tiresias expresses his understanding of the unchangeable fate of Oedipus, laid out by the gods, as he argues with the King about revealing the truth of all the Theban troubles. When Oedipus, frustrated by the lack of cooperation, insults Tiresias, he responds "I pity you, flinging at me the very insults / each man here will fling at you so soon."(322) Even more telling of the fated existence of Sophocles' characters is Jocasta's revelation of prophecies given before Oedipus' birth which foretold all that the gods had in store, which had indeed come to pass (332).
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.
Oedipus and Tiresias, characters of Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus," are propelled to their individual destinies by their peculiar relationships with truth. Paranoid and quick to anger Oedipus, is markedly different from the confident and self-assured Tiresias. In the dialogue between the two men, Oedipus rapidly progresses from praise of Tiresias as a champion and protector of Thebes in line 304, to blatantly accusing the blind prophet of betraying the city in line 331, to angrily insulting him in line 334. Rather than be intimidated by the protagonist's title and temperament, Tiresias draws strength from what he knows is true and is able to stand his ground.