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Tragic elements in Sophocles theban plays
Concept of destiny in oedipus rex
Concept of destiny in oedipus rex
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Oedipus’s destiny
Every play written by Greek playwrights and Shakespeare was to the most tragic and crucial ending possible, as back in the day, Greeks and Shakespeare enjoyed misery and tragic ways of characters death. Indeed the play being focused on in this paragraph is a tragedy. Oedipus, is a play, by Sophocles. This play concentrates on the protagonist, Oedipus. His unavoidable fate, to die through blindness. He was accused of false accusation, as he tried to prove innocent but failed to do so. “I say you are the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek. (Sophocles 416). Teiresias, believes that Oedipus was the one behind the king’s death. He judges based of assumption rather then proof or evidence. He continued to believe false
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Not only are assumptions made, Teiresias had the idea in mind of his destiny being greater than Oedipus’s. His words foreshadow Oedipus’s destiny, as the end result leads to his death. Due to him not taking Teiresias’s advice, it only further convinced the rest of the characters in the play that Oedipus was guilty of the murder, due to his tragic death. All in all, Oedipus was doomed from the start. From beginning to end his words meant nothing to the characters. “For God’s sake, tell me what you saw in me, what cowardice or what stupidity, that made you lay a plot like this against me? Did you imagine I should not observe the crafty scheme that stole upon me or seeing it, take no means to counter it?” (Sophocles 622). As hard as Oedipus tried to prove himself innocent, everyone went against him. As a result, Oedipus gouged his eyes out. This correlates to the main idea of the play, blindness towards the truth. This was how Oedipus’s destiny was to come. In order to find his destiny he had to become blind, which ended up happening in the end. Whereas the beginning he wanted to be proven innocent, which turned to him being blind to all the warnings. His solution to not being able to see the signs, he became blind as he refused be able to see anymore. His fate to die was destined. Oedipus made his fate true by blinding himself. All in all, Oedipus was destined to die this tragic way. It all fell into place. One incident lead to
Oedipus’ downfall was caused by his lack of knowledge, hasty decisions, and false justice. Bernard Knox says this clearly “these attributes of divinity – knowledge, certainty, justice - are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he was the perfect example if the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice”. Oedipus was meant do the crimes he committed based on the actions of his parents, but he did not have certainty of knowledge and made the rest of his life miserable. Oedipus caused his own downfall by lacking the qualities of knowledge, certainty, and
“…they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me!” These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth of his past. It is ironic how a person blessed with perfect physical vision could in reality be blind to to matters of life and conscience. During his prime as King of Thebes, Oedipus is renowned for his lucidity and his ability to rule with a clear concept of justice and equality. The people loved him for his skill and wit, as he saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. As a result, Oedipus became overly confident, and refuses to see that he may be the cause of the malady that is plaguing his kingdom. Although physically Oedipus has full use of his eyes, Sophocles uses sight to demonstrate how Oedipus is blind to the truth about his past what it might me for both him and his kingdom. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus gouges out his eyes, so he won’t have to look upon his children, or the misfortune that is his life. Once physically unable to see, Oedipus has clear vision as to his fate, and what must be done for his kingdom and his family
In the play when Oedipus asks Teiresias to reveal the murderer of King Laois, Teiresias blames Oedipus as the murderer and Oedipus denies the blame and gets angry on Teiresias. The chorus even denies the blame on Oedipus and takes Oedipus’ side. The chorus says the following lines to protect Oedipus “This is the king who solved the famous riddle, and towered up, most powerful of men. No mortal eyes but looked on him with envy, Yet in the end ruin swept over him”(Freud 988). Oedipus on the other hand who is really mad at Teiresias blames him and Creon for plotting against him. As Oedipus was blind from the start he was unaware of his origins which will cause him to trigger the unavoidable chain of events that would lead to the fulfilment of the prophecy. But he didn’t knew the fate itself was unavoidable. The irony of theme sight and blindness is produced here when Oedipus is compared to Teiresias. Oedipus who is not blind and has the capability to see with both of his eyes doesn’t finds anything wrong in killing a man, who he later discovers was King Laois and his group. He even took over the throne of Thebes and was found to be lying with his mother thinking her as his wife and having babies with her. On the other hand is Teiresias who is really blind and unable to see than...
Before we approach this complex question inductively, we are at first obliged to contemplate what definitions and assumptions are being made. This essay, perhaps more so than others, requires a more extensive look at this aspect of the question, because of the sheer variety of possible responses. However, I now have reduced them to three possibilities. Firstly, we could make the assumption that perhaps as destiny controls all fates, then Oedipus' character was created long before he was conceived. On the other hand, we could also say that perhaps Oedipus' horrific fate came about because of his character and fate. The final possibility is that everything is inevitable - therefore no one ever has had any say in their own fate, let alone Oedipus. In this essay I would like to discuss these three ideas, and perhaps draw a conclusion at the end on which I feel to be the most valid.
The first of Oedipus’ fatal traits is naiveté, a flaw which causes him to unknowingly weave his own inescapable web of complications. While searching for the murderer of Laius, Creon recommends that Oedipus ask the blind prophet, Teiresias, for his thoughts. Teiresias and Oedipus begin an argument after the prophet accuses Oedipus as the murderer, and Oedipus retaliates by calling the blind man a fool. Teiresias responds with “A fool? Your parents thought me sane enough.” To which Oedipus then replies “My parents again!- Wait: who were my parents” (Sophocles, Oedipus Rex. 1.1. 423-424)? Oedipus’ naiveté regarding his parents plays a big part in his downfall because he does not know that Laius and Jocasta were his real parents. If he knows this at the time, then Oedipus could realize Teiresias is correct, and that he truly is the murderer. Another proof of Oedipus’ naiveté occurred in the second scene of part one when Oedipus returns after his talk with Teiresias and believes Creon is an enemy. He speaks towards Creon saying “You speak well: there is one fact; but I find it hard/ To learn from the deadliest enemy I have” (Sophocles, Oedipus Rex. 1.2. 5...
No one can be held fully responsible for actions committed under some kind of external constraint, and for the case of Oedipus, such constraint might be exerted by god. But it does not mean that Oedipus suffers not because of his guilt, but of his goodness, because Oedipus is responsible for those actions which are not performed under constraint. Oedipus has choices, but every time he chooses the wrong one even he knew that the one he chose will turn out to be bad. He still chooses this road to certain extend, is because of his arrogant pride. I think the events of the play are Oedipus fault. Oedipus makes important mistakes or errors in judgment that lead to this ending. His pride, blindness, and foolishness all play a part in the tragedy that befalls him.
Throughout Oedipus’ quest to disprove prophecy and discover the truth about his life, his incredible hubris causes his reaction to his final discovery to be one that flaws his nobility. Upon realizing the truth, Oedipus gouges out his own eyes in attempt to become superior because he is amazed at the fact that a Tiresias, a blind prophet who he has just recently insulted because of his inability to physically see, was able to project Oedipus’ fate and outsmart the ever so noble and ever perfect Oedipus (which is how he invasions himself.) Oedipus’ desire to be the best at everything overwhelms him as he gouges out his own eyes to make himself even more superior, because his false perceptions about the true powers of blindness and sight has led him to believe that being blind makes you superior: “I did it all myself! What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy.” (241) The fact that Oed...
Oedipus the King by Sophocles is the story of a man who was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. The story continues in the tradition of classic Greek plays, which were based upon the Greeks’ beliefs at the time. The ancient Greeks believed that their gods decided what would ultimately happen to each and every person. Since those gods destined Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus’ life was definitely fated. However, the gods only decided where Oedipus’ life would eventually lead; they never planned the route he would take to get there. All the decisions that Oedipus made in order to fulfill his destiny, and the decisions he made after the fact, were of his own free will, and were largely shaped by his mien.
In conclusion, Oedipus the King consisted of fate and free will. Not one more than the other because in order for fate to have taken its course; Oedipus had to use his free will to get there. Oedipus’s choices of free will to make his decision to find his identity, marry Jocasta, stay in Thebes, all led him to his fate of fulfilling the prophecy. Without even knowing it, the thing he tried so hard to run away from and prevent from happening was ultimately inevitable and it resulted in this great tragedy.
Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus the King is the struggle of sight vs. blindness. Oedipus’ blindness is not just physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well. Sophocles has broken blindness into two distinct components. The first component, Oedipus's ability to "see" (ignorance or lack thereof), is a physical characteristic. The second component is Oedipus's willingness to "see", his ability to accept and understand his fate. Throughout the play, Sophocles demonstrates to us how these components.
As predicted from the Oracle, Oedipus fate will be to kill his own father and marry his mother, he discovers that he has already fulfilled his fate by his insistent in knowing the truth. Oedipus is given a series of choice in discovering his identity or leaving it to up to fate throughout the play. His egotistical and persistent nature lead him to thoughtlessly make the incorrect decisions, consequently, it is Oedipus’s burden that the tragedy is revealed, not the responsibility of fate. In the mean well Oedipus and those close to him consider “fate” the main reason of Oedipus downfall. To the audience it shows something totally different, Oedipus is ultimately responsible for his tragedy. Possibly the most evident reason Oedipus is accountable is that by the end of the play Oedipus has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus states, "Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my fathers bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!" (Sophocles 1492). Oedipus obviously sta...
One event that directly led Oedipus to his fate was at the crossroads where Oedipus killed his biological father unknowingly. If Oedipus has acted wiser when King Laius struck him to move out of the road, Oedipus may have successfully avoided his fate. Oedipus also could have avoided marrying his mother, if he never went to Thebes or defeated the Sphinx by answering the Sphinx’s riddle correctly. Oedipus did have the ability to refuse to take the place of King Laius, he also had the ability to discontinue his investigation of King Laius’ death, however in his own free will Oedipus choose to continue his investigation by dig deeper to the root of his existence. While Oedipus’ personality ensures his fate to become reality, Jocasta and Laius also assisted Oedipus ' destiny to become reality. If Laius never struck Oedipus to move out of the road, King Laius may have returned safely to his queen and avoided his fate of being killed by his own son, and for Jocasta, she could have simply refused to marry someone half her age. After discovering his identity, Oedipus didn’t blame anyone for his misfortune not his parents, the servant that saved him as a baby or even the Oracle but himself. He chose to accept the consequences of his action, as he
In the play, Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus is faced with a dilemma. Being the child of an unlucky prophecy, he is destined to fall, yet he tries to avoid his fate by actions such as leaving his city. Although he believes that he is outsmarting the gods by leaving Corinth, he is just being led towards his own demise. Although it seems as if Oedipus’ hubris and metaphorical blindness prevents him from escaping his horrible fate, he is unable to change his destiny, making him a victim of fate, illustrating the fact that fate is the main driving force and catalyst for Oedipus’ downfall.
There are multiple factors that could lead Oedipus to doing this. While fate played a major role in this action it is certainly not the
In fact, Oedipus is doomed to kill his father, marry his mother and finally to be blind. It was his destiny or fate; he has nothing to do with this end or to prevent it. It was his fate which was manipulating him; drive him from Cornith to kill his father and then to Thebes to marry his mother. His destiny made him "his wife's son, his mother husband." By the hands of fate, he turned to be the most hated man in Thebes and "the man whose life is hell for others and for himself."