Emotional Confusion In Sophocles Oedipus The King

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Throughout the Sophoclean play, Oedipus the King, lies the universal theme of emotional confusion. Sophocles made it prevalent throughout the tragedy that there were major themes of anxiety and isolation and themes of happiness and pleasure. This generally confused the readers. There were also major themes of fate and free will.
Unknowing of his adoption, he discovers his doomed fate of his future from an Oracle. Scared for the future, he departs from Colonus to try to escape it. On the road, Oedipus discovers his path blocked by a man, who he thinks is a robber.  He ends up killing this man, who turns out to be his father, and ends up unknowingly fulfilling the first part of the prophecy. Soon, arrives at Thebes, which is being terrorized and threatened by the Sphinx. The Sphinx will go up and down the streets around the …show more content…

The best example of the emotional confusion occurs when Oedipus gouges his eyes out with Jocasta's pins. This scene is literally painful in physical ways, and is also emotionally disturbing due to the dramatic irony that Sophocles imposes. Before, Oedipus was emotionally blinded by his intellectual arrogance. Now, he has been changed by his fate and sees his mistakes that he has made, but is literally physically blind. Another disturbing physical condition that Sophocles imposed on the reader occurred when Jocasta committed suicide. Some emotional issues that have been demanding for the reader include Oedipus' hearing of the prophecy and then having to see it unfold and come true even after all the steps he has taken to prevent it from happening. The other demanding condition is Oedipus' search for the truth. The audience knows how Oedipus’ life will end up but he still seeks to find it. This search for the truth creates an overwhelming sense of anxiety and emotional instability in the reader as Oedipus slips unknowingly to his

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