“Your destiny is not to fall by me. That is Apollo’s task and he is capable”(Teiresias-Sophocles, 17). This is among the many themes Sophocles tries to convey in Oedipus, one of Greece’s classics and treasured stories of it’s time. Oedipus was part of the Tragedy genre and was told through plays which depicted the horror of Oedipus’ life. It teaches many life lessons and morals; much like it’s predecessors. However, a more prominent lesson was conveyed by Sophocles that was unique among their literature: that humans should not tamper with the fate that the gods give you. This moral was conveyed during a time when many Greeks started to believe more in newfound science rather than the gods. In the story, Oedipus tries to evade his fate, …show more content…
I believe they had a reason to punish Oedipus and his family. First off, they had been corrupt the moment Oedipus was born to Laius and Jocasta. When Oedipus was deemed a bad omen with a horrible future, he was cast out to ensure that it would not come true. This is much like what Hera did to Hephaestus; because of his ugliness he was thrown off of Mount Olympus while Oedipus was left to die as evident when the Herdsman says to Oedipus, “She wanted for me to make away with it — she feared a prophecy that the child should kill his father and marry his mother”(Sophocles, 44). The myth of Hephaestus showed that doing this is wrong to do with a child, and it’s better to keep the child anyway because to purposely escape fate is putting yourself in an equal power to that of the gods, which is both arrogant and to the gods insulting, since they are divine, humans are not. Second, Oedipus was also arrogant and making himself equal to the gods for the very reason his mother had. He also refers himself to being as good as the gods as evident in the lines — Oedipus, “I Oedipus, a name that all men know” (Sophocles, 5), the priest, “Not that we see you as a god these boys” ( Sophocles, 6) and Teiresias, “And you are a fool to say such things to me, things that the world will soon hurl back at you!”(Sophocles, 17) It is figured that the gods need to keep their positions of power known and respected, not a thing of myth, therefore
that their son would kill his father and marry his mother (page 56). A son was
A prevailing concept throughout Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus is that of revenge. Oedipus is given the opportunity to avenge many of the wrongs he has accumulated in his lifetime, and he takes the opportunity.
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.
He was so afraid of the pain and sadness of seeing all those he hurt that he cared dearly about. To Oedipus, not only was it just punishment for his crimes, it also helped him get over knowing what he had done. Even though this is true of the reasons Oedipus gave, arrogance played an overwhelming role. Instead of finding out if he was then staying in Corinth where he would have known his parents were not, would have been a better way to outwit the gods. His arrogance in trying to outwit the gods put him on the same road fate had in store.
The Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, was written to show the common people of Greece how powerful the gods are and that your fate is pre-determined and nothing you do can change that. He does this by showing how people in this story try to escape their fate and how it is no use because in the end, what the oracles predict comes true. In the story there are many occasions in which people try to escape their fate.
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.
Justice in Oedipus the King & nbsp; After reading Oedipus the King, one may think that in this story, there was no justice, and nobody could avoid their fate. King Laius and Queen Jocasta. fearing the prophecy of the Delphic oracle, had the young Oedipus left on Mount. Cithaeron dies, but the father dies and the son marries the mother anyway. Oedipus, seemingly a good person, also tries to avoid the second prophecy, only to be resurrected. to fulfill the first. But even through all this, I have done some research and feel that there was justice in Oedipus, The King, and their fate wasn't.
Some people say that there is no way to control your own life, that your life has been planned out for you ahead of time and there is nothing you can do to escape this fate. Others believe that your life is a matter of choice, and what happens to you during your life is a result of your actions. The story of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles seems to prove truth in both of these statements, that there is a life predetermined for you yet you can alter your life, but you can not escape your prophecy. The quote "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul," by William Henley states just the opposite of what seems to be proven in Oedipus Rex. Because of the references in the story of Oedipus, I disagree with the quote made by William Henley.
“Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.” In other words, the connotation of this anonymous quote states that despite whatever one chooses to decide, the outcome of their choices and decisions will still result to their predetermined fate. Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, demonstrates this statement throughout the play in the role of his tragic hero Oedipus. In the course of Oedipus’ actions of trying to escape his predestined fortune, his fate and flaws of being human played major roles to bring about his downfall.
However, this argument is flawed because Sophocles portrays Oedipus as being generally relatable to the reader. For example, soon after he had learned that the prophecy came true, he shows his affection towards his children in a moving speech. One part that was especially heart-wrenching was when Oedipus says to his children, “I weep for you -- I cannot see your faces -- I weep when I think of the bitterness there will be in your lives, how you must live before the world,” (Sophocles lines 185-188). Oedipus’s fate can’t be justified by his own actions because he is a morally relatable human. This contention is also supported in Aristotle’s Poetics. Aristotle writes that the protagonist of any good tragedy ought to be neither morally superior nor morally defective. If Oedipus’s punishment was due to his character flaws, it follows that every normal person should meet a similar demise! Instead, his life was the gods’ method of bringing justice to the crime perpetrated by his father. Oedipus being punished for a crime that he didn’t commit shows the insignificance of the acts and intentions of humans compared to the goals of the
Sophocles’ Oedipus is the tragedy of tragedies. An honorable king is deceived and manipulated by the gods to the point of his ruination. In the face of ugly consequences Oedipus pursues the truth for the good of his city, finally exiling himself to restore order. Sophocles establishes emotional attachment between the king and the audience, holding them in captivated sympathy as Oedipus draws near his catastrophic discovery. Oedipus draws the audience into a world between a rock and a hard place, where sacrifice must be made for the greater good.
...ir own storyline of life, a life that already has a written ending and that is destine already to you. By the end of the play the audience is left with two facts, Oedipus fate is destine for downfall, and indeed Oedipus does fulfill his destiny. Nevertheless, the truth of the situation is that the path in which Oedipus’ ultimately takes is what leads him to fulfill the prophecy. If the audience choose to see the play from this prospective, then Oedipus’ the king will become much more significant, by doing so, giving the play a far better interpretation. Although Sophocles never clearly mentions in the play that Oedipus fate is due to his poor choices, the suggestion of the storyline is full with indication that the only person responsible for his own fate is Oedipus himself. Through his play Oedipus the King, Sophocles demonstrates to his audience the outcome of
In today's society we let our lives be led by a certain force that we believe in very strongly. Yet, a common debate that still rages today is whether we, as a species, have free will or if some divine source, some call it fate, controls our destiny. In the play, Oedipus the King, that special force is also used and is known and defined as fate. This played an important role in the lives of the characters just as it plays one in our daily lives.
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).
To destroy Oedipus, the gods granted the power of prophecy to oracles that delivered these prophecies to Laius and Jocasta. As a result, they kill their child to get rid of him and his terrible prophecies. Unfortunately, these prophecies came true because Oedipus didn’t know his real parents. If he had known his real parents, he wouldn’t have killed his father and married his mother.