Irony And Symbolism In Oedipus The King

Symbolism

Oedipus’ swollen feet

When Oedipus was three days old, his parents received a prophecy saying that he would one day kill his father. So, they pierced and bound his feet and sent him off to be abandoned on a mountainside. Oedipus survived the incident, but was left with scars on his feet. In fact, his name in Greek translates to "swollen foot”. Oedipus’s scarred feet are more than symbolic. They show the fact that he has been marked for suffering right from his birth. This shows how Sophocles had the idea that humans have no power in the face of the gods. The scars also demonstrate the irony of Oedipus's ignorance. Although his name blatantly points attention to his feet. Which are the keys to discovering his identity, Oedipus doesn’t realize his true identity until it’s too late.

The Crossroad

Sophocles specifically places the confrontation at a three-way intersection. Crossroads are a symbol of life

choices. The crossroads also represent the moments in life where you have to make decisions. Oedipus's fate has been predetermined from birth. Oedipus does make a fateful choice at the crossroads, but it was the one that he was predestined to make. Sophocles is trying to show how all the seemingly free choices we make in life have been predetermined. Sophocles makes an interesting decision by making it specifically a three-way crossroads. The fact that it's three is reiterated several times in the play, which means it has a deeper meaning. The three roads could represent the past, present, and future. There's a correlation between the crossroad and the Greek goddess of the crossroads, Hecate. This is because there is three roads at the crossroads and it was said that Hecate had three heads. Each head looks down a different path, one sees the past, one the present, and one the future. Though Hecate isn't mentioned in the play, perhaps the three-way crossroads in Oedipus the King has a similar symbolism. This idea is pretty consistent with the theme of fate in the play. Oedipus is being pushed along by the irreversible flow of time.

Blindness
The motif of seeing and not seeing comes throughout the beginning of the play, it first appears when the prophet Teiresias walks on stage. Teiresias is literally blind, but he can see clearly see Oedipus's tragic past, present, and future. Oedipus's is not blind, but he's completely blind to see the dreadful fate the gods have placed upon him. Oedipus’ ignorance on this matter is made even more ironic by the fact that he has showed his intelligence, by solving the riddle of the Sphinx and yet he can't figure out his tragic ending. In fact, Oedipus gets irritated with Teiresias and begins to question his powers as a "seer" because he failed to see through the Sphinx's mind-game: This tricksy beggar-priest, for gain alone Keen-eyed, but in his proper art stone-blind. Say, sirrah, hast thou ever proved thyself A prophet? When the riddling Sphinx was here why hadn’t thou no deliverance for this folk? And yet the riddle was not to be solved By guesswork but required the prophet's art; Wherein thou wast found lacking; neither birds Nor sign from heaven helped thee, but I came, The simple Oedipus; I stopped her mouth. (389-398) When Oedipus finally sees the terrible truth of his life, Sophocles shows his metaphor by having the king stab out his own eyes. Oedipus says he does this because he can no longer look on the horrors that his actions created. At the point where he gouges out his eyes, Oedipus literally becomes the thing he's always metaphorically been which is being blind. At the end of the play, Oedipus becomes symbolic of all of humanity, stumbling forward through the unknowable.
Theme
The theme of Oedipus the King is that one cannot escape or change fate, despite what you try to do to prevent it. We see this theme in patterns through the story. Sophocles uses Oedipus, king Laius and Jocasta to develop this theme throughout the story. In episode 3 Oedipus states “and here I am, who never touched a spear. Unless he died of longing me I killed him that way! You were indeed. I was misled by fear” This quote is right after he hears that Polybus is so called father is dead, it shows how Oedipus believes he dodged a bullet or in other words that the prophecy that was bestowed on him can’t come true. However his prophecy was fulfilled twenty years ago, yet he believes it will not come true. Jocasta as receives this message of king Laius death and responds the same way. However unlike them Laius took other extreme matters into his hand. In the story The messenger states “The ball-joints of your feet might testify, your feet were pierced”. Sophocles is not only trying to show us how drastic measures cannot change fate but the theme shows the characteristics of another character. Even though King Laius doesn’t speak in the entire story we see by his actions what type of man he is. This theme of what cannot escape or change fate despite how hard they try, can show the characteristics. Of other characters. Sophocles uses this theme to teach his audience I valuable lesson in life. That fate is predetermined and nothing you can do to change it. As we see he does this by showing how people try to escape and in the end nothing changes.
Tension
Sophocles uses dramatic irony and tone through the characters in his play to create tension especially the uncontrollable desires of Oedipus.

One characters that is responsible for creating tension In the play is Tiresias. In Episode 1 Tiresias and Oedipus are having a argument it states “I say you are the murderer you seek. Again that horror! You'll wish you hadn't said that. Shall I say more, and raise your anger higher?” This scene is already has tension because of Oedipus tone, which is anger. Sophocles used Oedipus tone because we can see he is unable to control himself which ultimately his downfall throughout the play.

However the tension in this scene is mainly created by Tiresias. Keep in mind that this is episode 1 yet Tiresias tells Oedipus he is the killer. This creates tension because the main plot of the story is Oedipus the figure out he is the killer. Since Oedipus refuses to listen it creates dramatic irony since the audience knows Oedipus is the killer. I know Tiresias creates tension because he can see into the future so he's not

lying.

Another scene in the play is also in episode 1 when Oedipus states “I command him to reveal it all to me nor fear if, t remove the charge, he must accuse himself: his fate will not be cruel he will depart stumbling into exile.” Now this builds tensions because Oedipus is basically exiling himself out of Thebes. Oedipus wants the killer to be exposed and exiled however he is the killer and audience knows this.
Tension moves the plot because it revolves around Oedipus’ determination to find the murderer of king Laius which ends up in his downfall. Tension is like the engine of the car just keeps it going.
Tone
Helplessness
The Tone in the first choral Oedipus expresses the chorus's fear and reverence for the gods. This shows that the meaning of the ode is simply to describe the city's desperation and desire to get help from the gods. They see the gods as both their preservers and their destroyers. In this ode, the chorus is waiting in anticipation for the prophecy from Apollo that they hope will tell them what needs to be done to end their present plague and please the gods once more. Since they see the prophecy as a chance to be saved by the gods, the chorus express their admiration for the gods, which can be found in the opening phrase, "O sweetly worded voice of Zeus" (163). The chorus also expresses its fear of the gods, in the line, "My frightened mind shakes in fear, quivering" (165). The chorus's view that the gods have both the ability to save and destroy in the phrase "o healing Delian Paean" (166). In this phrase, "Delian Paean" refers to Apollo as a healer. The diction is used to make the gods seem as both the city's preservers and destroyers, serves to paint the chorus's mood of feeling both in awe of the gods and fearful of the gods. Their tone is of desperation since the city is suffering from the current plague. The chorus's mood of desperation and agony can be seen in the use of imagery to portray the growing numbers of dead citizens, in the lines, “Unable to count their number, the city is destroyed, and unpitied, their generations lie upon the ground”(188-190). The image of uncountable numbers shows us that a great many of Thebes' citizens have died. The image of generations lying on the ground also shows how desperate they are to receive help. The tone of the chorus and conveying the chorus's meaning, which is to petition the gods for help.