Oedipus: The Damned King of Thebes

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“It all came true, every single word.” Utters Oedipus, all the pieces of the puzzle are together, brought out from the shadows. Everything about his past he knew couldn’t be true has been brought to the light. A man who is meant to be damned has just discovered the horrible simple truth. He is able to see it all now, He can see everything. Oedipus the king is the man who saved Thebes from the Sphinx. The man who will soon become the blind disease that plagues the city of Thebes, a city which he once ruled. The Gods have made their judgment and the prophecy has come true. The anagnorisis has been revealed. (Class lecture) Just following the anagnorisis, Oedipus returns backstage so the catharsis is preserved. Our imaginations must create the suspense instead of witnessing it firsthand. (Class lecture) When he returns on stage with the cloth over his eyes turning red with blood we can only begin to imagine the anguish he has been tormented with. He has gouged out his eyes with Jocasta’s broaches screaming his own guilt and suffering were too great for his eyes to see. Oedipus wants to be imprisoned in his own mind as punishment for what he has unknowing done to his family.

The pain is his eyes grinds sharper, but the pain in his memory grinds deeper, these words (YouTube) uttered by him as he is blindly walking down the stairs to the chorus. The word seems to cut the audience deeply, making them feel his pain and anguish. He has begun his hatred for himself, what he means by saying that the pain in his memory grinds deeper is that no bodily pain could ever outweigh the pain his memories cause him. Knowing he has to live with these memories for the rest of his days; the pain of his eyes will subside.

Oedipus will now be kno...

... middle of paper ...

...himself that he wants no pity from anyone. As a good man his last wishes were for his children and their safety. He has no flaws which was evident throughout his life. If Oedipus would have had a flaw he may have not figured out the whole situation, which would have changed the entire story. The hatred he has created for himself cannot be described in words, rather just felt.(class lecture) His destiny has been fulfilled as the man who would kill his own father and marry his mother. Oedipus will wonder blindly, killing himself slowly with his own thoughts for the rest of his days.

Work Cited

"Oedipus The King." http://www.youtube.com. 24 Sep. 2011. Youtube. 21 June 2007 .

Schmitz, Johanna. (Oedipus lecture and Sophocles) "Theater 111: The Dramatic Experience." Peck Hall 1406. Edwardsville, IL. 22 Sep. 2011. Lecture.

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