Kyra Brown English 102—9:00 04/19/2024. Oedipus the King Research Paper. Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is a play written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC. The play is about the tragic tale of Oedipus, a man who unknowingly murders his father and marries his mother. Something I liked about Oedipus Rex was the irony that was sprinkled throughout the play. For example, Oedipus mocks Tiresias for being blind and Tiresias turns around and says that the same thing Oedipus says about him, others will say about him. This implies that Oedipus will also become blind, which happens at the end of the play. Another thing I liked was the tragicness of it all. What makes Oedipus’ story tragic is that, to his core, he is not …show more content…
Oedipus’ actions also had an effect on the people of Thebes. Tired of Oedipus’ badgering, Tiresias says, “Is that so? I charge you, then, to submit to that decree you just laid down: from this day onward speak to no one, not these citizens, not myself. You are the curse, the corruption of the land!” (397-401). Tiresias tells Oedipus that he is the reason for the curse on Thebes because he is the murderer of the old king. Oedipus’ mere presence in Thebes caused a plague to fall upon the city. This is ironic because his saving the city from a plague is why the citizens named him king in the first place. Most notably, Oedipus’s actions affected his father, Laius. Lowell Edmunds writes about this in his article, “Oedipus in Burma”. He writes that Oedipus and Pauk Tyaing are similar because they both killed their fathers (Lowell 18). Pauk slays his mother’s dragon lover (who is believed to be his father and worshiped as “the Great Father”) and, while he was unaware at the time, Oedipus killed his father when they crossed paths. Oedipus was trying to run away from his destiny and ended up running right into it. The final character trait of a tragic hero is that he …show more content…
However, he did kill Laius, so he had to pay for his crimes. All this being said, I believe that Oedipus was a victim of Fate, something that all tragic heroes succumb to. Oedipus’ fate was sealed as soon as the gods placed a curse on his entire family, starting with Atreus, Oedipus’ grandfather. Even though that does not excuse his actions, there was no way around it. Oracles may be extremely confusing, but they are never wrong. My opinion on whether man has free will or if his destiny is decided by forces that he has no control over is that there is no clear answer. On the one hand, people can do whatever they please, and if that results in harming others, they should pay for it. On the other hand, some forces determine who a person becomes and acts. Whether it is for a religious or scientific reason, someone is not completely in control of what he or she does. This play taught me that. Even though Oedipus committed crimes of his own volition, it was his destiny. Fighting destiny is impossible. One way or the other, it was bound to happen. This play also taught me that it is human nature to run away from things that scare us. In the case of Oedipus, the fear of living out his destiny made him run
When the play Oedipus The King is mentioned, what do you think of? I think of a very ignorant man that tries to escape his fate-- a man that had so much confidence in himself that he would put false accusations on people and defy his gods just because he thinks he is right. During the play, Oedipus realizes his own flaws while he investigates who the "true killer" of Laius is.
There are many “heroes” that are similar to Oedipus, Oedipus and some “heroes” have downfalls in their lives. In the Oedipus the King throughout the story Oedipus falls in many different ways. Their is nothing Oedipus could have done to stop all of the down falls from happening because it was all in is prophet. An example of a modern day “hero” is Christopher Scott Kyle best known as Chris Kyle he is similar to Oedipus because Chris couldn't do anything about his fall (The death of him). Oedipus and Chris Kyle were both very popular people and did some very important things and they were looked up to as “heroes”.
In Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles and translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, Oedipus was a tyrannos who tried to save the city of Thebes from a long lasting plague. Unfortunately, his short temper and hubris led to his downfall while he tried to do so. He was too arrogant and self-centered to even bother to recognize the several ignorant mistakes he made. Before his fall, Oedipus experienced and created chaos at different points throughout the story, although he did restore order in the end.
Oedipus the King The Greek period, in the fourth and fifth centuries of B.C., evolved from a small city called Athens, Europe. In this era, a sweep of talent and creativity placed a historical advance on theater, that will dominate for years to come. This spirit most likely emerged from the defeat of the Persian Empire, along with the sense of freedom and expression from the Athenian democracy. Four great writers derived from this ancient astonishment. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were three writers of tragedy, whereas Aristophanes was a famous comic dramatist. From these original works came the play festivals using masks and boots to accommodate for the size of the Greek theater. These tragedies the Athenians went to see consisted of five episodes, and one in particular, Oedipus the King, is made up of five choral odes, featuring the mystery behind the riddle of the sphinx. The dithyrambs were a beginning stage or rough draft of what the plays would soon come to be. Dionysis is the name of a theater where people like Thespis and other Greek actors performed, using the three unities to keep the audiences attention alarmed and suspense building.
On a warm, Summer's afternoon, I sat in my room, a Wii remote clutched in my right hand and a Wii Nunchuck in the other.
Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times. The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot). A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth. Travelling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.
Oedipus’ personality clearly reflects pride and determination throughout the play. When Oedipus heard the oracles’ prediction that he was to kill his father and marry his mother, he was determined to prevent the prophecy. Therefore he left his homeland of Corinth never to return. Then when he solved the Sphinx’s riddle, Oedipus’ pride rose to a new level. He was praised by the people of Thebes, resulting in his marriage to Jocasta, Queen of Thebes. Oedipus also shows his determination when in search of Laius’ murderer. He stated that he would avenge the King’s death as if Laius were his own father. He cursed the murderer, announcing “May he drag out an evil death-in-life in misery.” These characteristics of pride and determination, which Oedipus emanates throughout the play, may appear to be positive attributes to one’s personality. However, Oedipus’ actions, based on these characteristics, are what led him to his eventual downfall and suffrage.
The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have.
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is depicted as a morally ambiguous character; neither purely evil or purely good. Oedipus runs from his fate initially to prevent himself from pursuing what he believed was his fate; however, he is lead straight towards his real fate. He kills his biological father as he is headed to Thebes, where he takes the throne. Once he has taken the throne, he begins to try and save his city from the plague by looking for the murder of king Laius. However, what he does not know is that the prophet has told him who has slew the king; therefore, he presents his ignorance as a leader. Not only does his ignorance create the flawed character inside himself, but it also causes him to run from his fate. The significance of Oedipus being a morally ambiguous character is that he cannot run from his fate
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
In the play Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, two themes appear; one that humans have little control of their lives because fate always catches up with them and the theme that when someone makes a mistake, they will have to pay for it.
The greek playwright, Sophocles, was born around 496 B.C., and died in 406 B.C. During his life, he wrote many plays, one of which was Oedipus Rex. Sophocles was the first dramatist to add the third actor to the play. Actors were able to perfrom many different parts, but the play was limited to only three actors and the chorus. (Literature, page 1065)
This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.
Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.
“Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a tragedy of a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. Aristotles’ ideas of tragedy are tragic hero, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis these ideas well demonstrated throughout Sophocles tragic drama of “Oedipus the King”.