Sophocles Greek Tragedy, Oedipus At Colon

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Recommended: Antigone's character development

In Sophocles’ Greek Tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus wanders around cities outside of Thebes in hopes of eventually finding a place to die. Since he is blind from stabbing out his eyes in Oedipus the King his daughter Antigone acts as his eyes and guide. They find a grove in in the outskirts of Athens where Oedipus decides he wants to be buried. Ismene, Oedipus’ other daughter, comes bringing news saying that Creon and Oedipus’ son Eteocles, want Oedipus to come back to Thebes because a prophecy says that wherever Oedipus is buried, the city will have good fortune. After Oedipus refuses and he and Creon argue, Creon kidnaps his daughters and leaves. King Theseus finds Antigone and Ismene and brings them back to Colonus. Oedipus’ other …show more content…

Since this play was written over 1,000 years ago, the language that is used is very outdated. I found myself reading and not comprehending numerous times and that made it hard to know what was happening. Today, the way we write has changed so much. You can see in this quote, said by Oedipus when he was arguing with Creon, “What care I? So long as you fail as thoroughly to dupe these people here as you’ve duped me.”(132) The outdated language made reading this play a struggle for me. The anagnorisis, also known as the discovery or recognition, happens in the beginning when Oedipus discovers his time to die is near. He realizes this when he arrives at Colonus and remembers that this is the place he was prophesized to die many years before by the oracle. He comes to terms with this fate and lets everybody know. The anagnorisis leads to the catastrophe which is at the end of the play. The reversal, also known as change in direction, happens when Oedipus receives a new prophecy saying that he will bring good luck to the city he dies in. Oedipus is invited back to the city he was exiled from years before in order to bring them good luck. Oedipus refuses to go back because he does not want to be used and does not want to help the sons who did not save him from being

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