The Pride of Oedipus the King

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The Pride of Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King is perhaps one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. It is a tragic play which focuses on the discovery by Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment.

Throughout the play we find that Oedipus, the protagonist of this Greek tragedy, is tested by life in a number of ways. To those in Athens who watched the performance of Oedipus the King, Oedipus appeared to be the embodiment of a perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong-willed. Ironically, these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. He is portrayed as a character of social conscience whose tragedy stresses the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is brought on by a combination of human and divine actions.

Oedipus was often looked upon as exceptional rather than typical; a prominent man brought from happiness to misery. His character’s stature is important because it makes his fall all the more horrific. In today’s world, newscasts are filled with daily reports of tragedies, such as a child being struck and killed by a car; an airplane crash; or a devastating fire. A literary tragedy presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death.

It is said that a man should never consider himself fortunate unless he can look back on his life and remember that life without pain. For Oedipus, looking back is impossible to do without pain. This pain stems from his prideful life. Oedipus is aware that he alone is resp...

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...!” (ll. 1469 – 1471) was his response.

Sophocles ends this tragic story by warning his audience not to take anything for granted or they will suffer like Oedipus, a lesson many should heed. In my own theory about Oedipus the King, I see a righteous man with a good heart and good intentions. However, by seeking justice in the truth, he faces devastation and is destroyed by his own pride. Therefore, it's pity that is felt as a result, because at some level, his fate could be our own. This tragedy reminds us that even the bravest, those known throughout the world for their knowledge, are doomed if they set themselves up against the mystery of life itself, and if they try to force life to answer them, they may very well self-destruct as Oedipus had.

Work Cited

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. World Literature. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1993. 307-367.

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