Themes in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

538 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Themes of oedipus rex

A prophecy of a boy who kills his father and marries his mother comes true in the story of Oedipus. Sophocles wrote Oedipus Rex, a play about a man who kills his father and marries his mother without realizing it. Oedipus leaves Corinth, the town he was raised in after being found hung by his ankles as a baby, and he kills his father, Laius, and his father’s servants. Then he arrives in Thebes and solves the riddle of the Sphinx, which he earns the ability to be ruler of Thebes and gets to marry Jocasta, his mother. In the end, Jocasta kills herself, and Oedipus makes himself blind. Some themes in Oedipus Rex are; to think before acting on something, to not be selfish or ignorant, and sight versus blindness. An important theme in Oedipus Rex is to think before acting on something. The main character Oedipus says, “It is endurable that I should hear such words from him? Go and a curse go with you! Quick home with you! Out of my house at once,” (Sophocles, 484). Oedipus curses Teiresias, a blind soothsayer, because he thought Teiresias was plotting with Creon, Oedipus’ brother in law...

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of Honor In Oedipus Rex

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus Rex is a Greek play written by Sophocles. The play is set in Thebes; Thebes is infected with a plague that is killing its crops and unborn children. This plague is caused by the prophecy. The prophecy states that Oedipus would kill his father and wed his mother. Laius threw out Oedipus when he was a baby to avoid this fate, but he failed because Oedipus was not killed. Oedipus was raised as a prince in Corinth. One day he was told the prophecy and feared that he would kill his father Polybus. While running away from Corinth to escape the prophecy, Oedipus killed Laius. When Oedipus arrived in Thebes, he freed the people from the sphinx. He was named king and married Jocasta. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus finds out that he had fulfilled the prophecy and is exiled from Thebes.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate. It is clear to see that Oedipus is an impulsive and passionate man, which causes Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy that haunts him. He flees the kingdom of Corinthian in order to avoid his fate. Along his journey he comes to a crossroad that is blocked by a chariot, and “in a fit of anger” Oedipus kills the father he never knew (Meyer 1422).

    Read More

  • Oedipus: Riddle of the Sphinx as a Metaphor of Life

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him within a quagmire of spiraling tragedy. Sophocles uses the riddle of the Sphinx as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus' entangled life, the three phases of human life, and to describe how every life-changing action or decision can influence other lives.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King: A Painful Path to Truth

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • tragoed Comparing Tragedy in Hamlet and Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - The Themes of Oedipus the King (Rex)

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the very beginning, Oedipus was destined to fulfill Apollo's prophecy of killing his father. Even though King Lauis tries to kill Oedipus to stop the fulfillment of this shameful prophecy, fate drives the Corinthian messenger to save Oedipus. What the gods fortell will come true and no human can stop it from happening, not even the kings. Oedipus is once again controlled by this power when he leaves the place of his child hood after he hears that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. "I shall shrink from nothing...to find the the murderer of Laius...You are the murderer..." Oedipus tried to stop the prophecy from coming true by leaving Corinth and only fate can make Oedipus turn to the road where he kills his true father. Leaving Corinth makes Oedipus lose his childhood by making him worry of such issues young people should not have to worry about and becoming a king of a strange land. Last of all, Oedipus carries the last part of the prophecy out, marrying his mother. " I would... never have been known as my mother's husband. Oedipus has no control over the outcome of his life. Fate causes Oedipus to have known the answer to the Sphinx's riddle and win his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. Had fate not intervened, the chances of marrying Jocasta would have been small since there is an enourmous number of people and places to go. Oedipus loses his sense of dignity after he discovers he is not only a murderer, but also that he had committed incest.

    Read More

  • Understand Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

    1856 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many great thinkers, philosophers, artists, and scientists have made a single work of Greek tragedy a central piece, or a supporting pillar their theories. Oedipus Rex is the center to a trilogy of plays written by Sophocles, which includes Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone. Oedipus Rex has surpassed these other works for a number of reasons, most probably because out of the three it provides the clearest example of a classic tragedy. In this paper first we will first describe the play itself. Then we will examine the piece as it relates to performance work, which will involve looking briefly at the conventions of theater during ancient Greece. Then we will look at the philosophical examinations of the work through the eyes of Plato and Aristotle. Finally, we will bring the piece in a modern context, and show how it ultimately influenced Freud in his work trying to understand the human mind.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Fate In Antigone

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus becomes aware of the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother, therefore he takes measures to prevent

    Read More

  • The Philosophy of Sophocles in Oedipus the King

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Greek tragedy the natural forces are destructive. These forces might be nature, gods or fate. Man is helpless in facing these powers.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Setting and Characters in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sophocles, a Greek author and philosopher, created a magnificent work of literature, Oedipus Rex. Oedipus Rex describes the legendary tales that King Oedipus of Thebes took in order to confirm that his biological parents were King Polybus of Corinth and his wife Merope. This tragedy of fate explores the depths of modern psychoanalysis as Oedipus unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother in an attempt to avoid the very prophecy he ultimately fulfills. The play was created by Sophocles, an intellectual philosopher that was born in 495 B.C. about a mile northwest of Athens. Sophocles has become one of the most prominent playwrights of the golden age. He was a son of a wealthy merchant, therefore, he enjoyed all the benefits of a thriving Greek empire. As an accomplished actor, Sophocles performed in many of his own plays, such as Oedipus Rex. The famous Sophocles is known as one of the greatest innovators of the theatre. The Theatre of Dionysus is where the greatest playwrights performed their infamous tales, it was a major open-air theatre build in Athens, the theatre was dedicated to the god of wine and fertility, it hosted the City Dionysia festival. The Theatre of Dionysus is where Oedipus Rex is first acknowledged to the world. Oedipus Rex embodies the nature of life and society in ancient Greece.

    Read More

  • Morality In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

    1507 Words  | 4 Pages

    Born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta in the city of Thebes, Oedipus is surrounded with controversy after a prophecy shows that Oedipus will be destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Fearing the potential consequences of the prophecy, Oedipus’ parents made the decision to abandon their baby at the top of a mountain to die using one of their servants. The servant’s consciousness, however, causes him to instead deliver the baby to a shepherd, who in turn sends him to King Polybius and Queen Merope of the kingdom Corinth. After raising the child as their own, Oedipus becomes suspicious that these weren’t his biological parents and leaves Corinth upon hearing the prophecy by the oracle Delphi. As he unknowingly travels to his birth city, Thebes, Oedipus murdered a man along with his servants after a dispute between them. Before entering Thebes, Oedipus is confronted by the guardian of the city’s Gates, the Sphinx who presents him with a riddle. If he solves the riddle, he will be able to pass. If he doesn’t, he’ll die. Oedipus’s superior intelligence and cleverness allows him to easily solve the riddle, however unbeknownst to him will be a foreshadowing of his tragic downfall. The citizens of Thebes praise Oedipus and Queen Jocasta offers to marry him since her husband was mysteriously murdered. Upon marry Jocasta and becoming the King of Thebes, a powerful plague decimates the citizens of

    Read More

  • Greek Hero King: Oedipus Rex As A Greek Theatre Tragedy

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus Rex is a classic example of a Greek theatre tragedy, written by Sophocles, and first performed in 429 BC. The story features Oedipus, the King of Thebes, and his story to lift the curse off of his kingdom by finding the previous king’s murderer and prosecuting him. In a crazy turn of events, it turns out that Oedipus is actually the son of the late King Laius, and his father’s killer. Due to a prophecy divulged to Oedipus’ father, Oedipus was left at a crossroads when he was a baby because it was told he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. Coincidentally, the entire time they were searching for the murderer, it was Oedipus himself who did the deed, and Oedipus who had to suffer the consequences of the preceding actions.

    Read More

  • tragoed Elements of Tragedy in Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    The impetus for the downfall of Oedipus, "Known far and wide by name" (Sophocles, 1), is his anger. Enraged he slew King Laius and in anger he hastily pursued his own ruination. From the aforementioned recriminations of Tiresias to the conflict with his brother-in-law Creon (his ill temper again displayed - "Tempers such as yours most grievous to their own selves to bear,... .(Sophocles, 25); through the revealing exchanges with his wife/mother Jocasta and her slave (whose pity saved the infant Oedipus), damming insight grows in a logical sequence, all the while fueled by the Oedipal rage. Realizing the heinous nature of his actions, Oedipus blinds himself in a fit of anger and remorse - now, as Tiresias, he can see.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Reversality In Oedipus The King

    370 Words  | 1 Pages

    Oedipus in the play Oedipus Rex experiences a reversal of fortune, discovery of truth and an abundance of calamity due to a series of events that occurred. Oedipus faced a transposal of fortune through his attempts of running away in order to abstain from his predetermined fate. Initially, Oedipus was discarded by his biological parents to prevent the fortune from surpassing; he eventually encircled his destiny and ran away from his adopted parents and went right back into the midst of his natal parents. Oedipus enfaced an unexpected reversal as he unknowingly fulfilled his fate of killing his biological father and put a curse on himself, “Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is, a lone man unknown in his crime or one among many,

    Read More

  • The Play And Theory In Sophocles's Oedipus The King

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the greatest playwrights in Greek history was Sophocles with his renowned play Oedipus Rex, which has been the central topic of innumerous psychological debates. Sigmund Freud, also called the father of psychology and the founder of psychoanalysis constructed a theory called the Oedipus complex, eponymous of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. These aforementioned debates largely surround whether or not the play and theory are directly related. It is fair to state that the basis of Freud’s complex can be detected in the story. However, to say that the play was deluged with the idea that the Oedipus complex represent is more than an overstatement. Within the tragedy, readers can see the narcissistic ways of Oedipus being manifested as well as his honest neglect and ignorance to the truth. Although some may argue that Oedipus’s ignorance can be equated to Freud’s ideal structure of the mind which speaks of the unconscious and conscious; it still appears to be an overstatement and more an attempt to read too deeply into the writer’s intent when fashioning

    Read More

More about Themes in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Open Document