Use of Disquietude and Pleasure in Oedipus the King
At the very core of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus the King, lies emotional confusion. Sophocles purposely creates within his readers this sense of emotional confusion and self-awareness through his use of both disquietude and pleasure.
When he grows up, unknowing of his adoption, he discovers his doomed fate from an Oracle. Seeking to escape it, he flees from Colonus. Once upon the road, Oedipus discovers his path blocked by a man, whom he perceives to be a robber. He kills this man, who turns out to be his father, and unknowingly fulfills the first part of the prophecy. Soon, he comes to Thebes, which is being terrorized by a terrible monster, the Sphinx. The Sphinx
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The most obvious example occurs when Oedipus gouges his eyes out with Iocaste's broaches. This scene is vividly described by the Chorus of Theban Elders, "Deep, how deep you drew it then, hard archer, At a dim fearful range, and brought dear glory down" (name of author and page #). Not only is this scene physically disturbing, but it is emotionally disturbing due to the dramatic irony. Oedipus, before this, was blinded by his intellectual arrogance. Now, he has been humbled by fate and sees his mistakes, but is physically blind. Along with this example, there are two other examples of disturbing physical events. They occur when Iocast? hangs herself and when young Oedipus' ankles are pierced and he is left to die on the hillside. There are also two other significant emotional examples. Oedipus' hearing of the prophecy and then having to see it come true despite all he has done to prevent it, is one. The other occurs due to Oedipus' search for the truth. The audience knows the truth of Oedipus' fate, yet he still seeks to find it. This search creates an overwhelming sense of anxiety in the reader as Oedipus marches unknowingly towards his …show more content…
There are, however, subtle instances of pleasure that effectively create a healthy sense of confusion in the reader. Despite failing to abate the disturbing feelings created by the actions of the play, the fact that the story's events take place within one day and the plot is suspenseful and grabbing, make this play an effortless one to watch or read. Also, the reader ultimately receives a sense of pleasure due to the closure caused by justice being served at the finale of the play and Oedipus being punished. Additionally, there is a sense of pleasure derived when Oedipus discovers the truth of his fate. The feeling that his mad quest for the truth is finally over gives the reader a sense of relief. Teiresias' vindication at the end of the play, after being denounced by Oedipus in the beginning for prophesying the truth, also provides pleasure. Finally, Sophocles' use of universal themes creates pleasure by allowing the reader to relate to the story. The theme and moral of the play, which is clearly stated by Iocast? when she says, "Since Fate rules us and nothing can be foreseen? A man should live only for the present day" is a moral that many people can associate with their personal
point in the story. "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles is one such story. In the story
Decisional Conflict R/T Cultural, religious and family beliefs AEB Amish typically do not believe in preventative medicine (Prenatal testing and immunizations).
In 1829 a man named Sir Robert Peel established the first modern police force that wasn’t a part of the military. The New York City police force was created in 1844. These men wore uniforms and carried guns with them. This police force worked twenty-four hours of the day to protect its citizens within the city. An effort to create a statewide police force was made in Texas in 1835. These uniformed men protected against crime and were called the Texas Rangers. Only until 1905 was the very first official State Police department created. This department was in Pennsylvania. Soon after ...
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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.
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I was reading a novel and travelling to places I have never been. From the way he wrote people could see the beauty of nature and also his passion as an advocate for wilderness. Many call him as “Father of National Parks.” He strongly believed that lands should be protected and never turn into grazing pastures.as he mentioned, “The disappearance of the forests in the first place, it is claimed may be traced in most cases directly to mountain pasturage” ...
(Morford, Lenardon, and Sham 420-421). King Polybus and Queen Merope raised the child as their own and named him Oedipus, meaning “swellfoot”, because of the way he was found with the spike through his ankles. (Morford, Lenardon, and Sham 421). When Oedipus became a young man, he found out that he was not the natural born child of the King and Queen so he searched for his destiny. Oedipus discovered the truth from the oracle, whom his real parents were and was advised to avoid his birth land. In agreement, Oedipus traveled to Thebes and on his journey he crossed paths with his birth father, where they fought and Oedipus killed him and filled the prophesy told by the oracle. (Morford, Lenardon, and Sham 421). Oedipus continued his journey to Thebes and came across the city pursued by a flying monster, (the Sphinx, meaning “strangler”) that the goddess Hera had sent upon the city of Thebes. (Morford, Lenardon, and
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that the impact of seeing the truth is harmful rather than enlightening. Whenever Oedipus strives to discover more to strengthen Thebes’ perspective of him, it leads him closer to his fate as determined by prophesy. Tiresias stands as a model in the play for the individual who is able to see the meaning beyond plot of events although his is blind, and Oedipus represents the oblivious arrogant individual who is never content because they need to be the unsurpassed individual. In the play, Sophocles illustrates the downside of a personality like Oedipus who desires to see the truth by ending the play with the brutality of gouging out his own eyes. Ultimately, the play reinforces that seeing the truth is harmful and being content with what you have, without greedily striving for more, can help avoid fate and a related deposition.
...e government can use to reduce the consumption of the plastic bags without causing a burden to the consumers initially is through funding negative advertising. However this creates opportunity cost, which is the cost of an alternative that much be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. This will cause MPB curve to shift to left, towards the MSB curve. However this is a disadvantage towards the government as it cost a lot for funding advertisement. Therefore this would lead to an increase in taxation causing burden to the consumers whether they consume plastic bags or not.
...satisfied colonists, a captive Indian chief (who died on the voyage), and thirty native prisoners, and set sail for Spain on 10 March, 1496, leaving his brother Bartholomew in charge at Isabela. Columbus reached Cadiz 11 June, 1496. Columbus himself was recalled to Spain in 1496, to account for the financial disasters and cruelty to the native, and the town was abandoned in 1498.
Eviry yier, uvir 25 molloun enomels eri asid on e sirois uf doffirint ixpiromints. Sumi oncladi cusmitocs end boumidocel ixpiromintetoun. Invirtibretis eri mach muri cummun then virtibretis on enomel tistong. Thi twu must asid onvirtibretis eri thi fraot fly end e nimetudi wurm. Thisi enomels eri thi must cummun asid, biceasi thiy hevi e shurt lofi spen, end thiy eri smell, su thiy eri iesy tu sturi meny uf thim. Althuagh, thiy hevi viry wiek ommani systims, su ot os herd tu tist vecconi divilupmint. Rets end moci eri thi must cummun virtibretis asid on enomel tistong. It os istometid thet on thi U.S. muri then 20 molloun eri asid iviry yier. Othir cummun enomels, eri hemstirs, gaonie pogs end girbols. Moci eri thi bist mudil tu tist onhirotid hamen dosiesi, biceasi thiy sheri 99% uf thior ginis woth hamens.
Oedipus is self-confident, intelligent and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his demise. Sophocles makes liberal use of irony throughout “Oedipus the King”. He creates various situations in which dramatic and verbal irony play key roles in the downfall of Oedipus. Dramatic irony depends on the audience’s knowing something that the character does not and verbal irony is presented when there is a contradiction between what a character says and what they mean. Both of these elements are used effectively to develop the tale of Oedipus.
8 Luckerson, Victor. "Glaciers Are Crumbling in Southern Antarctica Faster Than Previously Thought" Time.com May 22, 2015 Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion).