ipl-logo

Blindness And Sight In Sophocles Oedipus The King

983 Words4 Pages

In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the motif of blindness and sight, the imagery of light and dark, and the literary device of dramatic irony are each evident throughout the play. Oedipus is abandoned at birth because his parents; Jocasta and Laius are told that he will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus is adopted and later told the same prophecy that was told to his parents. Oedipus leaves Corinth for Thebes in an effort to escape his fate. Oedipus kills Laius on his way to Thebes and marries the widowed queen; Jocasta. Throughout the play, the motif of sight and blindness, the imagery of light and dark, and the literary device of dramatic irony, are evident. The motif of blindness and sight helps illustrate the fact …show more content…

Sight symbolizes truth while blindness symbolizes ignorance and lies. For example, Tiresias is blind, but can see the truth. As the author states, “My lord, there lives a man who with a king’s eyes sees the secrets of a king” (16; ep. 1). Even though Tiresias cannot see, he knows the truth. Oedipus knows that Tiresias is an oracle and can see the truth. As the author states, “Though you cannot see, you must surely feel” (18; ep. 1). Oedipus infers that even though the man cannot physically see, he can see the truth. This motif is also evident through Oedipus’ ignorance. Unlike Tiresias, Oedipus can see, but is blind to the truth. As Tiresias states, “I say you see and still are blind-appalling: blind to your origins and to a union in your house” (23; ep. 1). Oedipus fails to realize his own fate while Tiresias knows the truth. The motif of blindness and sight in Oedipus the King, helps illustrate the fact that even though Tiresias is blind, he can see Oedipus’ fate while Oedipus can see but cannot see the truth to his fate as if he is …show more content…

In Oedipus the King, light symbolizes truth, and darkness symbolizes ignorance and lies. After realizing that he had fulfilled the prophecy and murdered his father and married his mother, Oedipus gouges out his eyes. In doing this, Oedipus immerses himself in darkness. As Oedipus states, “Light of my days, go dark” (67; ep. 4). Oedipus is in a state of such sorrow and despair that he feels the need to gouge out his own eyes. Oedipus blinds himself when he realizes what he has done. As the author states, “To go dark for all time blind to what you never should have seen” (72; ep. 4). Oedipus blinds himself because he realizes the mistakes that he has made and feels remorse. After Oedipus blinds himself, he has nothing left to live for. As Oedipus states, “I am deserted, dark” (72, ep. 4). Oedipus blinds himself and is erratic and depressed. In Oedipus the King, the imagery of light and dark helps to reinforce the idea that light symbolizes truth and that darkness symbolizes lies and

Show More
Related
926 Words | 4 Pages

Blindness Vs. Sight In the plays Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles, the city of Thebes deals with two kings, who cause great pain to the city. In the play Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the very tempered king of Thebes, in which this city has a plague. Little does Oedipus know after blaming everyone else, he is the real cause of the disaster.

Read More
1278 Words | 6 Pages

It is true that war in the trenches were extremely uncomfortable and difficult, but there is debate on whether the trenches was a smart strategy to succeed. Trench warfare emerged because of the state of technology in the second decade of the 20th century. At this time there were rapid advances in military technology. Weapons and artilleries had become more advanced immeasurably more advanced that it was just a few decades before. In 1914, weaponry was made with hydraulic mechanisms for absorbing recoil, as a result the weapons did not have to be repositioned after every shot.

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus discovers the body and is in so much grief he uses the golden pins that held Jocasta’s dress and “spears the pupils of his eyes” (93). This unbearable mishap is the last article of the proclamation that Oedipus carries out. Furthermore, in an attempt to keep his children, Creon advises him to “not be the master in everything. What you once won and held did not stay with you all your lifelong” (107). Oedipus was once a man that was not physically blind but in truth he was.

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus became blind by trying to escape his fate, as well as the pride and arrogance he had developed. In the text the author states, “And if this killer lives within my house, and if I know him, then may I myself receive the curse I just now laid upon his head” (43).

Read More
1378 Words | 6 Pages

The symbolic implication that comes of Oedipus blinding himself is he has seen too much evil and would rather see nothing than more evil. “What’s there left for me to see…?” P.44 Oedipus here say he has seen too much and that what he has seen will taint everything he sees thereafter. I do not find this courageous nor heroic, I believe blinded himself to not see what he had done, to not be reminded of his deeds, even by seeing his

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

Stumbling in the Darkness People who are blind rely heavily on their other five senses and ask questions of others to gain insight into their surroundings and situations. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus the King was blind to his surroundings and his upbringing. In the context of this drama these three things: the blind prophet, Teiresias, Oedipus’ inability to ask questions, and his gouging of his eyes, create a sense of figurative and literal blindness throughout the work. The blind prophet is a symbol of Oedipus’ oblivion of a world he knows little about.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

Oedipus’ accusations against Tiresias suggest that Oedipus views Tiresias’ blindness as lack of integrity and ability to decipher the truth. By the end of play, Oedipus has stabbed both of his eyes with his mother’s brooch, rendering him permanently blind. Oedipus’ new found blindness is branded a divine punishment. As Oedipus is describing the rationale for his actions, he expresses, “And with these eyes have looked upon my father Or on my mother; such things have I done To them, death is no worthy punishment Or could I look for pleasure in the sight Of my own children, barn at

Read More
933 Words | 4 Pages

He blinded himself as a punishment for what he had done in his life. It is ironic that he blinded himself to hide acts of violence before him when he himself committed horrific acts of violence within his own life (Haque and Kabirchowdhury 117). Oedipus’s self-harm came from his failure to recognize the truth of his own existence. His constant denial of everything that he could not physically see was due to his hubris. When Oedipus was figuratively blind, he could not accept his fate.

Read More
1075 Words | 5 Pages

Oedipus experienced blindness figuratively and eventually literally. The concept of sight and blindness in Oedipus Rex teaches many lessons. One lesson is that seeing something is based on one’s perspective, therefore it will not always be experienced the same way among different people. It depends on the way people perceive the information they receive.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

With the heroic light the people of Thebes have him under, he gladly baths in it. In an obstinate fashion he tells his subjects he will rid the kingdom of the plague by finding King Laius’ killer and goes forth to do so. This leads him to look to Tiresias, a prophetic man without sight. Oedipus then commands to get answers that will help him uncover the mystery of the death of the previous King. Tiresias respectively rejects to answering the questions remembering his place but Oedipus forges on his path for answers and an argument ensues: “…You are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes”

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

Having been given many hints in his life, Oedipus cannot detect and know the truth. He is blind, to the extent that he could not even understand his life and does not even want to accept his origin. In this way, we get to know the contrast between eyesight and insight (Calame, 1996). After Oedipus realizing and coming to know the truth, he gets out his eyes so as to have the vision (Calame, 1996). He removes his eyes so as not to see his children and siblings who would remind him of his actions.

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

This personal tragedy for Oedipus was discovering the truth and becoming blind because of it. It completed the prophecy that Oedipus had received from Tiresias, the blind prophet. Tiresias told Oedipus that he had come into Thebes with his sight but would leave Thebes without it. The physical blindness that Oedipus had also left him with wrongs of his life, with nothing to look at Oedipus was forced to think about his life, wrongdoings, and what had happened. Essentially he was forced to deal with it.

Read More
448 Words | 2 Pages

Oedipus is blind to the truth about his real family. Oedipus and Jocasta can not seek the hidden truths in Oedipus the King. Many life lessons are found in this important piece of literature. Blindness can mean many things, but blindness can keep people away from the

Read More
825 Words | 4 Pages

Both Oedipus and Iocasta have been blinded their whole life, never able to be convinced that Oedipus is fulfilled his predestined prophecy. Considering that Iocasta has blindly lived her whole life by marrying her own son, everything Oedipus was destined to for, became a reality. Unable to kill himself, Oedipus forcefully stabs his eyeballs out, physically blinding himself forever. He then states, it’s ‘“far better to be dead than to be

Read More
1224 Words | 5 Pages

But, he was also a good man, father, husband, and king, and for this reason he is mourned over for his loss of fortune. One of the themes in Oedipus Rex is physical and metaphorical blindness. In Greek culture, those who were physically blind were said to have metaphorical "vision" and were messengers of the gods. For example, In the beginning, Oedipus is blind, not physically, but metaphorically because he does not know the

Read More

More about Blindness And Sight In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Related Topics

Open Document