Denial is common when faced with a truth one does not want to acknowledge or accept. An example of denial exists in the ancient Greek play Oedipus the King translated by Stephen Berg and Diskin Clay, Oedipus is faced with the harsh reality of his marriage to his mother and his killing of his father by the blind prophet of Apollo, Teiresias. In response to the accusations, Oedipus convinces himself that this is not the truth, but instead a plot to steal his throne. In the use of dialogue and the words chosen, the text encourages us to interpret the encounter between Oedipus and Teiresias as an exchange between a guilty denial-ridden man and a reluctantly wise man. An example of guilty dialogue is Oedipus’ response to the accusations, “The truth