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Examples Of Foreshadowing In Oedipus The King

538 Words3 Pages
Cynthia Sanchez
THTR 101: Intro to Theatre
Prof. Bingham
April 15, 2017

Synopsis of Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King: a tragedy, focused on the theme of self discovery and eventually, self destruction. The use of motifs and foreshadowing in the play tells about the misfortunes that occur in the life of Oedipus the King of Thebes, and how these occurrences affect his relationship with his mother Jocasta and her deceased husband Laius . The plot begins in a mystery of events that lead the King to try and discover who murdered Laius. King Oedipus discusses the problems of the land and decides to send his brother in law, Creon, to the Oracle at Delphi to ask what actions they should take. With Creon’s return, the King learns that finding
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Oedipus the King is a play written by the Greek playwright Sophocles. There are three tragedy plays, which is a trilogy, known as the Three Theban Plays which consists of Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles presents Oedipus as a person who has excessive pride, also known as hubris. Through the use of sentence structure, punctuation and various rhetorical devices, Sophocles demonstrates Oedipus’ immense pride, which leads to his downfall.

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From the beginning Oedipus was destined to fulfill a terrible prophecy, but through particular events that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey, Oedipus becomes a powerful king of Thebes, only to be destroyed by the prophecy that should have ended his life as a child. The Hero’s Journey typically leads to self-confidence and power, however; the Hero’s Journey of Oedipus leads to his tragic demise. The Hero’s Journey lays out the steps of Oedipus’s future actions, which create suspense, fear, pity, and other emotions that captivates the audience. Similar to many famous stories, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles in 430 B.C., follows the Hero’s Journey path, which is evident in Oedipus’s departure, initiation, and return.

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Oedipus the King is a tragedy that was written by Sophocles that emphasizes the irony of an irony of a man who was determined to trace down, expose and punish an assassin who in turn became him. Oedipus the King is also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus. The art is an Athenian play that was performed in ages approximated to be 429 BC. Oedipus the King would later in the play fulfill the prophecy that he would kill his father and later on marry his mother. There is a twist of an event in the play where Oedipus is looking for the murderer of his father to bring to a halt the series of plagues that are befalling Thebes but only to find he is in search of himself (Rado, 1956).

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