Foreshadowing In Oedipus Rex

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In the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, Greek tragedian Sophocles employs numerous literary devices and elements such as foreshadowing, the use of dualities, and philosophy of know thyself to indicate that although Oedipus may believe he has free will, predestination and lineage becomes an overruling factor as fate becomes inevitable in his search for the true murderer of his father. Sophocles support this by characterizing Oedipus during the beginning of the story as in control, where he believes he has the power to control outbreak plaguing his city if he can find the killer of the previous king, Laius; then through gradual foreshadowing by Tiresias’s and the Oracle’s prophecies, as well as Jocasta’s flashback, the audience learns the