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Julius Caesar And Oedipus Rex

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Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet are just a few examples of the many pieces of literature which are considered tragedies. A tragedy is a type of dramatic story which depicts horror and suffering throughout the events of the narrative. Oedipus Rex is one of these many tragedies which portrays Oedipus, the king of the land of Thebes seeking to unravel the truth about the murder of the previous king of Thebes: Laius. However, as he learns more about the murder, he soon realizes that everything is not as he expects. Oedipus Rex is one of the many examples that maintains the major characteristics of a literary tragedy. Based upon the ideas of Aristotle, Oedipus Rex is an outstanding example of tragedy because it depicts the suffering …show more content…

One of the essential reasons that Oedipus Rex is an elegant example of tragedy is because it renders the suffering of the main character, (Oedipus), who is of noble rank in society. Oedipus begins the story as king of Thebes, but soon realizes after an appalling truth that he is the man who killed his own father, married his own mother, and conceived children with her. Once he discovers that his wife/mother Jocasta has hung herself, he takes her brooches and gouges his eyes out screaming: “What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy” (Lines 1471-1472). Oedipus speaks these words and elucidates the reason for why he gouged out his own eyes. The reason Oedipus gouged his own eyes out is because he believes it’s better to no longer see the …show more content…

Oedipus as a king has hubris or excessive pride and sees himself as having superiority over all others. “I thought it wrong, my children, to hear the truth from others, messengers. Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Lines 1-6). This sets up the view that exactly from the beginning of the story, Oedipus is worshipped as this highly renowned king. This sets up the dramatic irony that even though Oedipus is praised, the people reciting the story are the ones who along with Oedipus will discover the truth about his life. Another explanation on the effects of hubris occurs when Oedipus is discovering more details about this foretold prophecy, and nothing will prevent him from discovering the truth, despite Jocasta begging him to halt his search. “Pride breeds the tyrant violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin—clawing up to the heights, headlong pride crashes down the abyss—sheer doom!” (Lines 963-967). This surplus of pride being part of Oedipus’ downfall is one that is repeated throughout the entire play. Oedipus is an extremely proud man because he is commended as the King of Thebes and for defeating the Sphinx. However, it is his own pride and confidence that he is a good man who is favored by the gods that leads him to unravel the

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Examples Of Hubris In Oedipus

1419 Words | 6 Pages

For instance, he initially feels superior over Tiresias, “But you did not come forth with this, knowing some clue from birds or gods; instead I came along, the idiot Oedipus!”. His presumptuousness later fuels his disappointment, especially once he reflects on the unsuccessful endeavours at avoiding the prophecy and how his self-entitlement is based on an illusion. The crux of the matter is, hubris is present in all societies; it causes individuals to overestimate their capacities and underestimate the costs of their actions. Therefore, the effect of the story becomes more poignant, considering that individuals are able to further relate to Oedipus. This empathetic connection with the character forms a stronger emotional response from the audience, leading to a larger and more meaningful sense of catharsis once they reach the ultimate

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The Similarities Between Oedipus Rex And Creon

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Hubris: the tragic flaw of arrogance and pride, often leading to the downfall of characters. Rulers often fall victim to the temptation of power and egotism because of their authority. In Sophocles’ plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone, kings Oedipus and Creon, respectively, are characterized by the tragic flaw of hubris because of their inability to overlook their pride for the better of the people. Oedipus and Creon prioritized their desires over the Theban people for selfish and prideful reasons, leading to the suffering of their subjects. Sophocles, in his Theban Plays trilogy, illustrates the repercussions of hubristic rulers through paralleled scenes in which Creon replicates previously made mistakes by Oedipus.

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To the audience, the violent action of Oedipus stabbing his eyes suggests that he is in such pain and agony that he decides to blind himself as a type of punishment. In fact, there have been several instances in the play that have foreshadowed this moment. Oedipus had been blind in more than one way throughout the play. Not only was he blind to the truth about his own parents, but he was also foolish enough to curse the murderer of King Laius, which he eventually discovers to be himself. The irony is that Oedipus decides to blind himself just when he has finally put together the pieces of the puzzle.

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Oedipus Rex is a great example of an Aristotelian Tragedy because it follows each and every rule that Aristotle put in place, making in a cohesive and well known story. The first part of an Aristotelian Tragedy must be about a serious subject. Oedipus starts out as a quest to find and prosecute the Late King Laos's murder. Once a few insights into Oedipus's entangled past, it is ultimately a story about Oedipus uncovering his past, compared to Jocasta's. This is serious because the audience learns the basis of Pericles's Oedipus Complex, and the audience learn more about the horrific past of Oedipus.

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In the Greek play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the tragic hero, Oedipus, acts upon his predetermined fate of incest and patricide, and comes to a realization followed by a disastrous self-destruction. The theme of blindness is frequently revisited throughout the play, acting as a catalyst for Oedipus’ downfall. Sophocles utilizes the contrast between literal and figurative blindness in order to intensify the catastrophic aspect of the tragedy, primarily by evoking pity for Oedipus’ lack of knowledge. Tiresias, the prophet of Apollo whom Oedipus summons to acquire solutions for the plague in Thebes, is a character with literal blindness but a contrastingly discerning insight. Tiresias has a different type of eye compared to others; his eyes were

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1055 Words | 5 Pages

By gouging out his eyes, Oedipus seeks to reclaim a shred of autonomy and shelter himself from the cruel sights of reality. At the same time his act of blinding himself can be reasonably interpreted as an affront to Apollo, the god of illumination, who brought this darkness upon him. For all his yearning to see the truth, Oedipus, even at the very end, thus fails to realize in his state of blindness why he incurred the wrath of divine justice in the first place and how he continues to act with irreverence, even going so far as to say, as he references his gaping, blood-soaked eye sockets, “I did this...by my own hand” (Sophocles 56). Even at the very end, Oedipus has no doubt that he holds full authority over his life as an individual; however, Apollo knew every move that Oedipus would make before Oedipus could conceive them. Furthermore, Oedipus’ lack of reverence becomes even more conspicuous when Creon advises him to “at least show reverence” (Sophocles

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1063 Words | 5 Pages

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