ipl-logo

Oedipus Guilt

574 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sophocles oedipus the king analysis

The tragedy of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is one of the most important and influential works in literature and culture. It was a model for other tragedies written since, and it comprises complex themes and questions still difficult to answer in today’s world. Fate and knowledge are some of them, but this essay will discuss the guilt or/and innocence of Oedipus, which is difficult to determine since there are a lot of factors that interfere in declaring Oedipus’ innocence or guilt: his actions, other characters’ actions, the will of gods and fate. Nevertheless, this essay will tackle it from an ethic point of view.
The story revolves around Oedipus who runs away from Corinth to escape his fate: killing his father and marrying his mother. As the
Show More
Related
328 Words | 2 Pages

Is Oedipus Truly Guilty? Oedipus, the king of Thebes is seen as guilty of sleeping with his mother and murdering his father. Prior to his birth, a prophecy was spoken that Oedipus would commit such crimes. Oedipus’s parents abandoned him soon after he was born, but ended up reconnecting with him through his fate.

Read More
422 Words | 2 Pages

When Odysseus first came to my island of Aeolia I was a bit skeptical of him, but to please the gods I welcomed him in and followed the rituals of xenia. I also was very curious to hear of the news he brought from Troy. I allowed Odysseus to stay with me while he told me his great story. To me, it sounded a little bit fictitious as he seemed to be exaggerating to flaunt his accomplishments. However who am I to judge as I had just met the guy.

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
414 Words | 2 Pages

One of the most prevalent themes in both The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is the potent feeling of guilt that resonates throughout the stories. Although each story is told in their own way, be it a novel or a play, they communicate the guilt to the audience very well and one can easily pick up the feelings of the characters while reading. For The Kite Runner, the guilt is felt after Amir watches his lifelong friend and family servant Hassan get molested in an alleyway and does nothing to help. As for Oedipus Rex, the guilt is felt after he figures out that he ended up killing his father and having intercourse with his mother. Also, both stories have very different ways the main character deals with the guilt,

Read More
711 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus Rex essay Final draft Oedipus certainly deserved his fate. Oedipus and his actions are clearly disrespect to the gods , he faces the fate he deserves. He was doing things that would eventually lead up to the unfortunate event of his death , he was even warned by the great and wise Teiresias , but he being himself was to stubborn and did not listen. All the things Teiresias said would happen became the truth. He killed his father, married his mother, yet he tempted his fate , he deserved everything that came his way .

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

Upon discovering his crimes, Oedipus states, “Apollo, friends, Apollo has laid this agony upon me; not by his hand; I did it. What should I do with eyes where all is ugliness?” (62). His powerful emotional reaction to this revelation again brings up the question of his moral

Read More
625 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus’s Atonement In Sophocles's play Oedipus the Rex, he develops a tragic story of Oedipus, who had slain his own father and married his own mother without any knowledge of his own birth background. Oedipus’s story reflects the powerlessness of man against the inevitable power of fate determined by higher beings, which all of his actions were driven by fate and he couldn’t do anything to prevent tragedies from happening. In the end of the story, Oedipus realized he was the one that brought misfortune and disasters into the country because of the human taboo that “he” had violated. He then atones for his “sins and crimes” by blinding himself and asking for deportation from the country Thebes that he was ruling.

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

Prologue Summary The play begins with the citizens of Thebes gathered around a shrine to plead with Oedipus the King, who established his position as King just a few days ago. Oedipus’ status is due to the recent death of Laius, the previous King of Thebes. The Elder priest informs Oedipus that there has been a curse placed upon Thebes.

Read More
402 Words | 2 Pages

Pride often leads to someone’s downfall - this idea has been developed from the playwright “Oedipus the king” through Rey’s interactive oral presentation. He discussed that Oedipus’ excessive pride over his knowledge due to solving riddles allows him to not listen to others including the respected Prophet , his dear relative Kreon - he seldom pays heed to them and decides to pursue further for searching the predecessor’s murderer . His own path opens up hidden , dark truth about his life. From the presentation it has been evident that Oedipus was not smart enough to realize that the path he set for himself, will eventually bring nothing but pain.

Read More
52 Words | 1 Pages

Lastly, Oedipus the King serves to explain the causes of human suffering. Though Oedipus' fate is determined, the reader still feels sympathy for the tragic hero, believing that somehow he doesn't deserve what ultimately comes to him. Here, Sophocles attributes, at least partially, human suffering to the mere will of the

Read More
1167 Words | 5 Pages

Oedipal Oedipus? One of the greatest playwrights in Greek history was Sophocles with his renowned play Oedipus Rex, which has been the central topic of innumerous psychological debates. Sigmund Freud, also called the father of psychology and the founder of psychoanalysis constructed a theory called the Oedipus complex, eponymous of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. These aforementioned debates largely surround whether or not the play and theory are directly related. It is fair to state that the basis of Freud’s complex can be detected in the story.

Read More
63 Words | 1 Pages

One detail in the story that I believe carries a lot of significance is the concept of truth. The character of Oedipus was one who I feel represented the symbol and meaning of the nature of discovering the truth. In the end of this story, this truth was a surprising and uncomfortable one, however, Oedipus pushed forward and felt the need to

Read More
1597 Words | 7 Pages

The Freedom of Oedipus is the Freedom of Thebes: Why Oedipus Cannot be Free Until the Truth is Exposed In Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus, the theme of human fate versus free will is explored in the age-old tale of the king of Thebes who inadvertently murdered his father and married his mother. The play opens with Oedipus, a strong man and compassionate leader whom the audience can easily admire. By the closing of the play, a journey of self-discovery has lead Oedipus to his fall from kingship and exile from the city he loves, as well as the suicide of his wife and his self-blinding.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

In Oedipus and Jocasta’s family, there are people who died or lived with honor and some who died or still lived with disgrace to their name. Two of the family died with honor. The first one, Eteocles. Eteocles dies in a war that his brother brought to the city of Thebes. He is honored because he was courageous and fought his brother without hesitating because he knew what he was doing was right.

Read More

More about Oedipus Guilt

Related Topics

Open Document