ipl-logo

Oedipus The King

820 Words4 Pages

Symbolism and Theme in Oedipus Rex Buddha once said, ¨Three things cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth" (Buddha Quotes). Buddha’s quote discusses what is true in life and what can not be concealed, both literally and metaphorically. The sun and moon are eternally prevalent, as well as the truth, which must never be hidden. In other words, the same way one can not stop the sun and moon from coming out, one can not stop the truth from coming out as well. The story of Oedipus Rex has an overall theme that not all who have sight can see the truth. The theme is portrayed through various symbols. The first symbol is the metaphorical difference between blindness of truth opposed to knowledge of the truth. The second symbol is the allusion …show more content…

While speaking to Creon about the Murder of King Laius, Oedipus states, “Then once more, I must bring what is dark to light” (Parados.312). Oedipus’ quote metaphorically refers to finding out what is not known. What is in the dark, is what he does not know, which he will find out, or bring to Light. In his case, he does not know that it was he who murdered King Laius, his biological father. During an argument with Teiresias, Oedipus proclaims to him, “You child of endless night! You cannot hurt me or any other man who sees the sun” (1.321). Once again, Oedipus creates irony through his statement. He insults Teiresias’ condition and states that he is a wicked, blind man. If one refers to the Sun as the truth in Oedipus’ life, it is Oedipus, in reality, who does not see the sun. Despite Teiresias being blind, he does not tell lies when he speaks to Oedipus about the prophecy. Teiresias reveals to him that his real father was King Laius, and that he was his murdered. He also revealed that his wife, in fact, was his birth mother. All of which Oedipus refuses to believe, so he denies all accusations because he is

Show More
Related
853 Words | 4 Pages

Explanation: In the quote, Teiresias directly tells Oedipus who is the murderer and he is in denial and believes that he is lying. In other words, Oedipus is told exactly who he is looking for and, later in the story, has to go through a series of conversations in order to gather proof to believe Teiresias.

Read More
509 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus denies the truth and faces the consequences later on in the play. He gets furious when everyone is blaming him for killing Laius. As he is blaming others, hubris appears within his personality. Oedipus becomes blinder as hubris takes over him.

Read More
646 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus’ lack of knowledge leads to his blindness to the truth in Thebes because he thought he was better than everyone else because he solved the Sphinx riddle. Oedipus will then go on to be King of Thebes and marry Jocasta and at the time he didn’t know that Jocasta was his mother. He would also take the place of King Louis, his father, who which he killed in the beginning of the story. Once Oedipus becomes king he makes a promise to his people that he would find the murderer and kick him out of Thebes and no one would be able to help him.

Read More
927 Words | 4 Pages

He refuses to listen to the counsel of those around him. In fact, Oedipus retorts to Teiresias, “Say what you will. Whatever you say is worthless” (Sophocles 19). Oedipus turns a deaf ear to the truth and a blind eye to his actions. He is crippled not by truly being blind but his foolish ignorance.

Read More
677 Words | 3 Pages

However, Oedipus's arrogance blinds him to the truth of Teiresias' words, and he accuses the prophet of treachery. Additionally, the chorus invokes the gods throughout the play, imploring them for mercy and guidance in the face of Oedipus' tragic fate. Fate, as depicted in Oedipus the King, is portrayed as an immutable force that governs the lives of mortals, transcending their attempts to defy or alter its course. Despite Oedipus' efforts to evade his destiny, his actions unwittingly fulfill the prophecy, leading to his tragic downfall. “Once again, I must bring the darkness into the light...slaughtered king”( Sophocles 677).

Read More
983 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the play, the motif of sight and blindness, the imagery of light and dark, and the literary device of dramatic irony, are evident. The motif of blindness and sight helps illustrate the fact

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

As Oedipus finally discovers who he is and what he has done, Sophocles reiterates the connection of sight with ignorance, and blindness with knowledge by having Oedipus blind himself. But before Oedipus blinds himself, he finally connects all the “puzzle pieces” of his life. He realizes that he had indeed killed Laius, who was his father, and married his mother. He soon goes into his house and finds Jocasta dead.

Read More
627 Words | 3 Pages

Predetermined by the Greek gods and blind to the truth, King Oedipus, the tragic hero of Sophocles’ famous play, sets out to find the truth about the murder of his predecessor, King Laius. Unaware of his prophecy, Oedipus discovers that he himself is the killer and has unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy that he would kill his own father and marry his mother. The story of Oedipus was well-known to Sophocles’ audience, and it followed the common conventions of Greek tragedy and drama. In the play King Oedipus by Sophocles, the theme of blindness and sight is revealed through various types of irony. When Oedipus confronts Tieresias, the blind prophet refuses to speak the truth to him about the killer of Laius.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

“But as this charioteer lurched towards me I struck him in my rage” (Scene 2, lines 283-285). He killed the men, one of whom was his father, without a second thought. Lastly, Oedipus assumes that he knows who is parents are. It is only when questioned that he discovers that he has been living blindly. Oedipus asks, “Am I not my parent’s son?

Read More
1234 Words | 5 Pages

And Oedipus figures this out because of a shepherd that told him he took him from his father Laius as a child to be sent away and killed, but feeling bad for the child the shepherd gave him away to a friend who then took him to his adopted parents of Corinth. After this news came to light Oedipus shrieks “ O, O, O they will all come, all come out clearly!” (19) Meaning the truth will come out so clearly, and that it will be revealed to everyone what he had done. So this part of the story shows how fate will come back at you if you try to avoid it just like Oedipus tried to and now regrets everything he has

Read More
412 Words | 2 Pages

Even though Oedipus discovered the truth and saved the entire community from dying because of the plague, he suffered the consequences for killing Laius. Oedipus is not secretive person. He is a good king because he cared for the life and death of his people, but it is his character flaw that turned everything around. Also, during the scene when Oedipus spoke to the Chorus about the punishment the killer would receive if the killer confessed as the murderer of Laius, there were many long silences.

Read More
874 Words | 4 Pages

The Chorus addresses this when he states in lines 1340-1350, “but now for all your power time, all-seeing time has dragged you to the light, judged your marriage monstrous from the start- the son and the father tangling, both one- o child of laius, would to god. Id never seen you, never, never! Now i weep like a man who wails the dead and the dirge comes pouring forth with all my heart! I tell you the truth, you gave me life my breath leapt up in you and now you bring down the night upon my eyes”. The Chorus, along with everyone else, figures out everything about Oedipus’ true identity and threat he is the child of Laius and Jocasta.

Read More
536 Words | 3 Pages

In Sophocles’, Oedipus Rex, truth is clearly seen to hold critical value towards one's perspective. In scene one of Sophocles' play, Teiresias exclaims that, knowledge of the truth can be dreadful "...when there's no help in the truth. " This statement is made in relevance of Oedipus' realization of Laios' murder and his own tainted fate. This newfound knowledge does not sway in favor of Oedipus' position as King. The murder of prior ruling figure, Laios, causes Oedipus to fear for his own safety as he is the current reining power of Thebes.

Read More
1409 Words | 6 Pages

Creon tells Oedipus that the curse will be lifted if the murderer of Laius is found and killed. Laius was murdered at a crossroads. Oedipus spends a while trying to the discovery and prosecute Laius’s murderer. Oedipus starts to question a couple of citizens. He questions Teiresias, the blind prophet, and Teiresias informs Oedipus that Oedipus himself killed Laius.

Read More
722 Words | 3 Pages

He relies on his own ability to find the truth, which demonstrates that Oedipus is a thinker. He is very smart, which also proves that he is better than an average man: he was the only one capable of solving the Sphinx’s riddle. It is noticeable that Oedipus was the only man could “see” the solution to the Sphinx’s riddle. However, he is “blind” to the truth, which he is looking for. Therefore, the presence of Teiresias is important – he is an old man who can “see” the truth without using his sight.

Read More

More about Oedipus The King

Related Topics

Open Document