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Oedipus The King

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Oedipus the King is a tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. The action of the play concerns the search of Oedipus for the murderer of Laius to end a plague affecting Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is himself.
In his works, Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is realistic and narrow in focus. According to the philosopher, a good tragedy evokes pity and fear in its audience, causing the viewers to experience catharsis, which means “purification” in Greek. Aristotle also claimed that a good tragic hero has to be better than an average man but also imperfect. This should be a character with both good and evil features. Oedipus is exactly that very tragic …show more content…

An example of it would be the way the King had sent Creon to the Oracle of Delphi even before he was asked by the citizens to do something about the plague. Oedipus seems to do exactly what a great ruler has to do. At the beginning of the play Oedipus is confident and proud of himself as he saved Thebes from the curse. He says: “Here I am myself— / you all know me, the world knows my fame: / I am Oedipus”. He says those words as if he is the very healing of the curse.
On the other hand, Oedipus demonstrates rash anger in the case of killing the band of travelers at the crossroads. He unknowingly killed his father then, which led to Oedipus’s downfall. During the play we see Oedipus’s anger several times, for instance, when he talks to Creon in a rude manner (Creon brought bad …show more content…

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. Oedipus is the opposite, a man with eyes who is blind of the truth, which seems to be obvious. In the case of Teiresias “eyes” is used as a metaphor; Sophocles does not compare Teiresias and Oedipus, however, he puts them together so that the audience compares them and sees how opposite they are in the way of “seeing” the

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Teiresias is a blind seer, which is rather ironic. He can see the truth about things, but cannot see physically. He does not want to weigh Oedipus down with the knowledge of his situation. When he is led into the scene, he immediately tells the king this.

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He discovers he is he killer he has been searching for and has married the woman that has given birth to him. Caught up in pride and continuing down the path of bad judgement, Oedipus blinds himself because he cannot bear to look at himself nor does he desire to see what others are seeing in him. Oedipus has chosen to live out the rest of his days blind so he does have to face the harsh reality that he has caused hoping it will soon vanish from his memory. Although Oedipus didn’t intend to cause any harm, his actions brought suffering to himself and those around him. His character flaws an strengths of determination, pride , and error in judgement led to his dreadful discovery and resulted in him losing everything he once

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The character Oedipus fits Aristotle 's criterion of character as a leader and a person because he remains consistent in trying to remove the curse from Thebes. In the introduction, Oedipus is addressing the priest about the condition of his city. "You are sick to death, but no one is as sick as I. / Your pain strikes each of you alone, each / in the confess of himself, no other. . . . my spirit / grieves for this city, for myself and all of you" (205).

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Then Teiresias said “‘Have your eyes, and do not see your own damnation?’” (Sophocles, 37). Teiresias being the only one blinded at this moment of the play was using a play on words here. He is saying that you are the one with eyes, yet you cannot see the actual truth. By the end of the play when Oedipus finds out the whole truth about his lineage, he ends up blinding himself.

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However, it is dreadfully important to recognize that Oedipus does not know anything not after Teiresias enlighten him. Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, the imagery of light and darkness was used in the characterizations of Teiresias – the old blind prophet

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1. Oedipus is a hero, but he represents most men at the same time. He has human characteristics and feelings, such as his curiosity towards the knowledge Teiresias possesses and his horror when he realizes his horrible actions. “If you know something about our pain tell us…Speak then! Tell us what will emerge.”

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Thesis:In Sophocles play ‘Oedipus the king’,Oedipus is an example of a tragic hero because he changed from a hero at the beginning of the play into a tragic hero by the end by experiencing power,tragic flow,downfall and death. Oedipus changes into a person no can believe of,because in the beginning he was a hero for the city of thebes by solving a riddle to defeat the monster that was killing and taking over thebes. Claim:Before the play Oedipus defeats sphinx and becomes a powerful king,At the beginning of the play people rely on Oedipus’s power and help. Data:For example the priest says “Oedipus greatest in all men’s eyes We pray,find some strength again and rescue or city”. Warrant:From this quote readers can see that how empowered oedipus feels like and how people in thebes rely on him,Clearly this scene represents the power stage of the tragic hero.

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Teiresias is blind but knows the truth of the past, present, and future of Oedipus. The reverse occurs when the truth is revealed, and Oedipus seeks blindness to hide away from the same truth he claimed to have been aware

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His hubris, pride, let the truth be seen as false or not be seen at all. Second, Oedipus was physically blind. His physical blindness played into the role of the Greek tragedy. The blindness completed the tragedy for Oedipus. Every Greek Tragedy is supposed to end with the main characters experiencing their own personal tragedy.

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Oedipus was a tragic hero he was seen as a great man and was king,but he fell to misfortune because of his disability to see past his pride and anger which led to his demise. By not being able to see past his pride and anger Oedipus was not able to to avoid his prophetic destiny. He was blinded by his pride and anger so much that it became his tragic flaw ultimately leading him to his

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Every character in stories or in plays has their flaws and strengths; Oedipus is no exception to this. Oedipus has his strengths and weaknesses that shape him into the character he is perceived to be in the play. He is intellectual which is why the city looks up to him, he is caring, and tenacious. Like any other character Oedipus also has his flaws, he jumps to conclusions and makes rash decisions, he has anger issues, and hubris which eventually leads to his downfall. Intelligence is something that is highly respected in individuals, especially in leaders.

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The importance of sight is emphasized throughout the play; even though Oedipus has vision and his ally Teiresias is blind, Teiresias is able to decipher the truth surrounding the prophecy.

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Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

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The characters in Oedipus the King develop the plot and make it a complete tragedy. Oedipus, had some undesirable flaws as well as some good characteristics. Oedipus had a flaring temper that ruined his life. We all learned that having a bad attitude doesn’t get you anywhere in life. Oedipus was also arrogant, especially after defeating the Sphinx.

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Through such characterization, Sophocles heightens the emotions in the play by demonstrating how these traits contribute to the catastrophic conclusion. Sophocles deliberately depicts Oedipus as a seemingly infallible yet prideful ruler in order to augment the subsequent devastation Oedipus causes, thus realizing the vision of an Aristotelian tragedy. Aristotle identifies nobleness in character as a characteristic of a tragic hero. Oedipus personifies this criterion; he is revered as one of the most adept rulers in all of Greece. Indeed, he constantly reminds himself that “I am a king . . .

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