Symbolism In Oedipus Rex

Symbolism and Theme in Oedipus Rex Oedipus was a noble, royal king. Maybe his ignorance was brought upon him because of his power. “Confidence is ignorance. Eoin Colfer stated, “If you’re feeling overconfident, it’s because there’s something you don’t know” (goodreads). Oedipus was given the responsibility of killing King Laius’s murderer. He was so confident and sure he would find the killer. But that is where irony fell in place because the whole time Oedipus didn 't know that he was Laius’s murderer. A tragedy is a serious drama featuring a noble, dignified main character who strives to achieve something but ends up being defeated. Often the main character downfall is brought by his or her own flaw. The biggest example of ignorance in

Jocasta says, “But his child had not been three days in the word before the king pierced the baby’s ankles” (Antistrophe 2. 676-677). Oedipus’s ignorance is displayed here as Jocasta points out that the baby’s ankles were pierced. They both failed to realize that Oedipus’s feet are scarred which was a clue that Oedipus was the baby that was left to die on the mountainside. Another example of ignorance is shown when the messenger reveals that he was the one who saved Oedipus. He also reveals how Oedipus got his name. Oedipus says, “From what did you save me?” The messenger replies, “your ankles should tell you that...that’s why you were given the name you bear” (3. 977-978 & 980). King Oedipus’s name has a meaning behind it, and the meaning is ‘swollen foot’. Earlier in the story Jocasta talks about how the baby’s ankles were pierced. The messenger just gave him information about how he was found. He says “I cut the bonds that tied your ankles together” (3. 978) which ties in to the story of the baby. Oedipus was so caught up on knowing who was person that found him that he didn’t pay attention to what the messenger and Jocasta had told him about the feet. It was a major clue, yet his ignorance always defeats

Oedipus needed answers, so he sent for a blind seer named Teiresias to give him the answers he was looking for. Once Teiresias knows what’s going on he dreads to tell Oedipus that he is the killer. The two men go back and forth until Oedipus says something that triggers Teiresias “you planned it, you had it done, you all but killed him with your own hands: if you had eyes, I’d say the crime was yours, and yours alone” (1.332-334). Oedipus still given the information and basically the whole truth is too caught up in his head and ignorant to the facts. This was an example of the irony that Oedipus is ‘blind’. The blind man is the one with the real knowledge and clear eyesight he sees what’s going on and Oedipus does not. Another example his ‘blindness’ caused him danger was in the exodus part of the play. Oedipus had found Jocasta dead he ripped her brooches from her gown and stabbed them right into his eyes over and over again. He says “too long been blind to those for whom I was searching” ( exodus. 1225-1226). Because of oedipus’s hubris he was blind to all the warnings and signs given to him. He thought he escaped the prophecy, and so everything Jocasta, the messenger and Tiresias said meant nothing to him. He refused to see, so he blinds himself as he figuratively was throughout the whole