Critical Lens As said by Benjamin Disraeli in Contarini Fleming, “Circumstances are beyond the control of man; but his conduct is in his own power.” Although this quote originates from 1832, centuries before Oedipus the King was published, its logic can still be applied to Sophocles’ play. Disraeli is saying that no one can help the circumstances they are born in, but everyone has the capability to live how they want. At face-value, this may seem true; in the end everyone has the ability to make a decision. Yet, it is their circumstances that drive the choices people make.
Quote "A husband by her husband, children by her child." (Page 131, Left column) Point Oedipus finally realizes that he has done wrong. sleeping with his mother and killing his father. Explanation Husband by husband
Background Information: In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus was told that he would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. However, Oedipus doesn’t believe that he killed Laius but was blind to the truth for him accept it which led to his demise. 3.Thesis Statement:
In the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, Greek tragedian Sophocles employs numerous literary devices and elements such as foreshadowing, the use of dualities, and philosophy of know thyself to indicate that although Oedipus may believe he has free will, predestination and lineage becomes an overruling factor as fate becomes inevitable in his search for the true murderer of his father. Sophocles support this by characterizing Oedipus during the beginning of the story as in control, where he believes he has the power to control outbreak plaguing his city if he can find the killer of the previous king, Laius; then through gradual foreshadowing by Tiresias’s and the Oracle’s prophecies, as well as Jocasta’s flashback, the audience learns the
1. He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know 2. “When he finally sees the horror that is his life-children who are also his sibling, a wife-mother driven to suicide, a curse like no other on him and his family-he exacts a terrible punishment indeed. He blinds himself.” (210) 3.
Throughout “Oedipus the King”, the idea of fate, destiny and predestination controls most of the play. The play begins with Oedipus on the throne and Thebes being attacked by plague. As a responsible king, he is searching for a cure: “My search has found one way to treat our disease and I have acted already. I have sent Creon my brother-in-law to the prophetic oracle of Apollo to find out what action or speech” (Sophocles). Right at the beginning of the play, author has shown his bias by giving Oedipus that line.
Within Oedipus Rex, Oedipus discovers there is a prophecy that he was cursed with. He was predicted to murder his father and then marry his mother. The man that he murdered on the road was King Laius, the previous King of Thebes, as well as his father. Oedipus wed the ex-wife of the deceased King Laius, which then, in turn, means he wed his mother. Committing incest, yet another sin, was furthermore loss of innocence to Oedipus, but he was not the only character in Oedipus Rex who suffered the loss of innocence.
He did not realize what he had been doing at the time of committing his sins. What can a man do if he did not know that his wife was also his mother? The prosecutor had stated that Oedipus committed incest, but was it really his fault? He didn’t commit it on purpose and Jocasta had not realized at the time that Oedipus was her son. It wouldn’t have seemed strange to Oedipus since he believed that his real parents were in Corinth ,so it couldn’t have occurred to him that Jocasta was his mother.
Fate is the predetermination of the events in one’s life by the gods in the way of Greek mythology. Mortals are subject to their fate and are left with no choice but to let it play out in their lives. The idea of challenging fate and the gods will is a recurring theme in greek mythology, such as in The Theban Plays, by Sophocles. Sophocles uses the main characters in The Theban Plays as key examples to the audience of people whose overzealous hubris and overwhelming curiosity inevitably lead them down the path of their misfortunate fate. Oedipus’s life is bombarded with challenging decisions that lead to the exposure of his few flaws that every human possesses.
Oedipus Rex is one of the best known plays written by the famous Greek writer Sophocles (Sophocles 737). This tragic play tells the story of Oedipus who is a king that wants to rid his kingdom of a plague. In an attempt to get to the bottom of this plague problem Oedipus calls in a Prophet named Tiresias. Tiresias, who is extremely cryptic with his statements says to Oedipus, “You weave your own doom” (748). While this statement is specifically targeted at Oedipus, it can also be understood as a general assertion that people are responsible for their own destiny.
Similarly, Oedipus also knows of his prophecy. Likewise, the priestess saw a trait in Oedipus that will lead to his destiny, which is his lack of judgment that leads to anger. The prophecy states that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. In similar fashion, Oedipus runs away from the prophecy in hopes of avoiding his destiny and not look into himself to see why the priestess’s words will be true. However, Oedipus unknowingly fulfills half of his prophecy when he was traveling to another town.
Aristotle proves that his praise towards attributing Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex as the most important tragedies of all time is well-established by the theories laid down in his Poetics. It is still considered to be relevant since it manages to relate to any generation, regardless of age and race, and as it strongly incites sympathy from the audience – in that, we might be too eager to know if he would be at least free from awful misery he had to suffer upon his death, and also, it elicits fear in having the same situation to coincidentally happen to us. Aristotle characterizes these emotions as inseparable in tragedy as he said that what we pity in others is also what we fear for ourselves. Oedipus Rex used these two essential qualities to generate
Oedipus the King is one of Sophocles’ celebrated plays that was first performed in approximately 429 BC. It is among the most famous tragedies in the world, retelling the myth of Oedipus, an unfortunate king who ended up killing his father and marrying his mother without knowing it. Although some of Oedipus’s actions – less important to the main story – may be considered to be stemming from his free will, the theme of fatalism is prevailing in the play with the protagonist having no control over any of the events that led to the tragedy and one of the main morals of the story being the encouragement to revere professional seers representing Apollo because their prophecies are as infallible as fate itself. All of the main events of Oedipus’s life appear to be a chain of strange consequences determined by the prophecies; and at the end, the protagonist gets punished for the things he cannot be blamed
The history of Greek tragedy shows common themes of fate versus the choices people make, also known as free will. They also show dramatic irony. The reason most Greek tragedies exemplify these themes is due to their beliefs in the Gods of that era such as Apollo, Hermes, and Athena, etc. who would often give prophecies on the fates of people. Particularly, in Oedipus the King, there was a prophecy from Apollo that in the end was revealed to have come true.
In ancient Greek society, the tragedy was a deeply spiritual and emotional art form integral to daily life. Perhaps one of the best examples of Greek tragedy is Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. The work is distinguished by the deep emotion and thought it elicits from the reader. This is in part due to Sophocles’ expert portrayal of Oedipus, who bears all the attributes of an Aristotelian tragic hero. A once powerful king turned blinded pariah, Oedipus is characterized by both his pride and his honorable character.
