Who Was Responsible For Oedipus's Downfall

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Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a tragic hero which develops his tragical life from the King of Thebes to a fragile man by a series of “happenstances”, or it can be argued as destiny. By the end of the play, he will revealed as a character to be pitied his arrogance at believing that he is above the law of the land and that he can somehow escape his own fate, contributing to his downfall. This passage will focus on three main points that Oedipus is shown a boastful king, he is short tempered and he blames his fate to gods which lead Oedipus’ decline.

Oedipus is highly respected and feared as a boastful king. The metaphor, “I was not sleeping, you are not waking me.” implies that Oedipus is a carrying king who has been preoccupied with worrying about now to resolve the sickness spreading through Thebes. Alternatively, his hubris, his arrogance portrayed in his argument with the soothsayer Tiresias, “There is strength in truth, but not for you. You don't have this since you are …show more content…

He blames to gods. The words “cruel cord” from the sentence “From the cruel cord she had nosed about her hair.” Display his blame. Sophocles personifies the cruel cord as the cord of fate and grief, emphasized Iocastes’ tragedy which shows that Oedipus displaces the blame all the time, furthermore, the metaphor contrast Iocastes’ death with Oedipus’ rage and blame. “What net has God been weaving for me?” Implies Oedipus believes in fate and feels at the mercy of the Gods. Furthermore, this shows how Oedipus is looking to blame someone else for his downfall which likes to his hubris since he think he is incapable of making a mistake, hence builds an opposite side of an hero to audiences, which is being exceedingly self-centered. “Dear children, the god was Apollo, He brought me sick, sick fate upon me.” Demonstrated Oedipus’ helplessness when facing his free will, he censure the god, he has no