Tiresias Essays

life and are human rather than distant figures of myth. This applies to all of the characters, not just Oedipus for whom the play was named. Tiresias, for example, though he only appears for a short time in the play, is not just Apollo’s seer, but rather a man who has to cope with the fact that what he sees may not be welcome news. In Oedipus, the King, Tiresias is a fully developed character who knows and understands the truth, recognizes that it is his job to speak the truth, and feels that his status

the killer, it will end the scourge among the city. Oedipus calls for Tiresias, a blind prophet, yet he declines

divine justice and proper family roles. Tiresias, the prophet, convinces Creon that by failing to properly bury Polynices and for imprisoning Antigone, he has angered the gods and cursed his family. Tiresias’ role in society is the reason that only he has the authority to dissent against Creon and sway his opinion when he would disregard everyone else’s. . When Tiresias appears in Antigone, Creon accuses the prophet of being a traitor, saying that Tiresias must have been bribed: “T: How far good

murderer it will end the plague among the city. Oedipus calls for Tiresias, a blind prophet, but he refuses to speak. Tiresias ends up accusing Oedipus himself

impact his fate. When stating Oedipus is blind to reality, it is representative of his ignorance, when he becomes aware of his true identity, Oedipus literally blinds himself as an act of aggression and misery. At the point the blind prophet, Tiresias, comes to help Oedipus resolve the town’s crisis, it is obvious he knows Oedipus better than Oedipus knows himself. The omniscient prophet knows who Oedipus is, who he has become, what he has done, and what was done

In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the concept of sight and blindness is shown countless times throughout the play. In Oedipus Rex there is both literal blindness and figurative blindness. This play has a character who is blind, which is an example of literal blindness and a character who can see visually but unable to perceive the truth. The concepts of sight and blindness has a major role in Oedipus Rex. It lets the reader know that sight is not only based on what you see, but also based on one’s perspective

throughout the Greek tragedy, Oedipus is meeting people and going through events to help him discover who he really is and all that he has done. Sophocles used the sight vs. blindness motif in Oedipus the King to emphasize the theme of self-discovery. Tiresias played a major role in Oedipus’ self-discovery. He was physically bind, and yet he knew all things, including

Oedipus the King, a tragedy written by Sophocles, revolves around a king who is in search for the truth in order to save his people. At the beginning of the play, King Oedipus is informed that in order to save the city of Thebes from a plague, the killer of King Laius should either be killed or banished from the kingdom. He later finds out that the truth is tied to the prophecies given to King Laius and Jocasta, as well as to himself. This paper will focus on the theme of justice, as seen in the

He did not realize his flaws like arrogance, having a bad temper, and selfishness. Once Tiresias gets it through Oedipus’s thick skull that he was the one who killed King Laius, he takes one of the brooches from Jocasta’s dress and stabs his eyes out. After he blinds himself physically he feels pity for his two daughters, saying that no one

problem may have been obvious yet, they could not “see” the answer. Therefore, they were blind to the truth. This blindness is not one in a physical sense but another kind of sight or vision. In Sophocles’ writing, Tiresias is a blind prophet that presents the truth to King Oedipus. Tiresias reveals that Oedipus has been blind to the truth his whole life and when he finally does find the truth, he loses his physical vision. Due to the truth, Oedipus blinds himself. In this case, those who are blind ultimately

correlates to blindness in many ways. When we are living in ignorance, we are not knowing and this can be the same as being figuratively blind. An example of being literally blind but having knowledge is Tiresias. He was a blind prophet and was also the one who knew the truth about Oedipus. Tiresias knew more as a blind man, than Oedipus did, with him being figuratively blind, but ignorant. Another symbol of ignorance was from Jocasta. Along with her husband, and now son, she wanted to find the murderer

Although Tiresias may be blind, he is by no means powerless since he is the sole character that can see past the lies blinding Oedipus. This accentuates Oedipus’ blindness towards the truth and helps the audience fully grasp his personality, and in turn, his ignorance. The confrontation between king and prophet is a critical event that enhances irony in the play. Oedipus consults in Tiresias expecting a solution to rid the plague cast on the city,

truth they are seeking. Oedipus, the leader of Thebes, believes he is the best leader of the city, yet he is blind to the fact that someone might rule Thebes better than him. In the story, Tiresias, the blind prophet, points out to Oedipus that his leadership is not as strong as he thinks. Oedipus believes Tiresias is challenging his authority, and in doing so, claiming to be more intelligent. Oedipus responds to this

Sophocles has been known for using his plays not merely to entertain his audience, but to deliver a message too. Out of all of the important lessons in his plays, arrogance and ignorance will not get you anywhere. This relates to the theme of blindness, Oedipus Rex has outlined many themes throughout the play, but the theme of blindness is probably one of the most important concepts. The author uses physical blindness, as well as intellectual blindness to illustrate Oedipus' personal tragedy. The

Master of Tragedies Neil Gaiman once said, “There’s none so blind as those who will not listen.” This quote relates to the theme of sight and blindness in “The Tragedy of Oedipus Rex”. King Oedipus was a man who would not accept the truth about himself. Physically he was not blind but in truth he was. There are three examples of Oedipus’s metaphysical condition of blindness which will be listed as follows. First his denial of being the source of the plague. Second, his egotistical abilities that

of Tiresias, a blind prophet, on how to get back to Ithaca. Before sending Odysseus on his way, Circe warned him about some of the dangers that he will face on the way such as the Sirens and the island of Helios. Soon Odysseus and his men were on their way to the land of the dead. After arriving here, Odysseus was told by the seer Tiresias if a sacrifice was made to Poseidon for blinding Polyphemus, the men would eventually return to Ithaca (Wright 40). Before letting Odysseus leave, Tiresias warned

his power makes him hubris and blind to the truth. Tiresias tells Oedipus "that the murderer you seek is yourself" (episode 1) but Oedipus doesn't want to believe it. Oedipus heard a prophecy that he was going to kill his father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus doesn't believe Tiresias because he believes that his parents are in Corinth. When Oedipus demands that Tiresias tells the truth, Tiresias replies with saying that "I [Tiresias]

oracle of Delphi to get help from Apollo. In short, Creon arrives from Delphi and says that the oracle said “find the former king's murderer.” Having this in mind, Oedipus seeks info regarding who killed Laius. To aid his help, Oedipus sends for Tiresias,

The dramatic irony is that Oedipus is the murderer himself but he does not know it yet, so the proclamation that he said should be applied to him. Alternatively, Tiresias replied to Oedipus after he insulted him for being “sightless” and “ senseless” and said, “There is no one here who will not curse you soon, as you curse me.” Tiresias said this because even though he is blind he can still see the truth of who the true murderer is. Therefore soon the people of Thebes will start to cursing Oedipus

investigation. To start off Oedipus’ investigation, Tiresias comes back from the Gods with news Oedipus wasn’t expecting to get. Before Tiresias tells Oedipus what the Gods told him, he forewarns Oedipus he is not going the like what he has to say. Tiresias says,“This day will bring your birth and your destruction” (499). Oedipus’ pride influences him to make Teiresias tell him the news. Tiresias and Oedipus finish the conversation by saying, “ TIRESIAS. I say you slew