His pride and blindness towards truth are also reflected in the play when he denies his destiny. Oedipus attempted
His pride and blindness towards truth are also reflected in the play when he denies his destiny. Oedipus attempted
Oedipus ascended the throne of Thebes; as to many years ago he had solved the riddle of the Sphinx, saved the city of Thebes and was welcomed as King. We see that this quality makes him an excellent ruler who anticipates his subjects’ needs. Taking up the responsibility of being a king by serving the citizens, Oedipus is adequate to the challenge, believing he can purge the land. Oedipus the King is a character that tempts fate, thinks he can change fate as a man who…
Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King in the 5th century BCE, in contrast with the work of the Roman Ovid. The character of King Oedipus demonstrates his attitude of overconfidence from the beginning, as he speaks to the children outside his palace and introduces himself as, “I, Oedipus whom all men call the Great” (Oedipus the King 73). As a result of this hubris, he tries to defy the prophecies given by the gods, but he goes on to follow the prophecy as it was laid out and do exactly what he was most afraid of doing (Oedipus the King 83). The Oracle of Delphi gives him the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother, but his overconfidence convinces him that he can overcome this; instead of taking the advice of the prophet Teiresias, he attacks Teiresias in anger over the prophecy (Oedipus the King 80-81, 86). He embarks on an adventure towards Thebes from Corinth, and on his way, he kills an old man and marries the queen of Thebes (Oedipus the King 105), completely unaware that in doing so, he is fulfilling the prophecy. Throughout the story, his pride shines through both his actions and his attitude, as he attempts to prove that he knows more and is more powerful than the prophet, stating, “it has no strength for you because you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes…You life is one long night so that you cannot hurt me or any…
Born with a prophecy claiming he would one day kill his father and marry his mother, King Oedipus is immediately set up for failure. However, this does by no means make him an incompetent ruler. Quite the opposite in fact. Oedipus proves to be a man renowned for his intellect which is exemplified when he solves the riddle of the sphinx, a supernatural mythological being who held the city of Thebes captive. Furthermore, his is a man of swift action and great insight. This is perhaps best represented with his response to the priest’s complaint, he responds adeptly, “But I have not been idle; one thing I have already done – The only thing that promised hope. My kinsman Creon… has been sent to the Pythian house of Apollo.” Oedipus is indeed one that is faithful and compassionate to his people, this is further exemplified as he orders Creon to…
crucial cause of Oedipus’s downfall is his unwillingness to accept his fate. In doing so, Oedipus…
Shortly before Oedipus becomes king, he defeats a Sphinx that held the city of Thebes captive. Here intellect is Oedipus' greatest strength by answering the Sphinx correctly, Oedipus gains fame, a kingdom, and a wife. Without realizing his relations to the Queen, Jocasta, Oedipus willingly marries her as a reward for defeating the Sphinx. He begins to believe "the world knows [his] fame," and believes himself invincible (l. 8). However, when Oedipus discovers his identity at the end of Oedipus the Play, his shame exposes intellect as his greatest downfall. Oedipus finally learns of his adoption, Laius, and the chaos he creates by marrying Jocasta. He truly becomes "the curse, the corruption of the land," when he gains knowledge of his identity (l. 401). In this case, intellect and Oedipus' shame cause him to blind himself, bringing about his…
In the study of Greek plays, one tries to recreate for an experience, to recapture something of what is meant to those for whom it was written. We know more about the life of Sophocles than we know do about the lives of any other Greek playwright, but this still is not a lot. Sophocles’ work has been said to be the pinnacle of Greek tragedy. Oedipus the King is something like the literary Mona Lisa of ancient Greece. It presents a nightmare vision of a world turned upside down; a decent man, Oedipus, becomes the king of Thebes, whilst in the process unknowingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. As scholars, we are bound to relate this story through history, to ask what the writer really meant, how…
Oedipus blinds himself in shame, accepting full responsibility for poising the city and willingly takes the punishment of exile. In the end, Oedipus’ arrogance led to his downfall. He lost his wife, his eyesight and his kingship. He uncovered the riddles of his life and found out that he was the boy who was the subject of the prophecy. His intelligence, egotism and arrogance led to this finding which caused him losing all that he had. The resolution of his life puts Oedipus above any other tragic hero. He unravels his life in a way that pushes the limits of agony a human can take and there he finds incomparable greatness of…
Pride and self confidence induce Oedipus to despise the prophecy, and to feel utmost superior the gods. He mocks the chorus’ prayer in an arrogant way,…
Citizens are not to question the fate the gods put upon them or the destiny they have written for every person. Oedipus does not seem capable of changing his fate, though by the end of the play he questions the gods motives. “I Oedipus, who bear the famous name”(Sophocles 960) Oedipus says this in the beginning of the play and clearly is full of pride and dignity that he believes himself to be above the gods power. Oedipus killing the original king of Thebes and solving the riddle of the Sphinx changed Thebes, but was it fate that drove Oedipus to kill the king or solve the riddle. It is fate that pursues Oedipus to find his identity but fate is responsible for his incest. When Oedipus summons Teiresias to Thebes, The blind man tells that one cannot outrun fate or change it. Teiresias explains to the company present that the man who killed King Laius is in Thebes.…
The premise of the play is how Oedipus’s decisions unknowingly lead to his fate. Oedipus was free to make his own decisions, and his decisions tied in with his fate. Oedipus did not know that all his decisions would lead to the killing of his father and the marrying of his mother. Oedipus was a very stubborn and curious person; he forced the servant of Laios and also Teiresias to tell him the truth about his past, even though neither one wanted him to know the truth. The servant stated, “… if I speak the truth, I am worse than dead” (p.165). Both warned Oedipus that he did not want to…
Sophocles' Oedipus Rex revolves around the story of Oedipus, who now is King of Thebes, searching for the murderer of the past king. The tragedy is not so much that Oedipus is the murderer and committing incest with his mother. After all, he was fated to do so, and Oedipus commits these crimes unknowingly. The real tragedy of Oedipus is his trying to defy his destiny and compounding the troubles with his pride. Oedipus has the chance to stop the search for the murderer before the investigation starts. Even blind Teiresias, who tells Oedipus that he is the guilty party, wants Oedipus to stop although Teiresias can see the outcome and knows Oedipus' destiny. It is Oedipus' pride that, in telling the members of his court that he will search for the murderer, leads him down the ever narrowing path to the truth and his pride that will not allow him to stop the search.…
Oedipus the king written by Sophocles, Oedipus the main character in this play is motivated to find the truth and his intention are good. The motivation is always followed by the intentions, just as the truth is followed by goodness. Oedipus then pledges himself to find and punish the murderer of Laius. The author used irony in the method of punishment that was given by Oedipus. As stated on page 15 ‘’ citizens of Thebes; whoever among you knows by whose Laius son of Labdacus was killed, I order him to reveal the whole truth to me.’’ His motivation is innocent. It is one of the most important reasons what makes it such a tragedy. Oedipus blindly led his life, not physically but mentally, not having any clue that the prophecy might lead to the truth. This is a perfect example to know the truth rather not knowing the truth. If Oedipus did know the truth ‘’ it would have set him free, but first it will make him miserable.’’…
Richard C. Armitage's quote “I have a bit of pride, which is always my downfall.”, is an acknowledgement of a personal fatal flaw, pride, which incidentally is a flaw shared by many of history's great leaders. One example is Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of France, whose pride drove his desire to conquer all of Europe, eventually leading to the downfall of him and the nation he built. Similarly, the Greek word Hamartia, a fatal flaw leading to one’s downfall, applies to many historical leaders as well as a particularly iconic figure in Greek mythology, Oedipus. In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, there is a tragic figure named Oedipus who fled his home in Corinth in fear of a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. On his journey away from home, he, unknowingly, kills his father and when he arrives at Thebes, Oedipus is able to solve the riddle of the Sphinx thus filling himself with pride. The people of Thebes crown Oedipus as their king and Oedipus marries the queen of Thebes, Jocasta. However,…
Oedipus The King is most likely one of the greatest tragedies ever recorded. This play tells the story of the great downfall of a once honored king who by the end of the story, becomes a great curse. This is mainly due to his great sense of pride. It was believed by the Greeks that people with this immense pride thought that they were above the gods. Aristotle believed that the protagonist of every tragedy must have some type of tragic flaw that will eventually lead to his demise. To Oedipus ,of Oedipus The King, pride is his tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Some examples of his pride taking over him were: when he correctly answered the Sphinx’s riddle, when he abandoned his adoptive parents in Corinth, and when he killed Laius in the crossroads.…
“I, Oedipus, a name that all men know” said a very hubristic and “blinded” Oedipus. There are three causes that result in hubris, or overwhelming pride, that occur through Oedipus numerous times throughout the play Oedipus The King, and many other leaders. These three causes are: A situation in which a kingdom or a society is experiencing a downfall and is in need of a savior, something fortunate happens that puts the character in a favorable position and in an ideal setting in place, and an above-average denial, ignorance, or “blindness” to new-found knowledge which may place the character in an unfavorable or degrading position or situation with people of the kingdom or society in which the character is located.…