The play Oedipus The King begins with the king and queen of Thebes, Laius and Jocasta. Laius was warned by an oracle that his own son would kill him and that he would marry his mother, Jocasta. Determined to reverse their fate, Laius pierced and bound his newborn sons feet and sent a servant away with him with strict instructions to leave the child to die on the mountain of Cithaeron. However, the servant felt badly for the infant and gave him to a shepherd who then gave the child to Polybus, king of Corinth, a neighboring realm. Polybus then named the child Oedipus (swollen foot) and raised him as his own son. Oedipus was never told that he was adopted, and when an oracle told him that he would murder his father and marry his mother he fled the city believing that the king and queen of Corinth were his parents. In the course of his travels, he met and killed Laius, thinking that the king and his servants were a band of robbers, and thus unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy.…
The play starts with the presentation of the main character: Oedipus, the king of Thebes. Sophocles presents Oedipus to the reader as a majestic figure who addresses his attention to the people of Thebes from his palace. The city had been hit by a devastating plague due to Laïos (the previous Theban king) murder and Oedipus was believed to be able to help them overcome that hardship. As the play develops, the reader is provided with the fact that Laïos, Oedipus' biological father, and Iocastê, his biological mother, learned through an oracle that Oedipus was fated to kill his father. Laïos decided to kill his son and Iocastê ties their child's feet together. Oedipus was given to a shepherd to be sent to death, however, the shepherd, pitied the baby and changed his mind, handling the infant to a servant of Polybos, the King of Corinth. Oedipus was raised as Polybos son and never knew, despite his suspicions, that he, in fact, was not Polybos' biological child. During this sincere search for his true identity, he asked to the Delphi Oracle about his real parents. The Oracle did not provide him with the answer Oedipus was searching for, but told him he was doomed to kill his father and mate his own mother instead. Later, Oedipus met Laïos and, ignoring that he was his biological father, ended up killing him over an argument on the road to Thebes. Because he solved the Sphinx's riddle, Oedipus was rewarded with Thebes' kingship and the hand of the Theban queen, Iocastê, his biological mother. At this point, he demanded that the shepherd was brought to him and his search for the truth has ended: he found out he was Laïos' and Iocastê's son. When she figured out she was Oedipus' biological mother, Iocastê committed suicide and Oedipus struck his eyes with…
Oedipus has a sense of curiosity about his childhood and he looks for the answers. As a child, he experiences an event with an inebriated man who tells Oedipus that he is not the son of his parents, Polybus and Meropê. Oedipus, perplexed and annoyed, he asks his parents if this is an…
31. Molds and mushrooms are similar in the process of reproduction. They both reproduce asexually through the process of sporulation. Why these organisms reproduced anywhere?…
According to Adade-Yeboah, Ahenkora, and Amankwah (2012), “Tragedy is of action and not character as Aristotle puts it” (p. 10). Therefore, Oedipus’ tragedy deals with his ignorance and not his character. Oedipus is ignorant in the fact that he does not realize he is committing patricide or incest (Adade-Yeboah et al., 2012, p. 11). Oedipus grows up knowing two opposite people that he thought were his parents, which leads to him killing his biological father and marrying his biological mother. Oedipus then goes on to search for his biological father’s killer and soon realizes that it was he himself who committed the atrocious acts toward his family. He came to this realization after it was revealed to him by an oracle. Originally, Oedipus believes that the man he originally kills is only just a shepherd, when in return it is his biological father. According to Greenburg (2012), “Oedipus has been told, and has come to believe, that at the end of his life and in death he will have the power to protect the city that has taken him and buried him” (p. 52). Oedipus maintains the belief that things will always be the way he knew them to be and he would be in charge of the city he knew and loved. He maintains this belief until an oracle reveals his misfortune. At first, Oedipus and his wife (biological mother) refuse to believe that what they were told is true. According to…
“Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of a life, an action…” (Aristotle). Greek Tragedy was invented five hundred years Before Common Era, and focuses on the actions of characters. These actions emphasize the harsh reality in which the innocent mankind lives in. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is defined as one with great potential, but has a hamartia leading to the ultimate demise of himself. Oedipus’ actions are tragic, as he tries to make the right choice but fails. He was dealt a hand that would only lead him to lose. Furthermore, Sophocles develops Oedipus as a relatable character which allows for catharsis to occur. Aristotle’s, The Poetics, explains the necessary components to create a powerful Tragedy. Oedipus the King is a powerful representation of Aristotle’s ideas on tragedy, so the purpose, protagonist, fall, and plot elements in Oedipus the King demonstrate the concepts of tragedy written in The Poetics.…
The main concentration of Oedipus was preventing his downfall in the story, but due to his inner blindness and the rest of his character flaws he was unsuccessful in this journey, which is the reason that Oedipus was a static character throughout the whole story. He has various flaws, which always started multiple conflicts in the story, all of which gradually directed him to his downfall in the plot of the play. All of the shortcomings of Oedipus are the reason for his quick, horrific downfall from his kingliness into poor, ever-wandering blind man he has become by the conclusion of the story.…
King Oedipus tried to find out what killed Laius the King before he came to power, because the oracle told them that his murder needed to leave to free the city from disease. So the King used Creon to find men he needed to speak with in order to find out who killed Laius. King Oedipus did whatever he could to find out who killed Laius which was why he was thought of as a good king. I thought that he tried hard to help the people of Thebes, but it would come to haunt him in the future. Oedipus' wife Jocasta tells him where Laius was killed; she said it was at crossroads were Oedipus remembers killing a few men that were bothering him on the way to Thebes. Jocasta dreads telling Oedipus about the crossroads because without this information I believe Oedipus would never have found out the truth and would have given up his search. Oedipus then realizes that he was most likely the one to kill Laius.…
When Oedipus is born, his parents are told by an oracle that their child will kill his father and marry his mother. To thwart Oedipus’ fate, Laius decides that the child should be killed. As Jocasta leaves him on a mountaintop to die, he is rescued and begins to live a life unraveling the unwanted prophecy. Laius and Jocasta both had eyes to see but they were blind to the knowledge that fate cannot be changed.…
Oedipus hopes to divert the plague on Thebes by identifying the killer of Lauis, as the oracle instructed. He assumes that, although he has killed someone in the past, there is no way he could have been responsible, seeing as how he came to Thebes long after the king's death. Later on, Oedipus accuses Creon of plotting treason against him. In actuality, Creon has no desire to be king; he enjoys all the wealth and comfort without having to take on any of the responsibility. Oedipus, clouded with confusion and paranoia, starts to put the pieces together and glimpses at the horrible truth. He is stubborn in his firm belief that the people who raised him were in fact his blood. Even after Oedipus realizes that his wife, Jocasta, is in fact his mother, he is in just as much disbelief as he is in horror. How could this have happened? Throughout his life, Oedipus has gone to great lengths to prove the oracle wrong. Ironically, so did his parents, and this ultimately is the reason why the events took place. Unknowingly, the decisions that Oedipus makes through his own free will play right into the hands of fate. It is ironic that everything that befalls Oedipus is the result of his own doing, yet most everything he does is an attempt to disprove the…
Oedipus had a curse on him that he didn't know about.Yet Oedipus is stubbornly blind to the truth about himself. King Laius, like most kings, wanted a boy. Not wanting the prophecy to come true, he sends the baby to be abandoned on some mountain. On his way he encounters a traveling caravan. Both claim right of way on the path. Oedipus finds out Jocasta is actually his mother. Forcing him to…
Oedipus is a man of noble blood; his parents, who raised him as a child, were King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus also becomes a king himself when he solves the Sphinx 's riddle, thus saving Thebes and taking over the throne of the late King Laius. Oedipus then marries Jocasta, Laius 's widow, and they have children together. Though he is a very fair and understanding husband, Oedipus 's main concern is always the city of Thebes. When a plague strikes the city, Oedipus refused sleep until he finds the cause, and he, " sent Creon, To Delphi, Apollo 's place of revelation, To learn there, if he can, What act or pledge of mine may save the city" (Sophocles 1257). Oedipus then vows to find who killed King Laius after Creon reveals that Laius 's death must be avenged so that the plague will be dispersed.…
In the story of Oedipus Rex, Laius and Jocaste are king and queen of Thebes, and the parents of Oedipus. Laius was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his own son. Determined to prevent his fate, Laius pierced and bound together the feet of his newborn child and left him to die on a lonely mountain. The infant was rescued by a shepherd and given to Polybus, king of Corinth, who named the child Oedipus and raised him as his own son. Oedipus did not know that he was adopted, and when an oracle proclaimed that he would kill his father, he left Corinth. On his way from leaving, he met and killed Laius, believing that the king and his followers were a band of robbers, there fulfilling his prophecy. Oedipus arrived at Thebes, where he defeats the Sphinx and marries his mother.…
King Oedipus sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to seek the advice of Apollo aware of the fact that a terrible curse has been put upon Thebes. Creon informs Oedipus that the curse will be lifted if the murderer of Laius, who was the king prior to Oedipus, is found and prosecuted. Laius is known to be murdered many years ago at a crossroads. Therefore, Oedipus assigns himself to discover and prosecute whoever it was that murdered Laius. Oedipus begins his quest by questioning a series of citizens. One of the citizens he requested to question was a blind man, Tiresias. Tiresias is known to have knowledge on who murdered Laius.…
Oedipus says: "Lost! Ah lost! At least it's blazing clear. Light of my days, go dark. I want to gaze no more. My birth all sprung revealed from those it never should, myself entwined with those I never could. And I the killer of those I never would" (67). It is at this point that Oedipus realizes everything: he is the adopted son of King Polybus; he is the true son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta; he killed his father, Laius; he married his mother, Jocasta; and Tiresias' prophesy was right in that he was the man he was looking for. When everything becomes so clear to Oedipus, he feels nothing but remorse. He must punish himself, and does so by gouging out his eyes with Jocasta's brooches. His monologue, brought about by his anagnorsis, foreshadows his self-inflicted…