Sophocles‚ Oedipus the King The following analysis will examine Oedipus the King‚ by Sophocles. The following questions will be addressed: What is the historical context of this period? What are the storylines‚ as revealed in the document? What does the document reveal about the Greek notion of fate and free-will? Who was the author and does he reveal a bias? What was the author’s intent in writing this and whom did he see as his audience? And lastly‚ what stands out as particularly meaningful
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In his play‚ Oedipus Rex‚ Sophocles uses irony to construct the plot and unravel the unfortunate truth. Oedipus Rex‚ also known as Oedipus the King‚ was written by one of the ancient Greek tragedians Sophocles during what is called the “Golden Age of Greece”. In this play‚ the main character Oedipus is warned that he will murder his father and marry his mother. He does everything in his power to prevent the fulfilment of the prediction‚ but despite his efforts Oedipus does commit the awful crimes
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<br> <br>Because the story was one familiar to most of its viewers in its time‚ there are certain things that they are expected to already know. Among them is the background to the legend. Most generally it was that it was prophesied that Laios and Jocasta‚ king and queen of Thebes‚ would give birth to a child who would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother. And‚ fearing the dreadful prophecy‚ that the parents nailed their first son’s feet together (thus the name Oedipus‚ which means "swollen-foot")
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The themes of sight and blindness occur frequently throughout the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. These symbols serve to develop the unity of the play and reveal the traits of the characters. Oedipus‚ Tiresias‚ and Jocasta are very different in their perceptions of sight. Oedipus‚ the successful King of Thebes‚ is a man with the ability to see but is metaphorically blind--blind to the truth of his role in the murder of Laius. He sets out diligently to find the murderer of Laius‚ who is a plague
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prophet‚ soon revealed to Oedipus that the true identity of the murderer was Oedipus himself. Not only did Oedipus find out that one of the men he murdered years before was the king‚ but it was also revealed that Laius was his father and his wife‚ Jocasta‚ was his mother‚
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will decide the outcome of Oedipus’s life in this play. While fully unaware of the cruel truth‚ Oedipus persist in the desire to know about his own existence. He does not succumb to the idea of ignorance‚ and throughout the entire play‚ he pushes Jocasta‚ Tiresias‚ Creon and the Messenger for information regarding his origins. Each of this characters refuse to give him a real answer. “Listen to me‚ I beg you: do not do this thing! I will not listen; the truth must be made known (Sophocles 737 ). His
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see that he is caught up in a web of cruel destiny that he can not escape. The gods demonstrate foresight and insight into the play. In addition to this‚ Tiresias has physical blindness but also has prophetic insight. Finally‚ both Oedipus and Jocasta portray types of mental blindness and shortsightedness. These are all examples of different uses of sight in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is a hero‚ but sometimes he can not see the reality of this. He goes into states where he lacks
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The mind is a very intricate device. Without even knowing‚ it alters the way that decisions are made‚ and how reality is seen. It automatically changes the way someone can handle stress‚ how to act in the face of adversity‚ and how somebody will defuse a situation. When we are faced with stress‚ the body uses a series of defense mechanisms to help cope‚ and as a result causes the actions a person makes to be driven by the defense mechanisms they use. In the Greek drama Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
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issues; not knowing who his real parents were was eating him alive. However‚ Oedipus had an opportunity to find out who they were and he was going to do that under any circumstance. His wife Jocasta knew the truth‚ but she could not bear to tell him‚ knowing that she was undoubtedly his mother. When Jocasta told Oedipus that her son she had by Laius had been born to kill his father that made Oedipus second guess a lot of things‚ about himself‚ the curse and most importantly his family. The story
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moral/ethical values were. In Oedipus‚ Jocasta‚ both mother and wife of Oedipus‚ brings about the moral lesson that you simply cannot escape your destiny. For example‚ when the herdsman is being pressured by Oedipus to disclose the person who gave the baby to him. He tells Oedipus that “his wife would tell him best how all “this” was‚ in reference to Jocasta giving her baby (Oedipus) away. This results in Oedipus realizing that these prophecies which Jocasta attempted to avoid‚ have come true due
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