“Not knowing information that causes [one] pain and leaves [one] worse off is more pleasant than knowing that information” (Paul Hudson). Oedipus Rex‚ a classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles‚ tells of King Oedipus and the consequences of a curious mind. Throughout the play‚ Oedipus gains more knowledge of his heritage‚ causing trouble for himself and his peers. Rather than pursuing justification‚ remaining unaware of sufferings and tragedies allows one to live more peacefully. Blissful incognizance
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universal plot of Oedipus the King resonates a perfect tragedy. Sophocles’ implementation of anagnorisis and peripeteia enhances the idea of irony in the play and introduces a major theme. Catastrophe adds the aspects of hamartia and hubris‚ along with the element of irony. The well-constructed plot arouses the emotions pity and fear‚ and achieves the tragic catharsis. Sophocles implements these three different aspects well in his plays‚ which supports the statement of Oedipus being a perfect tragedy
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According to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy‚ the famous play “Oedipus the king” by Sophocles fit all of qualifications. Oedipus is a tragic hero since his particular characteristic is king. In another play “Fences” by August Wilson‚ the main character Troy Maxson‚ is different with Oedipus. He is not a tragic hero of Aristotle’s concept‚ but he is a modern tragic. Oedipus was definitely a tragic hero‚ but Troy is not matching it. Following the Aristotle’s definition of tragic hero:
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and well-constructed character‚ as is seen in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Like any tragic hero‚ Oedipus elicits the three needed responses from the audience far better than most.
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When it comes to fate‚ there are two types of people. Those who believe it and those who don’t. The definition of fate‚ is the development of events beyond a person’s control; be destined to happen‚ to turn out‚ or act in a particular way. We see this definition put to use in both‚ “Oedipus the King”‚ and “Romeo and Juliet”. Is fate a real thing though? Or is it something we just see in books. Do we have control over everything that happens to us? Or is our life in the hands of “fate”. Everyone has
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In Sophocles’ "Oedipus Rex"‚ the theme of irony plays an important part throughout the play. In the play‚ Oedipus Rex believes that if he leaves Corinth he will be able to avoid his fate. The oracle says the Oedipus will kill his father and bear children with his mother. Eventually‚ he unknowingly kills his father in a chance meeting and married his mother. Oedipus remains clueless that the oracle’s prediction has come to pass. The play is a tragedy‚ and Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has an
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The Tragic Events of Oedipus By the end of Oedipus’ tragic life‚ he was destroyed. He went from being “on top of the world” to the life of a blinded man with many regrets. Oedipus thinks highly of himself even though he is an arrogant and violent man. Some question whether or not he deserves all the tragedies that are happening to him. Oedipus does deserve all the tragedies that occur in his lifetime because of his certain characteristics and all of the power or control he has. Although he does
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prophet Teiresias all but paints the entire tragic story of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King‚ one of the most prominent pieces of Greek literary heritage. Greeks knew and loved the story of Oedipus from childhood‚ just as children today cherish the story of Cinderella. In his version of the beloved tale‚ Sophocles concentrates his attention on the events directly leading to Oedipus’ destruction‚ portraying Oedipus as a helpless pawn of fate. The most prominent literary device is dramatic irony‚ primarily
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tragedy “Oedipus the King.” First‚ Sophocles presents blindness as a physical disability affecting the auger Teiresias‚ and later Oedipus; but later‚ blindness comes to mean an inability to see the evil in one’s actions and the consequences that ensue. The irony in this lies in the fact that Oedipus‚ while gifted with sight‚ is blind to himself‚ in contrast to Teiresias‚ blind physically‚ but able to see the evil to which Oedipus has fallen prey to. Tragically‚ as Oedipus gains the
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free will actually exists‚ or is it just an optimistic illusion. This deliberation has been the subject and driving force of multiple tragedies‚ perhaps most famously Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth. These timeless classics placed literary recognition and relevance to the conflict between fate and free will‚ and have inspired countless works of drama‚ especially tragedies‚ since their original creation; Arthur Miller in particular focused on this paradox of destiny
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