Oedipus: A Tragic Hero Oedipus Rex‚ or Oedipus the King is Sophocles ’s first play of "The Theban Cycle." It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate‚ but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character. Oedipus is a man of noble blood; his parents‚ who raised him as a child
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choruses in other plays. Specifically in the Bacchae‚ a play by Euripides and in Oedipus the King by Sophocles‚ the Chorus were an important part of the play and had different functions. In the Bacchae‚ the Chorus’ was more reserved an not so involved but their main goal was to show how to respect and give honor to the divine. In Oedipus the King‚ the chorus was more involved in the actual action by trying to help Oedipus in his decisions and help him chose the right choice. In the Bacchae‚ the Chorus
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results in the tragic hero’s gain of self awareness. A tragic hero is a king or a prince. Oedipus said “I Oedipus‚ your world-renowned king.” (Sophocles2) In Oedipus the King‚ Oedipus was the son of the kings of Thebes‚he has the
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Imagery of Oedipus the King All good works of writing use imagery to give the reader a sense of realness and reality to their stories. Imagery in literature is defined as the formation of mental pictures or images in likeness of things. Oedipus the King uses the imagery of light and darkness throughout the entire play. Generally‚ we perceive light as goodness and truth and darkness and bad and evil. Oedipus the King is a play full of imagery based on light and darkness. When Oedipus dedicates
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King Oedipus Journal Notes a) Oedipus (characteristics / character study) King Oedipus is likewise a saviour. He does not die; he suffers‚ however on behalf of the people‚ a terrible and symbolic agony. He is impetuous and short-tempered. Intelligent‚ as shown in his following statement‚ “I‚ ignorant Oedipus‚ came-/ And stopped the riddler’s mouth” (37) Oedipus says. King Oedipus is a tragic hero. He has a Christ like character. King Oedipus is blinded by his pride and ignorance
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In Oedipus Rex the character of Creon serves as a foil to Oedipus. An individual who is the foil of another provides contrast. Creon is portrayed as a rational‚ ethical‚ and dutiful leader who represents the need for a stable society. All the while Oedipus is portrayed as a rash‚ unreasonable‚ and overly confident king‚ who is constantly trying to keep up with his unavoidable fate. Creon says that he doesn’t want to rule alone as sovereign of Thebes. He prefers the power sharing arrangement that
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Tragedy in Oedipus Rex The Greek drama Oedipus Rex is clearly a tragedy. It definitely meets the five main criteria for a tragedy: a tragic hero of noble birth‚ a tragic flaw‚ a fall from grace‚ a moment of remorse‚ and catharsis. Oedipus Rex clearly meets the first of these five criteria. Oedipus is the son of Laius‚ who was king of Thebes. Even at the beginning of the story‚ when we are told that Oedipus is the son of Polybus‚ he is still of noble birth; Polybus is king of Corinth. The
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How does Sophocles explore the use of contrast in his play King Oedipus? ¬The use of contrast by Sophocles in his play King Oedipus allows the audience the ability to see into the multifaceted layers that possess his characters. Being both physically and metaphorically blind is a motif that is both ironic and somewhat cruel in nature‚ due to the circumstances to which this physical blindness is acquired‚ and the latter is bygone. The contrast between the piety and god fearing nature of Creon and
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Sabrina Bousbar 9/19/12 Period 5 English II Honors Part 1 Oedipus the King‚ lines 1-750 1) What were your initial thoughts about the character of Oedipus? My own initial thought about Oedipus is that he is very nice towards his “parents” because he thinks he will be saving his family and not killing his father. Then when he kills the king I was wondering why he would start a fight to the death when they could have just solved it peacefully. Then I thought he was very stuck up and spoiled because
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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
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