...Institution Date Oedipus Oedipus is the protagonist of the play “Oedipus the King ”. Before the play commences, Oedipus is given the kingship of Thebes. He is acknowledged for been intelligent and possessing the capacity to solve puzzles. Most of his subjects at this scene appear to be optimistic in the future of the king (Griffith 95). His intelligence was influential in saving Thebes city. Consequently, he was made the king of Thebes after resolving the riddles from the supernatural being called Sphinx that had captured that city (Sophocles and Gilbert 56). The name of Oedipus means swollen root that generally offers some important information about his personal characters. Additionally, as a baby, Oedipus was drugged from Laius’s house to the mountains and left with his two legs tied together. He was later rescued by shepherds, took him to the house of the king. In the King’s house, he grew into powerful boy (Chase 54). When Oedipus commenced his journey to Thebes he came across his father but killed him unknowingly. He later proceeded to engage in marriage with Jocasta his biological mother without knowing. This paper will describe Oedipus and reveal how he interacts with the other characters in the play. Additionally, it will reflect the speeches and actions of Oedipus while analyzing how he changes throughout the play. Moreover, the paper will offer conclusion based on these discussion. Interactions with characters Oedipus is the main character in this play. As a king, he interacts...
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...theme. Sophocles, the author of Oedipus the King, used three main types of irony to develop the theme: no matter the difficulty of the feat, fate predetermines the outcome. Verbal irony occurs when a character says the opposite of what they mean. Oedipus uses sarcasm in his discussion with the chorus to attack Apollo. The second type of irony, dramatic irony, happens when the audience knows more than the characters. For example, no one but the audience knows that Oedipus killed King Laius. The last type of irony, situational, happens when the characters does the complete opposite of what the audience expects. For instance, the audience expected...
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...Importance of Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King From the Roman writings of Cicero to the Russian writings of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, literature has been growing and stemming from many famous origins. One of the great originators of literature that is seen in our current society is Ancient Greece. Greek literature is famous for its writers, Aristotle, Sophocles, Plato, etc., as well as, various genres of literature, which ranged from comedy to tragedy to drama. There is a combination of one writer and one genre that I will be focusing on in this paper and that is Sophocles and his great tragedy, Oedipus the King. This play, however is not a simple tragedy, it is a branch of theater that we know as dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is defined as the discrepancy between what the characters of a drama know and what the audience knows, what is being said in the play that we know has a different meaning than it has for the characters in the play. This form of theatrical literature is seen over and over again in Oedipus the King. Oedipus sets forth on a mission that is very unknown to him, but very obvious for the audience, thus simplifying the importance of dramatic irony in this play. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ ignorance and the audience’s knowledge work hand-in-hand together to give a greater understanding of dramatic irony. The theatrical play on dramatic irony doesn’t only play a role on the characters, but the audience and the reader as well. Oedipus the King is one of the Three Great...
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...through their stories of Greek mythology. This is best expressed in the Greek plays and stories such as Sophocles’ Antigone and Oedipus the King. In the story of Antigone and Oedipus theKing, male are predominantly superior to women, yet some of the women in the stories transgressed their roles in society to their own. The roles of women in Greek society were very similar to the roles of women all around the world. Their role in society was to be the care takers and was known as nothing more than a child bearer and object of sex. They were portrayed as weaker and obedient to men. In Sophocles play of Antigone, Antigone’s sister says, "We who are women should not contend with men; we who are weak are ruled by the stronger. . . Pardon me if I obey our rulers since I must" (Sophocles, Antigone 61-66). This shows us how typical women act and believe in Greek society. In Oedipus the King, the inferiority of women is shown through the portrayal of Jocasta, being shown as the weaker sex. As we have learned from history, in these Greek plays, the women were played by men, showing that they did not trust women because of the presumed inability to do so or they believed that they were not mentally capable. This is shown in the line "Go, one of you, and bring the shepherd here. Let us leave this woman to brag of her royal name."(Sophocles, Oedipus the King, 749), as said by Oedipus. This line suggests that women of high power just brag about what they have, even though they are...
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...people with power do not know how different they truly are without their power. The two plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone by sophocles is about greek tragedy. The main character Creon starts to change from not wanting power to enjoying his power when he gets it. When Creon gets power he starts to become mad with power. When Creon is mad with power he starts to lose all his family. Creon is slowly making his family lives miserable because he wants everyone to obey him causing them to kill themselves. While in Oedipus Rex when Creon did not have so much power Creon is nice and merciful to oedipus even thought he killed the previous king, however, when Creon gets more power and the title of being king in Antigone Creon starts to become selfish and greedy....
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...Throughout time, women have always been thought to be insignificant and less important when compared to men. The role of men in history had always been that they were to handle the dirty work and provide for their family while the women were seen as only an outlet to reproduce more children. In The Oedipus Cycle, the role of women have been portrayed as helpless and owned possessions of men. The statement that Sophocles tries to show in the plays is that women are for more capable to reach the same goals as men and prove the equality of the two sexes. Throughout the two plays, women are seen as unimportant objects. However, women convey a greater deal to society in both stories. Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, portrays the importance of...
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...Oedipus Rex and Antigone- Sophocles “Oedipus Rex” and “Antigone”, plays by the Greek playwright Sophocles take place in the land of Thebes and have their central ideas as the question of justice. The two plays have several attributes in common and also have some differences. Both plays fall under the tragedy genre where the respective kings, King Oedipus in “Oedipus Rex” and King Creon in “Antigone”, display lack of justice and get punished as a result. In “Oedipus Rex”, King Oedipus displays lack of justice by killing the former king (Laius) and all his servants, except one, mercilessly. He also committed a sin by marrying his own mother. Similarly, King Creon displays lack of justice in the play “Antigone”, by denying the burial of Polenysis and he displays cruelty by being the immediate cause for the death of Antigone, the death of his son and the queen as well. In both plays, the curses on the land of Theses came out of the sins of the respective kings. Fate has a critical role in both plays. In “Oedipus Rex”, King Oedipus knew that he would kill his father and breed children from his own mother. That made him leave Corenth to get rid of his supposedly parents. But the return of Oedipus to Thebes paved the way for the prophecy to occur. In “Antigone”, King Creon couldn’t listen to the words of the blind prophet and paid the price for his ignorance. In the two plays, justice was realized in a similar way; which is through the punishment of the kings who disrespected...
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...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
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...Name: Marc Krishke Instructor’s Name: Professor Karen Richie Course: English 1220 Date: 18 December 2008 Name: Marc Krishke Instructor’s Name: Professor Karen Richie Course: English 1220 Date: 12/10/08 Title: Oedipus the King: A Story of Fate Thesis: “Oedipus the King” by is generally a story about fate as it deals with its unalterable nature and the consequences that come with the attempt to change it. I. Fate and its Characteristics A. Characteristics of Fate 1. Fate as controlled by external force 2. Insignificance of man in relation to fate B. Fate according to Sophocles 1. Determined nature of fate 2. Freedom of man as manifested through his attitude towards destiny II. Oedipus A. His destiny as determined before his birth 1. The attempt of King Laius and Queen Jocasta to alter his fate 2. The futility of such attempt B. Oedipus’ lack of knowledge as instrumental in determining his fate C. Oedipus’ negative attitude towards his destiny D. Man’s attitude as uncontrolled by fate but possesses the power to influence 1. The role of arrogance and self-confidence in the fulfillment of the prophecy 2. Arrogance as a result of experience 3. Self-confidence as contributed by the people of Thebes 4. Arrogance and self-confidence as his response against fate III. Fate according to Epictetus ...
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...------------------------------------------------- Ishmael Question 1 In the novel, Ishmael, the phrase that the gorilla uses to represent society’s creation of a reality for an individual and a group is Mother Culture Question 2 at the end of the novel, the narrator expresses the idea that what he wants from Ishmael is a program Question 3 Daniel Quinn wrote the novel “Ishmael” in the twentieth century Question 4 According to Ishmael, if the takers accumulate knowledge about what works well for things, the leavers accumulate knowledge about what works well for people Question 5 The premise being acted out by Leaver cultures, according to the novel, Ishmael, is humanity belongs to the world Question 6 In the novel, Ishmael, the gorilla says there are two stories being enacted by humans at the present time: the takers and the leavers Question 7 Based on the text of the novel Ishmael, complete the following analogy. The Takers are to the Leavers as Cain is to Abel Question 9 In the novel, Ishmael, the dialogue eventually deals with a biblical story. Which biblical story is a key part of the novel? Garden of Eden Question 10 There are two trees in the biblical story of the garden of Eden, as recounted by Ishmael. One tree is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The other tree is the tree of Life Question 11 According to the novel, Ishmael, if the Takers know the one right way to live, Leavers know the way that they prefer to live Question 12 ...
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...“Antigone” by Sophocles, the characters choose to go with with their conscience to make choices over what society thinks is best. Most of the choices that they make usually have an effect on their fate in the future. In the beginning of this story Antigone, the daughter of the tragic hero named Oedipus, chooses to go with her conscience over what society thinks is best. Her brother, Polynices, is looked as a traitor by society because he brought war upon the city of Thebes. If anyone were to bury him they punishment would be death. Antigone feels that her sister should help her bury the body, no matter what the consequence is. “Antigone. Help me lift The body up- Ismene. What, would you bury him? Against the proclamation? Antigone. My own brother And yours I will! If you will not, I will; I shall not prove disloyal.” (Sophocles 3). This quote shows that Antigone’s sister, Ismene, was with society and thought that burying the body was wrong. Antigone’s feels that she has to bury her brother so that she can feel loyal to her family. Antigone’s choice eventually leads to her death, and the death of others....
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...Literary Analysis of Antigone Sandra Peppers South University Antigone is an epic Greek tragedy written, by Sophocles, around 442 B.C.E. The women of ancient Greek were considered to be less significant than were the males of the same time period. As with this tragedy, gender roles play a pivotal part in understanding why Antigone, the female heroine, did what she did and graciously accepted the punishment that she was dealt. During this particular epic, it will be evident that power, wisdom and experience lay with males, while females were subjected to the obedience and dominance of the males. The males of this era were more assertive and demanded respect from females, as well as other males. Antigone, in the play by the same name, is portrayed as a strong willed female who has strong family ties and will do whatever it takes to honor her family. Antigone is not one to stand aside and play the role of victim when, in her heart, she knows what is right. Antigone is the daughter of the late king of Thebes, Oedipus. After the death of Oedipus, Etecoles and Polyneices take turns in ruling Thebes, but ultimately die by each other’s sword. Antigone has just learned that Creon, the new king of Thebes (and her uncle), has just issued a law stating that Eteocles will have a proper burial whereas Polyneices, who was considered a traitor, will not be mourned or wept over. He will be left for the birds to feast upon; ‘ But the hapless corpse of Polyneices-as rumour saith, it...
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...The Theban Plays are composed of 3 plays all written by Sophocles a Greek tragedian. He was born in 496 BC, and became one the most prominent public figure of his time: elected treasurer and general and grew into one influential writer of Ancient Greece. These plays were all written at different dates and it took him about 4 decades to complete them: Antigone (441 BC), Oedipus Tyrannus (430 BC) and Oedipus at Colonus (401 BC). They all tragedies they were performed in front of thousands of people, all male; they relate the story of King Oedipus and his descendants in Thebes: Oedipus after freeing the city of the sphinx’s curse became a Hero and a King but fall by his past. Murderer of his own father Laius, he then married his mother unknowingly and had four children out his union. The two sons let the crown to their uncle Creon being underage but had a change of mind later on and failed to come with an agreement on who will become the king; this failure was deadly to both, letting the throne to their uncle. However, their death wasn’t created an ongoing problem between Creon and Antigone their sister. A problem which led to her death and resulting to Haemon and Eurydice deaths as well. Throughout these plays, several themes are evoked....
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...Oedipus the King Although the social standards of fifth century B.C. Greece allowed humans free will, Oedipus, in Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, was not allowed to demonstrate this. Oedipus was a leader of his time became a horrific tragedy because of this. Oedipus’s fate forced him to unconsciously go against the laws and moral precepts, ultimately leading to incest, murder, and his own self-destruction. Oedipus the King is a story told by Sophocles that shows major tragedy. Oedipus was born as the son of Laius, the once King of Thebes and his wife Jocasta. The Oracle tells Laius that his son will be his own demise and he listens to them. Jocasta gives the baby to a messenger so it will be taken away and killed. The messenger pins Oedipus ankles so he will always be marked, and the messenger hands him to a shepherd. The shepherd takes him and instead of killing him he lets him live and raises him as the prince of Corinth. Oedipus was told by the Oracle that he will eventually have sex with his mother and kill his father. Oracles speak to a purpose and are inspired by the gods who control the destiny of men. Oedipus growing up with his non-blood parents didn’t believe the Oracle because nothing that they said happened. Oedipus later on in his life became the King of Thebes, and the city was struck by a plague and needed a savor. The city was looking up to Oedipus as he looked for help, so he sent his brother-in-law Creon to go speak with the Delphi Oracle on this...
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...Representations of power in Oedipus Rex: A study of the characterisation of Oedipus, Jocasta and Teiresias. Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy inspired by the tragic demise of the once great ruler Pericles, is a tale of power. In this fateful downfall of the king, Sophocles plays out representations of power through the key characters of Oedipus, Jocasta and Teiresias; particularly evident in ways in which the characters interact and respond to prevailing circumstances whilst trying to resolve their own dilemmas. The actions of these key characters expose the nature of power in Oedipus Rex as corrosive and destructive. Oedipus is destroyed by his passion for the truth and the power he wields in seeking it and, his destruction is tragic in consequence. As the play opens, Oedipus’ powers are formidable. Oedipus is the leader of the city of Thebes; the “City of Light”. He is a noble man entrusted by the people with the kingship of Thebes; a power bestowed upon Oedipus when he “broke [the] bondage [of Thebes] to the vile Enchantress” with the “[stopping] of the riddler’s mouth”. Oedipus is granted the power of “Cadmus’ ancient line” which comes with the responsibility for caring for the citizens of Thebes. When the supplicants appeal to King Oedipus to rid Thebes of the deadly pestilence, Oedipus responds willingly to their needs; “I will start afresh; and bring everything into the light.” This thirst for truth is destructive and his actions driven by self-promotion...
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