...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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...Sophocles Oedipus the King Translated by Ian Johnston Malaspina University-College Nanaimo, British Columbia Canada Richer Resources Publications Arlington, Virginia USA Sophocles Oedipus the King copyright 2007 by Richer Resources Publications All rights reserved Cover Art by Ian Crowe. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without express permission from the publisher except for brief excerpts in review. Reprint requests and requests for additional copies of this book should be addressed to Richer Resources Publications 1926 N. Woodrow Street Arlington, Virginia 22207 or via our web site at www.RicherResourcesPublications.com ISBN 978-0-9797571-1-2 Library of Congress Control Number 2007931684 Published by Richer Resources Publications Arlington, Virginia Printed in the United States of America 3 Translator's Note In the following text the numbers in square brackets refer to the Greek text; the numbers without brackets refer to the English text. In the line numbering for the translated text a short indented line is normally included with the short line above it. The translator would like to acknowledge the valuable help provided by Sir Richard Jebb’s translation and commentary. Background Note Sophocles (495 BC-405 BC) was a famous and successful Athenian writer of tragedies in his own lifetime. Of his 120 plays, only 7 have survived. Oedipus the King, also called Oedipus Tyrannos or Oedipus Rex, written around 420 BC, has long been...
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...Professor Pierson English 104 02 March 2014 " Oedipus the King" People can be blinded to the truth. The answer to their question or solution to their problem may have been obvious the whole time. Still, they could not see the answer. They were blinded by the truth. Connections have been made between being blind and enlightened. A blind person is said to have powers to see invisible things. The blind may not have physical sight, but they have another kind of vision. In Sophocles play, "Oedips the King" there are some adverse situations relating to the ability to see things literally compared to having vision symbolically. With this repetition throughout the play it becomes one of its central themes. In the play King Oedipus started life with a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, but Oedipus was blind to the truth his whole life. The parents who raised him weren't his parents at all. His real parents were Laius and Jocasta. Jocasta who was his who was his real mother was now his wife. When Oedipus does find the truth, he loses his physical vision by blinding himself. Even when Jocasta found out the truth, she refused to accept it and commits suicide. Jocasta blindness was different from Oedipus as well as both differed from Tiresias, the blind prophet. Tiresias's blindness was of phyisical nature. Tiresias played the...
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...JP Evans Dr. Bettye Kash Theatre 1030 February 9, 2014 Oedipus the King Oedipus the King is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles that was first performed in 429 BC. The certain remake we watched in class was directed by Don Taylor and aired on the British Broadcasting Cooperation network in 1984. Michael Pennington played Oedipus, and Claire Bloom played Jocasta. Oedipus is the king of Thebes and the town is under a curse. Crops, cattle, and people are dying. People from the town come to Oedipus to solve the problem. Oedipus sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to Apollo to get more information. When Creon returns, he explains that the only way to end the curse is to find the murderer of the former king. Oedipus goes on to question several of the townspeople, who send him to talk to the blind prophet. The blind prophet states that Oedipus is the murderer. Meanwhile, Oedipus argues that Teiresias and Creon are framing him so they can seize the throne. Before Teiresias leaves, he tells Oedipus that he is married to his biological mother. After learning that Laius had learned of the same prophecy, and Jocasta sent a baby boy away to be killed, Oedipus sends for the servant who took the child out to be killed. The servant reveals that the child was given away and taken to Corinth. Oedipus connects the dots and tells Jocasta that the prophecy did indeed come true. Jocasta hangs herself in utter shock, and Oedipus blinds himself and sends himself into exile. The film seemed...
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...Oedipus Rex, a classical tragic play portrays how the protagonist, Oedipus is outrun by fate alongside depicting the classical and historical setting of that era. It is a drama of self-discovery of a man on whom a hereditary curse is placed and thus has to suffer its tragic consequences. It depicts how a tragic hero, due to wrong judgment error has inevitably led to his destruction. The dramatic irony of the audience being a part of Oedipus’s secret leads one to assume that this play would inevitably end in a tragedy. Nevertheless, one is unaware of the consequences that would befall a great and well respected king- Oedipus. The intervention of high power, life and its challenges that a man faces with and attitudes that shape humankind are...
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...The Greek play called Oedipus Rex is a very interesting and tragic play. It has a main tragic hero. It has dramatic irony which is when the audience know what the characters do not. It has a role of a man that sees into the future called a oracle. In this play there are many turns and flips. In the beginning there was a king who had a baby boy and he was told by an oracle that his son would kill him in the future so out of fear this king stabbed his baby boy in the ankle so he could not walk. He ordered a shepherd to take it and throw it away but, the shepherd gave it away to another king and queen who never had a child of their own. They name him Oedipus and he grew and heard about the prophecy about him killing his father and left so it...
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...Oedipus the King begins in the royal palace of Thebes, where Oedipus is greeted by a group of priest. Surrounding them are the impoverished citizens of Thebes, who are carrying branches that have been wrapped in wool as an offering to the gods. Citizens of Thebes are suffering and dying from a plague and cannot seem to put an end to it. Oedipus becomes worried and sends Creon, brother-in-law of Oedipus and fellow ruler, to Delphic oracle to determine why the gods are punishing the citizens of Thebes. Creon returns explaining that the plague is being created because the murderer of Laius, former ruler of Thebes, is in the city of Thebes. Oedipus is determined to get to the bottom of the murder of Laius. He is adamant to seek justice for Laius’s death and is determined to end the plague that has risen in the city of Thebes....
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...The idea that fate is inevitable and unavoidable is true statement. We believe there are forces that control our fate. There’s nothing we can do to alter or to change our fate. No matter how hard we try to change it, we will all come up short doing so. In the play “Oedipus Rex”, the writer Sophocles uses the story of Oedipus to depict the themes of fate and inevitability. Other characters, such as Laius and Jocasta are examples that support the theme even more. Oedipus was a tragic hero in the play due to fate’s effect on his personal misfortune. Fate is an uncontrollable force that can’t be changed or altered no matter what an individual does. In the play, Oedipus is the primary protagonist. Throughout the play, Oedipus, Laius, and Jocasta...
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...William Shakespeare’s King Lear and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex are two classic pieces of literature that are worth studying. This essay will discuss how free will and destiny function in the two plays. First, the plays will be introduced and analyzed separately to provide a basis for contrast and comparison. Once the foundation is established, more advanced ideas will be discussed, such as the concept of evil and literal and figurative sight. Oedipus Rex will be discussed first. The role of destiny is very obvious is this play. The plot is built around destiny; when Oedipus hears that his destiny is to murder his father and marry his mother, he sets out to confirm this prediction and then prevent it. In his attempt to avoid his fate, he unwittingly commits the very acts that were predicted. The actual logistics of the offense are quite impressive. Both Oedipus and his parents work independently of each other to avoid the outcome, and their actions tragically work together to make it possible. The reader is slapped in the face with the core of the theme, which is that the fate of man is inevitable. Since Oedipus was fated to commit these crimes, he cannot do otherwise. The role of fate and free will is much more complex in Shakespeare’s King Lear. A quick perusal of the plot gives a story of good and evil characters exercising their own free wills. King Lear foolishly divides up his kingdom to his two deceitful, older daughters and ignores Cordelia, his honest, dutiful...
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...Sight in Oedipus The phrase “ignorance is bliss” is a common one used in situations where a person is better off not knowing something. A similar phrase is used by Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles that says, “Oblivion – what a blessing… / for the mind to dwell a world away from pain.” (lines 1522-1523) Both of these statements explain how the absence of knowledge can shield a person from feeling pain. In this screwball, Greek tale, knowledge is attained by having sight of either the physical or the mystical world. Before Oedipus spears needles through his eyes, he further expresses his grievances by saying, “I, with my eyes, / how could I look my father in the eyes / when I go down to death? Or mother, so abused… / I have done such things to the two of them, / crimes too huge for hanging. / Worse yet, / the sight of my children, born as they were born, / how could I long to look into their eyes? / No, not with these eyes of mine, never. / ”( lines 1501-1507) Literally, Oedipus is saying he cannot look into his children’s’ eyes without remembering the horrendous things of which he has done. Diving even deeper, he is saying that he is blinded by guilt and shame for he...
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...“Symbolism in Oedipus the King” Literature is composed of various tactics in order to make the reading more interesting and compelling to the audience. One of my favorite literary elements or devices is the use of symbolism. According to Merriam - Webster, symbolism is “the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature” (Webster). This definition might seem elementary to most. However, symbolism can be used to bring out deeper meanings in a text or express the intangible elements by the means of visual representations. Sophocles did a marvelous job of this in the play Oedipus the King. While reading Oedipus the King, there were four instances of symbolism that stood out to me: Oedipus’ scared feet, the murder at the crossroads, the mention of blindness that is present throughout the play and lastly Oedipus himself. Each one of these examples of symbolism adds character to Sophocles’ work of literature. They help guide the tone of the text. When Oedipus was merely three days old his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta, received a prophecy from Apollo saying that one day their son would one day kill his father and intermarry in to his family with his mother. Upon hearing this news, Oedipus’ parents bound and pierced his feet. The King and Queen then sent him off to be abandoned in hopes of avoiding the dreadful prophecy. Oedipus survived the incident and was left with scars on his feet. The scars that were present on Oedipus’ feet throughout his lifetime...
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...According to Robert Fagles, Oedipus The King is known by all to be a dramatic masterpiece. This Greek play is such a masterpiece because it tells the story of a well-known myth in Sophocles’s time and tells it in a way that was never thought of before. He had Oedipus discover through his own persistence that he was the person he had to exile. The play is a tragedy of fate that critics of the 18th and 19th centuries have tried to discount. Our generation of critics sees the situation that Oedipus is put into as an image of their own fears. Fagles mentions Sigmund Freud’s opinion of Oedipus The King, Freud says how he believes the reason the play is still so moving is due to Oedipus being unable to escape the fate that the gods have given to...
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...Oedipus The King By Sophocles Characters- Oedipus- became the King of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. His bold personality makes him a well liked leader, however, it also causes him to make poor decisions. His mother and wife is Jocasta and his father was king Laius. Oedipus believes that his parents are Polybus and Merope. Jocasta- is the wife of Oedipus, and also his biological mother. She tries to keep peace between family members, but when she discovers the truth about Oedipus true identity she tries to keep the secret from him. She is also the sister to Creon The Priest Of Zeus- asks Oedipus to same the city from the plague. Creon- is the brother-in-law to Oedipus, and the brother to Jocasta. He is a bit bossy, and wants more power than he has. Chorus- is a group of Theban elders that react to many parts of the story. Teiresias- is a prophet. He tells Oedipus the truth he doesn’t want to hear, but Oedipus does not believe him. Messenger- announces events that happen throughout the play that happen off stage Heard Of Laius- used to work for king Laius and tells Oedipus the story of his separation from the king and queen. Synopsis-...
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...Oedipus is the second of three Theban plays that Sophocles wrote. The play is set in Thebes, an ancient Egyptian city. There is a plague over the city and will not be lifted until the death of the former King Laius is solved. Throughout Oedipus there are four recurring characters: Jocasta, Creon, Tiresias, and Oedipus. These characters are the ones that get close to Oedipus and help him figure out the plague of Thebes. To better understand the story of Oedipus the characters, the theme and the plot need to be examined. The protagonist of the play is Oedipus. He is the king of Thebes and was made king by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. Jocasta is the wife of Oedipus and mother, who is later revealed in the play. She tries to make...
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...Symbolism in Oedipus the King Many famous literary works commonly contain symbolism which is used as a way to expand the plot and give deeper meaning to otherwise insignificant objects or concepts. One such piece, in this case a play, is Oedipus the King by the famous Greek writer Sophocles. Being a philosopher Sophocles was very good at hiding symbolism within his writing. Some of the most powerful symbols he uses, such as the crossroads at which Oedipus kills Laius and both the “true” sight and vision of the blind prophet Tiresias, as well as the scars on Oedipus’ feet, add a very complex second layer which gives each person a different reading experience and the chance to develop their own connotations. Throughout history countless poem writers, authors and even directors have used a crossroad as a metaphor to represent an important decision or turning point in a characters life. For Oedipus this life changing point came when he was confronted by 5 men at a three way crossroad “Well, Laius , so the story goes, was killed by foreign robbers at a place where three highways meet” (Sophocles 50) the author further goes on to say “ As for the son-three days after his birth Laius fastened his ankles together and had him cast away on the pathless mountains” (Sophocles 50). This shows that the crossroad may not have represented much of a decision at all but only a life changing moment. This is because not only did Oedipus kill Laius at a three way crossroad but he was left to die...
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