...theme in Oedipus the King where we question if his path was pre-determined or chosen willingly. “Listen to me and learn some peace of mind:no skill in the world,nothing human can penetrate the future.”(780-782; Fagles). This is a quote derived from Jocasta who is Oedipus’ wife and mother, and she supports the idea where our paths and destiny were already chosen. Throughout this play we learn which one truly prevails. “Fate was the will of the gods, a reality that could not be opposed, ritually...
Words: 1206 - Pages: 5
...them in life, especially if other people resist sharing such information. As people grow their understanding of truth also grows with them, for they learn that discovering some truths will cause them more harm then it will good. In Sophocles Oedipus Rex readers are able to watch the main character Oedipus go through this process which can take people years of their lives happen in a span of a few short days. In this process, people discover that it is not necessarily beneficial to know every truth and that it is ok to stay blind to some issues. As people go through the aging process they are...
Words: 1594 - Pages: 7
...Free will in Oedipus Rex In terms of their fate, characters in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles have very little control over their lives and can do little to prevent major events in the story to influence the fulfilment of prophecies. The play itself follows the king of Thebes, Oedipus, who realizes in his quest to save the city that he has fulfilled a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, a fate he had been trying to escape his whole life. One important theme in this story is the theme of free will, or in this case the absence of it. The significance of free will in Oedipus Rex is that Oedipus does not truly have the ability to exercise free will or to change his fate, but throughout the story he still tries to escape...
Words: 993 - Pages: 4
...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 A. Fate must not be feared and wanted B. Fate must be accepted with grace and...
Words: 3315 - Pages: 14
...Oedipus the King tells the story of a politician born into the role and raised to be a king. While Oedipus possesses some traits of a natural leader, he eventually becomes more concerned with his personal best interest over the substance of his ruling. Oedipus’ character was a representation of a typical political leader who lost confidence in his own authority. At first, Oedipus attempted to sympathize with his citizens, however, when he was threatened or felt pressure, he only protected himself. Oedipus’ behavior reflected that of a power driven and ineffective leader. This type of rulership has been seen many times throughout history and the play was a warning against arrogance and paranoia as it can cause failure in even the strongest...
Words: 391 - Pages: 2
...your every movement. Humans want control of their own lives, and if given an “ugly” destiny, they will make every attempt to destroy that fate and create their own. Both Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg, and Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, demonstrate human determination to create their own path. Humans crave the opportunity to shape their own destiny. When given a frightful or potentially life-altering destiny, humans decide not to simply accept it, but fight it. Humans are born with a fighting attitude. If given a destiny that is frightful, they will make every attempt to abolish that fate or at least delay that certain destiny from occurring....
Words: 1000 - Pages: 4
...Jordan Young Durand INQS 125 November 8, 2015 What is a Tragedy? What makes a tragedy tragic? The plays Waiting For Godot, Exit the King, Oedipus the King, and Othello were all written in different time periods, different themes, with different writing styles, and from different parts of the world yet they all have the common theme of tragedy. How are four different plays so similar? In all four plays the characters are confronted with a change in identity, they are given false hope believing that they are going to succeed in achieving their ultimate goal, and they have human characteristics that make their story relatable to the audience making it more tragic. Most people would agree that tragedy is the demise of a character that is prefaced with false hope and ends with a change in the main character’s self-identity. What makes it tragic is that it created by human characteristics which make it relatable to the human experience. Hope keeps a person pushing forward. They have confidence in their actions and believe it will eventually lead them to the achievement of their ultimate goal. When faced with the fact that the hope you had is false hope it blocks your ambition and makes it harder to be able to strive for success. Oedipus and Othello are both given hope by their sense of nobility and by their desire to overcome an obstacle. To them it looks like things are going to get better and that they will keep their position above the people. Its human nature to want and...
Words: 1810 - Pages: 8
...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 identity...
Words: 4487 - Pages: 18
...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...
Words: 16865 - Pages: 68
...resonate through many of their myths and texts. We see countless characters who go to great lengths in attempts to alter fate, even if they know such an aim to be futile. The inability of any mortal or immortal to change prescribed outcomes stems from the three Fates: sisters Clotho, who spins the thread of life; Lachesis, who assigns each person’s destiny; and Atropos, who carries the scissors to snip the thread of life at its end. These three divinities pervade all the stories of Greek myth, whether they be stories of gods, goddesses, demigods, heroes, or mortals and regardless of the exploits recounted. Nothing can be done to alter or prolong the destiny of one’s life, regardless of the number of preparations or precautions taken. This inflexibility applies just as much to Zeus as to the lowliest mortal, as we see in Zeus’s hounding of Prometheus to divulge the name of the woman who will bear the offspring that one day will kill him. Though this lesson is somewhat consoling—the way of the world cannot be bent to match the whims of those in authority—it is also very disturbing. The prospect of free will seems rather remote, and even acts of great valor and bravery seem completely useless. The myths provide an interesting counterpoint to this uselessness, however. In virtually all the stories in which a character does everything in his power to block a negative fate, and yet falls prey to it, we see that his efforts to subvert fate typically provide exactly the circumstances required...
Words: 2346 - Pages: 10
...1973). Freud’s major contribution to psychology is the understanding of the unconscious as a place, in the human psyche, where repress desires exist and can only be fitfully repressed (Freud, 1973; 2003; 2005; 2006). Through the lens of Sigmund Freud, his work on Psychoanalysis (1973), The Dreamwork (2006), Totem and Taboo (1950), Civilization and Its Discontents (2005), and The Uncanny (2003); this paper will describe the foundations of the unconscious and how...
Words: 3040 - Pages: 13
...productions. Freud suggested that an unconscious oedipal conflict caused Hamlet's hesitations. (Artist: Eugène Delacroix 1844). In his The Interpretation of Dreams (1900), Freud's analysis starts from the premise that "the play is built up on Hamlet's hesitations over fulfilling the task of revenge that is assigned to him; but its text offers no reasons or motives for these hesitations".[83] After reviewing various literary theories, Freud concludes that Hamlet has an "Oedipal desire for his mother and the subsequent guilt [is] preventing him from murdering the man [Claudius] who has done what he unconsciously wanted to do".[84] Confronted with his repressed desires, Hamlet realises that "he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish".[83] Freud suggests that Hamlet's apparent "distaste for sexuality"—articulated in his "nunnery" conversation with Ophelia—accords with this interpretation.[85][86] John Barrymore's long-running 1922 performance in New York was characterized as "revolutionary in its use of Freudian psychology; in keeping with the post World War I rebellion against everything Victorian, he eschewed the genteel, idealized 'Sweet Prince' of 19th-century tradition, imbuing his character with danger and sexuality."[87] Beginning in 1910, with the publication of "The Oedipus-Complex as An Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery: A Study in Motive,"[88] Ernest Jones—a psychoanalyst and Freud's biographer—developed Freud's ideas...
Words: 4481 - Pages: 18
...stage represents the fixation on a different area of the body and as a person grows physically, certain areas of their body become important as sources of potential frustration, pleasure or both. Freud referred to the instinct or drive which resulted in these fixations as the ‘libido’ and the areas of the body as the ‘erogenous zones’. Freud believed that life was built around a series of tensions and pleasures; believing also that all tension was due to the build-up of this libido, or sexual energy and that all pleasure came from its release (McLeod 2008). In describing human personality development as psychosexual Freud meant to convey that what develops is the way in which sexual energy accumulates and is released as we mature biologically. McLeod further explains that Freud used the term 'sexual' in a very general way to mean “all pleasurable actions and thoughts”. I believe this is a crucial point in helping understand what Freud was saying; certainly I have misunderstood Freud to this point and was somewhat dismissive and sceptical of his relevance to understanding behaviour because of the overtly sexual nature of his theory, I could not reconcile sex and sexuality with an infant or young child beyond gender. However, using ‘sexual’ as an expression of ‘all pleasurable actions and thoughts’ makes far more sense. Freud...
Words: 2944 - Pages: 12
...tragic hero is “someone who is a noble soul, from high estates, and has a downfall in the result of his hamartia or tragic flaw” (Kennedy, & Gioia, 2007). Othello is easily persuaded with bad advice, that his wife is being unfaithful and is in love with another man. Othello being insecure, is crushed when he is fooled into believing that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful. With anger and jealousy in his heart he finds himself causing a downfall in the result of his own tragic flaw. Desdemona continues to stay faithful to her husband even as her husband accuses her of being in love with another man. She is a sweet, kind and intelligent woman who is truly devoted to loving Othello. Heartbroken to find her husband has turned against her and plans to kill her, she tries to defend herself with the truth. She is unable to dismiss the lies told to her husband by the villainous Iago. Iago’s hate for the Moor stems from several different directions. He plays the main reason Othello has a tragic flaw. Fueled by his own jealousy, Iago has started a rumor about Othello’s wife and Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant. Emilia is the wife of Iago and Desdemona’s maid. She is submissive to Iago, but builds a strong bond with Desdemona, which later in the play helps defend Desdemona’s reputation. Othello portrays a tragic hero in the play “Othello, the Moor of Venice” because of Aristotle’s definition of someone who is of high estate, and has a downfall from his own transgressions and flaws...
Words: 1590 - Pages: 7
...tolerance, social justice, sensitivity to individual wishes and talents, etc. 2. Topical/Historical/Biographical - Critics see works as the reflection of an author's life and times (or of the characters' life and times). They believe it is necessary to know about the author and the political, economical, and sociological context of his times in order to truly understand his works. - Poems are placed in their historical context — to explain not only their allusions and particular use of words, but the conventions and expectations of the times. The approach may be evaluative (i.e. the critic may suggest ways of responding to the poem once the perspective is corrected), or may simply use it as historical data. - a poem may be used to illuminate the writer's psychology, or as biographic data. No less than the correspondence, remembered conversations, choice of reading matter, the poem is analyzed for relevance to its author. 3. New Critical Formalist - A formalistic approach to literature, once called New Criticism, involves a close reading of the text. Formalistic critics believe that all information essential to the interpretation of a work must be found within the work itself; there is no need to bring in outside information about the history, politics, or society of the time, or about the author's life. Formalistic critics (presumably) do not view works through the lens of feminism, psychology, mythology, or any other such standpoint, and they are not...
Words: 1514 - Pages: 7
