11/9/12 Oedipus the King Essay Sight and Blindness has many different meanings throughout the world. The concept of blindness can be seen as the literal inability to look at the world and it is also perceived as being blind to a situation or event that is obvious. The Sophocles Tragedy‚ Oedipus the King‚ portrays both of the viewpoints of sight and blindness. The characters in Sophocles’ work live a hectic‚ ever-changing‚ life with twists of fate. Oedipus first shows the indirect
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ending of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. How could one not blame them‚ for they placed a prophecy on the king‚ his wife and their son‚ sending them to their dreadful doom. Perhaps there is more to be seen in this famous Greek tragedy. Perhaps the blame does not belong completely to the gods‚ but to the victims of the prophecy. Sophocles exemplifies this throughout the play using methods of symbolism‚ actions and words. From the get go of the prophecy‚ things weren’t well. Once king Laius and his wife
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It leaves one with a feeling of loneliness‚ which can either be mental or physical. As a result‚ characters in this instance become alienated from the world they live in. Three examples of characters who suffer from alienation are Oedipus from the play Oedipus the King‚ “the monster” from the novel Frankenstein‚ and Hamlet in the play Hamlet. These three characters go through the several stages of alienation to relieve themselves from the feeling of loneliness. The stages of alienation include initiation
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Unlike the king that dies with his image and greatness‚ a self sacrificing individual dies with the start of their legacy. In the play Oedipus‚ the protagonist’s free will generates the downfall in the play which becomes clear that fate takes over his life. Oedipus‚ the protagonist‚ is still able to make his own decisions; however‚ he was mainly mortified based on his lack of judgment and his bad decisions throughout the play. Aristotle‚ the Greek philosopher considers this play to be a huge example
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Prophecy and fate play a central role in Sophocles’ Greek tragedy‚ Oedipus the King. Even before Oedipus is born‚ the god Apollo has already determined the tragic nature of his existence. Each action that Oedipus takes to defy the gods causes himself and the city of Thebes to suffer greatly‚ substantiating Apollo’s original intentions. It is important to note that the audience is aware of the ultimate outcome of Oedipus. Sophocles used tragic irony in many plays‚ where the audience understands the
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Sophocles’ Oedipus the King was considered by Aristotle to be the faultless model of a tragedy. The reason Aristotle considered Oedipus the King to be matchless was due to the fact that it flawlessly adhered to his stringent criteria of an effective tragedy. In Aristotle’s The Poetics he describes how Oedipus the King meets his principles of dramatic composition by its use of a complex plot‚ simultaneous discovery and reversal and finally the character of Oedipus (291). Aristotle’s principles of
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Though Oedipus’ decisions are often driven by self-interest‚ he ultimately is devoted to the people of Thebes and values their well being more than his own. His commitment to his citizens can be seen in various instances. The first is during a series of unfortunate events that torments the city‚ the root of it being a plague. Seeking help from their king‚ the Thebans turn to Oedipus for help. In hopes of eliminating the plague‚ he attempts to fulfill Apollo’s commands for the murderer of Laios to
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Sophocles‚ Oedipus has volunteered to find out who killed the previous king‚ King Laius. If he succeeds in finding the “stranger” who committed the crime Oedipus will be able to lift the curse of the plague off the people of ancient Thebes. However‚ in a turn of events Oedipus not only finds out he is the “stranger” who murdered King Laius but also the tragedy surrounding his birth. This discovery leads to an ethical dilemma of “Is the truth always worth finding?”. Since in the beginning Oedipus has cursed
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play Oedipus The King begins with the king and queen of Thebes‚ Laius and Jocasta. Laius was warned by an oracle that his own son would kill him and that he would marry his mother‚ Jocasta. Determined to reverse their fate‚ Laius pierced and bound his newborn sons feet and sent a servant away with him with strict instructions to leave the child to die on the mountain of Cithaeron. However‚ the servant felt badly for the infant and gave him to a shepherd who then gave the child to Polybus‚ king of Corinth
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Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a play about a Greek emperor who was brought to ruin and had no one to blame other then his character. This Greek emperor embodied all traits’ a ruler in his position would be blessed to have. Oedipus was a compassionate honest man who cared for the people he lead. Even as wonderful of a leader as he was‚ Oedipus was brought to his ruin because of his anger‚ impatience and blindness of fate. In the first part of Oedipus the King‚ Oedipus sent his brother-in-law
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