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A Greek Play Created By Sophocles

Decent Essays

A Greek play created by Sophocles around 335 BC, Oedipus the King tells a story about one man’s irony to find the previous’ king’s murderer to seek justice. Oedipus stops at nothing to find the killer. As he questions the citizens, he only finds himself to be the killer. In this essay we explore how one major event can create multiple forms of conflict. The conflicts of Human vs. supernatural, the predestined fate of Oedipus and the gods. Human vs. human, when Oedipus heeds no warnings and stops at nothing to find the truth behind his true identity. And lastly; human vs. self, where Oedipus’ curiosity puts him in a fight amongst himself that he cannot win.

Human Vs Supernatural Whilst Oedipus was still in the womb, an oracle from …show more content…

In a way it was fate from the very start. From the time when his parents talked to the oracle, up until he was placed on the mountain after birth. It was fate that he was then found by the herdsman who then took him back to the city of Corinth. He lived with his adoptive parents until he left, it was at the crossroads where he murdered the man who almost ran him over in a carriage. That man was Laius, his father. As destined he then married his mother.

When a plague hit Thebes, Oedipus sends Creon to the oracle who tells him that the only way to end the plague is to find out who had killed Laius, the previous king. He needed to find them and banish then to demolish the plague from Thebes. Oedipus inquires for Teiresias, of whom he then accused of murdering the late king when he refuses to speak of what he knows. Even after being accused shamelessly by Oedipus of murder for being silent, Teiresias responds “It is not fate that I should be your ruin. Apollo is enough, it is his care.” (p.435). Teiresias is saying that no matter what he would have said, or what he did not say, that it was destined by the gods to happen anyway. Oedipus confronts Teiresias about how he himself saved Thebes by successfully solving the sphinx’s riddles on his wit alone. With knowledge that Oedipus is great at solving riddles, Teiresias taunts him saying” This day

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