O Sunlight Of No Light When You Were Mine Critical Lens

Oedipus is a man of noble blood; his parents, who raised him as a child, were King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus also becomes a king himself when he solves the Sphinx’s riddle, thus saving Thebes and taking over the throne of the late King Laius. Oedipus then marries Jocasta, Laius’s widow,

he had done through Tiresias. Oedipus, by trying so hard to succeed in his obligation to free

Oedipus is a man of unflagging determination and perseverance, but one who must learn through the working out of a terrible prophecy that there are forces beyond any man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he

Many times in life, people think they can determine their own destiny, but, as the Greeks believe, people cannot change fate the gods set. Though people cannot change their fate, they can take responsibility for what fate has brought them. In the story Oedipus, by Sophocles, a young king named Oedipus discovers his dreadful fate. With this fate, he must take responsibility and accept the harsh realities of what’s to come. Oedipus is a very hubris character with good intentions, but because he is too confident, he suffers. In the story, the city of Thebes is in great turmoil due to the death of the previous king, Laius. With the thought of helping his people, Oedipus opens an investigation of King Laius’s murder, and to solve the mystery,

Equally important to the role of fate in bringing about the downfall of Oedipus is the human flaw of arrogance that clouded Oedipus’ intellect to reason. One can ultimately see this human flaw in the beginning of the play as he says “Here I am myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (p 262, line 7-9). One day Oedipus heard someone say that he wasn’t his father’s son in which bothered him greatly and triggered his curiosity in whether Polybus and Merope were his biological parents. So, as a way to figure out his identity and true origins, he left to Delphi to see the Oracle. However, instead of answering Oedipus’ answer of who his true parents were, the Oracle told him of his fate that “You are fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see – you will kill your father the one who gave you life” (p. 297, lines 873-875). Hence, his arrogance is clearly showed as he disregards the prophecy, similar to the actions of Laius and Jocasta by escaping it, as he abandons Corinth and sets forth to a place where he “would never see the shame of all those oracles come true” (p. 297, lines 879-880). His flaw of

Sophocles said that a man should never consider himself fortunate unless he can look back on his life and remember that life without pain. For Oedipus Rex, looking back is impossible to do without pain, a pain that stems from his prideful life. Oedipus is aware that he alone is responsible for his actions. He freely chooses to pursue and eventually accept his own life's destruction. Although fate victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own heroic qualities, his loyalty to Thebes, and his undying quest for the truth ruin him.

A man should live only for the present day.” (Soph. 1. 3. 65. 56.), the irony of his words is that had Oedipus or even his father Laios followed such ideals, then would they have shared such a fate, given the ideas that fate is inescapable.

Oedipus soon realized that all his efforts of trying to prevent the inevitable, was just fate’s way of completing the Prophecies. Whether it was predicted before his birth, told at the time of his birth or orchestrated throughout his life, Oedipus had a per-determined lot to follow. No matter the derailed plans or unplanned events could stop the sad, tortured life that Apollo had laid out for

Pride like that of Oedipus had been the downfall of many great leaders. Oedipus is blinded by his arrogance and won’t accept the fact that he can’t avoid his fate. His pride first affects him when he is told about what his fate has in-store for him. Oedipus

Throughout the play Oedipus is given clues to his past and the fate that is to come, the moment that he gouges his eyes out shows these clues that he has missed. Jocasta says wildly, “In the name of heaven, don’t proceed! For your own life’s sake, stop! And I’ve been tortured long enough.” (59) This shows a moment of caution for Oedipus to not continue to seek the truth. The dramatic irony of this situation illuminates the horrors that are to come because of fate as well as Oedipus’ free will. Oedipus: “Laius was killed—I thought I caught the words—where three highways meet?” Jocasta: “So they said. That is how the story goes.” (41) Oedipus is first hearing the true story of the late king’s murder and seems to be beginning to realize that it was he who did the killing. Even though this could be his illuminating moment, Oedipus is unwilling to accept this fact and must hear

Not knowing he was the murderer, Oedipus had now cursed himself. "Whoever he is, a lone man unknown in his crime or one among many, let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step – I curse myself as well… if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house, here at my hearth, with my full knowledge, may the curse I just called down on him strike me!" (606)

Early on in the story, Oedipus is the proud and confident king of Thebes; he is a man that is not to be underestimated or degraded. This once undisputed fact becomes more debatable the longer the play continues, however. The conflict begins with Oedipus attempting to lift a curse that has been unleashed on the kingdom of Thebes. This curse was caused by the murder of the previous king, Laius, and the only way for it to be lifted is for the murderer to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus works fervently to unravel the mystery behind who Laius’ killer was. However, each new discovery ends up incriminating Oedipus as the killer instead. Along the way Oedipus discovers that his supposed parents, the king and queen of Corinth, are not his true parents. This revelation pushes him to begin a new search for his biological parents, a search that eventually leads him to one of Lainus’ shepherds. It is this shepherd that reveals to King Oedipus that his mother is Jocasta, his current wife. Consequently, Oedipus falls into a fit of despair in which he stabs his own eyes out and confronts the consequences of his shameful existence. By the end of the play, Oedipus has not only lost his status as the king of Thebes, but has also been exiled from the kingdom and has become an outcast for all of society to hate. The transition Oedipus undergoes

In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is responsible for the tragedy of his downfall. Oedipus is presented with a series of choices throughout the play, and his arrogant and stubborn nature push him to impulsively make the wrong decisions, the decisions that ultimately lead him to his downfall. While Oedipus and those around him consider "fate" the source of Oedipus' problems, Oedipus' decisions show the audience that it is he who is responsible.

Oedipus’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

If there is any evil worse than the worst that a man can suffer—Oedipus has drawn it for his lot.” (p. 98)