Oedipus Rex Research Paper

Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. The theater was one way in which the ideas of knowledge and truth were examined.

Bavaria was founded in the 6th century along the Naab River which was later called the Upper Palatinate. The Bavarian Duke Odilo vassalised the Slavic princes of the eastern areas of Germany. After many conflicts with the Lombards and other tribes, the Duchy was administered by Frankish administers. The 8th Century was a time of change in Bavaria. This was during the time of Christianization and had just begun to spread into Bavaria. Foundations were created and Pope Leo III ended up founding the first Eccleastical Province in Bavaria. Bavaria had a lot of problems around the 8th and 9th centuries. The state was constantly attacked by the neighboring Hungarians who were able to ravage their lands. It wasn't until a new ruler named Arnulf successfully

To describe the world of Oedipus Rex I have selected the phrasing; “false sense of security”. Although it was not the concluding word on my tree, I realized that it was important to describe the play and its world as such. Having a “false sense of security” could be a feeling that the characters have but it could also be an underlying contribution to the play itself. Think of it as that feeling when the characters on stage assume they are overly secure but we, as audience members, start to realize that they are actually not. This describes the world in which the character, Oedipus, lives in. One filled with fate, denial, spirituality, dependence, fear, smugness, and blindness. All of these words which create a false atmosphere.

In Sophocles play, Odeipus The King, there are many types of universal themes to humans in society. The main character, Oedipus reveals traits that humans have. No one wishes to kill their father or marry their mother. However metaphorically speaking, we can relate to his emotions and behavior. His actions and how he reacts to certain situations, defines him as a worthy person.

As he searched out his past, Oedipus met his downfall, unable to accept how the prophecy came true in the end. This prophecy stated that Laius, the king of Thebes, would have a son who would kill his own father and marry his own mother. When Oedipus realized that he had killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, he created the consequences of his actions. The fatal flaw that orchestrated his downfall was hubris, which then resulted in being brash and stubborn. Oedipus was prideful of being Thebes’s savior and the fact that he was portrayed as a good king that could provide the people’s needs. However, when he found out that he had fulfilled the prophecy, he felt that he was unworthy of his position and did not deserve to

Oedipus tells Creon that he is a traitor, because he thinks Creon told him to send the prophet, Tiresias, to find out who killed King Laius. Oedipus thinks that both Creon and Tiresias were plotting against him, by saying Oedipus was the person that killed the late king. Oedipus’s pride takes over and blames Creon for doing this in order to become the next king. Also Oedipus demonstrated his power by attacking Teiresias, “Monster! thy silence would incense a flint. Will nothing loose thy tongue? Can nothing melt thee, Or shake thy dogged taciturnity?”(Oedipus Lines 339-341). He refuses to listen to his advice and warnings due to him being blinded by excessive power and

Creon tells that “Apollo commands to take revenge upon whoever killed him [King Laius]”, and Oedipus without any further reasoning proclaims that the murderer must be exile, bringing to himself doom (DiYanni 1310). Nevertheless, is the oracle Teiresias by accusing Oedipus of committing the murder who really sparks the conflict between Oedipus and Creon, the conflict of man versus man. Believing Creon is behind a plot to overthrow him and lacking any concrete evidence, Oedipus fails to his proclaimed intellect and fearing the prophecy could be true, mocks Teiresias for his blindness and charges Creon with treason. When the tension between both characters begins to build up Jocasta enters to give a solution by giving hopes to Oedipus stating that the prophecies were wrong because a herdsman, witness to the murder, had different information. This only prolongs the inevitably truth until the servant to which Jocasta gave up Oedipus dissipates any doubt of the “patricide and incest” Oedipus innocently committed (Letters).

Oedipus was not perfect though he was amazing he still had human emotion and human flaws. You would probably say Oedipus flawed was his self-confidence but as you go deeper in the novel arrogance is the main reason fall his downfall. His arrogance leads him to search for the truth that destroys his life at the end. With Oedipus being very prideful and cocky also, this made him seem prejudice. Oedipus goodness goes out much farther than his position in the kingdom of Thebes. The feeling of power booted his self-esteem up which lead to his downfall and what drove him into the position he was at the end.

In the play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus unknowingly murders his father and marries his mother. When Oedipus discovers this he is disgusted with himself and decides to go into exile. The Misanthrope is a play about the self-exile of the main character Alceste. Challenged in court, he refuses to take back the criticism of a sonnet written by a powerful nobleman. Alceste and Oedipus are both convicted by their knowledge of the truth. Although, the United States grants asylum to more refuges than any other country, there is one man who has decided to self-exile.

4. What attitude toward the gods does Oedipus exhibit after learning of Polybos' death? Again in light of ode 2, what is foreshadowed by Oedipus' statement? What effect upon the audience might the similarity of reactions of Oedipus and Jocasta have?

Many plays have grand plots only to be matched by the grand settings these plays take place in. However, in many plays portraying every action relevant to the plot on-stage is simply impractical for the materials/time required for the play and for the story itself. Off-stage action are important to the play in Oedipus the King so that the story can be portrayed in a more efficient manner without constant scene changes and ridiculous amounts of props and backdrops, for the audience to better understand the limited perspective of the characters, and to maintain secrecy and confusion throughout the play.

Sophocles Oedipus the King is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well-known to the Athenian's. Oedipus is the embodiment of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus' life and to further characterized him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of Thebes: “What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?” Oedipus correctly answered “Man” and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also, man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well-being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius who was taken to the mountain by a Shepard to be killed so the omen of the god Apollo that Laius' son would kill him and lay with Jocasta would not come true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point.

As opposed to Seneca’s version, Oedipus is a very proud King. He is convinced that the plague infects the land for some other notion rather than his own sins. He sends his Jocasta’s brother, Creon, to Delphi to speak with the Oracle. He is told that the only way the plague will stop is if, “The god bids us to expiate the king’s murder with exile—to avenge the killing of Laius.” (Seneca 35). Later finding out from the prophet, Tiresias, that he himself is the murderer of his father. Creon is then accused by the proud Oedipus, of treason and orders he be executed. Seneca's’ version has Creon imprisoned. This shows how he refuses to hear the truth and rather have another killed, than accept that the plague is there by his doing.

Thebans sought Oedipus, their King, to find the cause of the plague and to resolve it. It is revealed to Creon by an oracle at Delphi that the plague was due to the unpunished murder of King Laius. Creon, Oedipus?s brother-in-law, relayed this information. Oedipus, being the dutiful king that he was, sought the prophet Teiresias on the premise that the prophet could explain the cause of the plague. Sadly, Oedipus did not realize that by calling for this prophet would, in turn, reveal a dark secret that would eventually lead to the ruin of Oedipus. Teirsias proclaims,? I say you are the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek.? (1009). The proclamation, along with a suggestion of incest on Oedipus?s part, Oedipus failed to understand. This was the prophets attempt to explain to Oedipus that he, Oedipus, had killed King Laius. Oedipus still does not realize that the man and servants he encountered that day at the crossroads was King Laius. This set of events is another example of how a decision made by Oedipus contributed to his downfall.

Particular bold features define this ageless funerary mask, creating an immortalized face. A broad nose sits in the heart with a mustache directly beneath, a feature quite common of those regal. Proportion plays a chief role in the deceased man’s face, for close examination reveals how evenly spaced each feature is. Perhaps the proportion is there to provide the man, who is thought to be a monarch, a godly presence. Given the Olympian gods are supposedly perfect, it only makes sense as to why a man gifted a beaten gold mask has flawlessly proportioned features. Individuals seemingly must have worshipped and blindly obeyed his every whim like the Chorus in Sophocles’, Oedipus Rex, followed their false god, Oedipus. That theory can even furthermore be confirmed, considering this artwork comes after the life of this man occurred, his death not sufficient in ceasing the infatuation many held.