Sophocles Oedipus The King: The Fall Of Humanity

The authors of this article place a focus on Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and its containing of a lethal plague that profoundly affects this work of drama. In attempting to unravel the factors and descriptions of this plague as depicted in the work, the authors attempt to trace the plague throughout the text as well as search for a possible underlying cause. In comparing the plague within Oedipus Rex to the historical plague of Athens, the authors of this article allow the reader a more in-depth look at the time that Sophocles' writing sought to portray.

The beginning of Oedipus the King the city of Thebes is under a terrible plague with many hardships. Its people and priest have

Oedipus then responds thinking a group of murderers murdered Laius saying, “Where on earth are they? Where will be found this track of ancient guilt.” This shows that Oedipus wants the murderers to be seized and found. Since Oedipus is willing to lead the way to find the murderers of Laius, it shows us that Oedipus really cares about the people of the city.

Oedipus is living in a dream from which he is only just beginning to awake. In this dream, he not only believes that he is in control of his own fate but that he is in control of his own identity. He assumes that he has three virtues: wisdom, reason, and self-control. When he attempts to use these virtues, however, he discovers that he is mistaken on all three counts. His first mistake is believing that he is wise. From this wisdom he hopes to maintain control over the events around him, but true wisdom is actually surrendering to the fact that control is an illusion, a "seeming." His second mistake is believing that he is a rational man. Indeed, Oedipus has great cognitive

Throughout the play, Oedipus the King, Sophocles refers to site and blindness to relate attitudes and knowledge of the past. The irony of sight in this play can be marked by Oedipus’ inability to realize that which is evident to the reader. His extreme pride is his tragic flaw. It blinds him from the truth.

Sophocles' Oedipus the King is a tragedy in which fate is the culprit in destroying the lives of several people. It tells the tragic story of Oedipus, a man who unknowingly murdered his own father and then married and fathered children with his own birthmother. But for a long period of time, Oedipus was ignorant of his true actions, until a plague descended on the city where Oedipus was king: Thebes. When Oedipus sent to the oracle at Delphi for aid in ending the terrible plague, the answer he received was that the murderer of the previous king of Thebes, Laius, must be found and punished. And since Oedipus had arrived in the city of Thebes only after the previous king was murdered, "Oedipus was beyond suspicion and consequently the appointed person to carry out the divine command." (Ramphos, 39) In a speech to the city's populace, Oedipus informed them of the oracle's message and made a personal plea for information leading to the capture of the murderer. Then he made his own prophecy as to what he would personally do to aid the capture of the cause of Thebe's plague. In the following 20 lines, Oedipus then went on to prophesize about the discovery of his own past actions, his fate and what would ultimately turn out to be his own future.

Oedipus the King, is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles, in which the main character is a brave, confident, and an excellent ruler named Oedipus. Oedipus the king of Thebes shows these qualities throughout the beginning of the play on many different occurrences. However, his personality changes in the end of the play when his life is close to coming to an end.

The novel, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, is a dramatic play about a witty, compassionate king. The king continues to fight for his city as a plague wreaks havoc. After a prophet comes through and reveals that the king is the problem, a complete unraveling of the truth ensues. This ultimately leads to the demise of the king and most everyone he loves. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, King Oedipus is portrayed as a morally ambiguous character as he cared for the city and his family, but at the same time he recklessly banished Kreon and mocked Teiresias.

Tragic hero could be said to be someone that has had a tragic flaw that leads to the hero's death and also helps the reader to sympathize with the character. Oedipus is a classic example of a tragic hero who had many flaws on the surface, such as the lack of self-knowledge, curiosity and pride, and the wisdom gained at the end.

Oedipus the King is a famous play written by the renowned author Sophocles and first acted out back in 429 BC. It is the second of three plays written by Sophocles that dealt with Oedipus; the first one being Oedipus at Colonus and the last one being Antigone. This play relates the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes King of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling an old prophecy that said that he would kill his father Laios and marry his mother Jocasta. He embarks on a journey to try and find the man who killed his father, and promises to banish this man from Thebes forever. In the end, he will learn the ugly truth; he is the one who killed his father, and the woman he considered to be his wife is actually his mother. This play is a classic tragedy, considering that Oedipus’ own faults will lead to his tragic downfall at the end of the play. One of the important aspects of this play that makes it so good, although unknown to many, is the fact that this is a piece of climatic drama, which means that most of the action and of what constitutes Oedipus’ misery in the end occurred before the play even starts. In fact, the prophecy that will end up being the focal point of the play was set on Oedipus when he was a little boy, which is long before the action of the play even started. This is where the Chorus comes in handy. According the “Glossary of Dramatic Terms”, the Chorus is “a masked

As the reader goes on to read the story by Sophocles they come to see why Aristotle considers this story to be a tragic. For the story of Oedipus the King is a true tragic from the very beginning. We come to see the hero who by the public is raised up since he or she appears on the outside to be a person of virtue. So much virtue in fact it is believed that they have no faults and are a perfect human being. However, this “hero” goes on and fails in some way. In turn he fall from their high position and fall in the lowest regards possible. This in turns causes that person to be shown pity.

Unknowingly marrying his mother and the sire of his children Oedipus, a father, a son and a brother to them went through a lot pain when the truth is revealed. The true parents of Oedipus abandoned the child on the sole bases of a prophecy that may or may not have come true foretelling of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother, they leave him in hopes to be killed so this does not happen, but apparently you cannot get away from “fate”. “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a masterpiece within its own rights when one speaks of the epic plays, but is there a thing such as fate that actually exists? The servant that had to leave the poor child to die either by animal or nature could not do it, and as such caused the butterfly effect to go into play. Not being told of his true parentage and was kept in the dark until the last possible second, the denial as realization struck Oedipus and the outcome that came with it. Would being ignorant have been better than knowing the truth?

Sophocles is very influential and one of the first great play-writes. One of his greatest characters is no-doubt Oedipus the king. Oedipus is one of the most complex and interesting characters ever put to paper. Oedipus’ actions are very unique and human, in the context of books. Oedipus has many different character traits, such as his hubris, determination, and knowledge, however all of them blend seamlessly together in a very believable and human way.

Throughout tragedies in Greek literature, the hero always has one tragic flaw. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ main flaw is his overactive hubris, which in turn clouds his overall judgment. This is evident in the Chorus’ first ode to the city of Thebes as they try to ask the Gods for the banishment of the plague. Their answer does not come from a deity, but from Oedipus himself as he enters the palace and says, “You have prayed; and you prayers shall be answered with help and release if you will obey me, and are willing to put in hand the remedy you distress requires” (Sophocles lines 213-16). By Oedipus saying this, he elevates himself to the importance of a God. The people of Thebes need to pray to him to free the plague that is ravaging the city. This is only a small taste of his arrogance early in the play. Later, the blind seer, Teiresias, comes into the palace to tell who murdered Laius. Oedipus endlessly questions him, which Teiresias only response that he does not want to utter the truth that he knows. Angered by Teiresias’ unwillingness to speak he begins to make ironic jabs at the seer’s blindness and at one point calling him outright saying that he is a “Shameless and brainless, sightless, senseless sot” (Sophocles line 374). Oedipus continues to say that because Teiresias is “Living in perpetual night you [Teiresias] cannot harm me, nor any man else that’s sees the light” (Sophocles lines 377-378). It is ironic because Teiresias knows the truth behind

For many centuries it has been debated whether the downfall of man is fate or the result of man’s actions. This same conflict is seen in Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex. Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a prince that left his home city Corinth due to a prophecy that an oracle prophesized saying that he would kill his own father and marry his mother and because of this Oedipus left Corinth. He later ventured out of the city and came to Thebes in which he saved the city from a plague. He was then made King in which he served the city well. However, as the play unfolds we see Oedipus’ character starts to change in which this change brings about his downfall. Therefore, due to the tragic character flaw of his character, Oedipus is responsible for his own fate.