Oedipus the King, is a play introduced in (c. 430 B.C). Written by Sophocles, the play introduces a story about a king name Oedipus. Oedipus lived a fair life, until one day his life becomes a tragedy. Soon Oedipus has to face the outcomes of the issues he created. Oedipus reveals greatness and disaster because the quote defines his journey, greatness links to the beginning of his life and disaster connects to the end.
This furthers the notion that Oedipus’ hamartia is his hubris as a hero’s hamartia is often something that serves as their greatest strength in moderation but their downfall in excess. Oedipus’ confidence in his reason and his charisma derived from self-confidence attracts the support of the Thebans. However, in excess, Oedipus’ pride leads him uncover the devastating truth of his identity and effects the wrath of the gods. Oedipus’ flawed nature is crucial to the development of catharsis as it his flaws that make Oedipus relatable to the audience so that they may become attached to him. Should Oedipus, be too ‘perfect’ the audience would not be able to find themselves in him and thus would not be able to learn from him, which would contradict the purpose of a tragedy according to Aristotle.
Whether success follows the character’s dreams becomes irrelevant, considering the campaign they endured gives them opportunities that otherwise could have not materialized, emphasizing that one should follow their aspirations regardless of the consequences. Oedipus from Oedipus The King is a prince who was abandoned by his royal parents due to the prophecy which preceded him, of him killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus eventually became king and thus kills his father and marries his mother in the process, a fulfillment of the prophecy. A synopsis of his life is given near the end of the play, “Oedipus,- Him who knew the famous riddles and was a man most masterful; not a citizen who did not look with envy on his lot- see him
Oedipus is a wise man who became the king of Thebes, and was destined to free his city of the plague that had fallen upon them. He cared a lot for his people, through his compassion and pity, and felt one of the most notorious things a man could could do would be to help those in need so long as he has the willpower to do so (Sophocles, Oedipus the King). Oedipus is willing to do whatever it takes to bring an end to the plague, he acts quickly by sending out his brother-in-law and two messengers to find the murderer of Laius to end the plague. Oedipus is seen almost as a redeemer, he is told by the priest, “raise up our city, save it, and set it straight (Sophocles, Oedipus the King, line 52).” Unfortunately, Oedipus’s quest to save his people lead to his doomed fate. His fate was that one day, he would marry his own mother with whom he would have children, and that his very own hands would be the hands that kill his father.
Oedipus has many achieving qualities, to which the ancient Greek were fond of, and he made himself to be a good ruler. However, in the end, he could not escape his fate, and the gods reigned above him, no matter how good of a ruler he was. Thus, Sophocles portrays the qualities of a leader, in a Greek perspective through Oedipus, while remaining to convey the gods to have supreme dominance. For one, Oedipus is displayed as the perfect example of a leading Athenian man, as he acts bravely and he is selfless. For instance, he is “clearly a man of action, swift and vigorous action” (Knox, 138), for this is shown as Oedipus “acted at once” (Sophocles, 162) to send Creon to the oracle at Delphi, in search of a solution to save the dying city of Thebes.
In many people’s eyes, it is seen that fate is something that one can not escape. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus gives a speech to the citizens of Thebes, about the murder of their previous leader, Laius. And in this speech, he explains the hardship that the murderer will have to eventually face. In Oedipus’s speech from Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses the literary device of dramatic irony to develop the central idea that fate is destined to happen, and can possibly bring more intensified consequences when avoided. If one tries to escape their fate, the conflicts that occur can be more severe than they were supposed to be.
Since he is born Oedipus was living in the lie. He never knew who were his real parents and what was the real story hidden behind his entire life until it was reavealed to him. Oedipus was born to be a king. Being a king in a certain way helped him discover the truth about his life. Thebes was suffering and Oedipus, as a king, was responsible of solving the problem to save his people from the burden they were carrying.
The Tragic Hero The people of our time know Oedipus Tyrannus as a hero of the two Sophocles tragedies. Oedipus is a mythological person, at least in his origin. Sophocles shaped it on the basis of old Thebes’s myths with such a mastery that he grew up to one of the greatest figures of Greek and world dramatic creativity. Oedipus was destined by a terrible curse by Pelops because of the crime that incurred when Laius committed the crime of rapping the young Chrysippus, son of King Pelops. That curse was to persuade King Laius and to punish him and his lineage to the third child, and his first victim was supposed to be King Laius himself, and was destined to die from the hands of his own son.
In the tragedy Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles, King Oedipus was destined to a tragic fate. He was prophesied to kill his father, King Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. Throughout the story, many symbols reveal hidden meanings related to the ignorance Oedipus displays towards his fate. Sophocles uses Oedipus Rex to convey that ignorance cannot alter fate. The symbols of light versus dark and sight versus blindness help to reinforce this theme.
Pride is formed through personal constant experience of success and accomplishments, but to much pride leads to poor decision making which if not controlled ultimately leads to your demise. In the play “Oedipus the King” Sophocles gives Oedipus a dreadful dynasty predicted by the oracle. Despite Laius’s preparation to kill his son, Oedipus, before his fate was sealed, he survived and later becomes the king of the same city his father ruled over. Over his ruling of the city of Thebes Oedipus gets multiple chances to stop searching for the ugly truth because a man of his stature can not quit the search for the truth. Therefore, Oedipus’ hamartia of pride guides him on the path to meet his everlasting fate.