Oedipus Rex Rhetorical Analysis

As said by Benjamin Disraeli in Contarini Fleming, “Circumstances are beyond the control of man; but his conduct is in his own power.” Although this quote originates from 1832, centuries before Oedipus the King was published, its logic can still be applied to Sophocles’ play. Disraeli is saying that no one can help the circumstances they are born in, but everyone has the capability to live how they want. At face-value, this may seem true; in the end everyone has the ability to make a decision. Yet, it is their circumstances that drive the choices people make. This is best shown in Oedipus, whose actions were based on the circumstances surrounding him.

Oedipus the King, translated by Thomas Gould, is a very interesting and complex story. Throughout this mythical story of incest and patricide, Oedipus tries to find and expose the killer of King Laius. Little does Oedipus know, it was he who killed the former king of Thebes.

Oedipus Rex was born with the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. His parents try and get around the prophecy by giving away their son. Oedipus grows up not knowing not knowing anything about this he has his big prophecy over his head. and h He travels back to the city of Thebes where he then soon fulfills the prophecy. While he becomes the King of Thebes, he starts the long his journey unraveling the truth. He is a very blind man at first but he changes throughout the play. In the end, Oedipus opens his eyes and turns out to be an accepting man.

Vengeance has been an ongoing problem for many centuries. In the long run, with the new generation, they have been following the same pattern to get revenge, without knowing the reasons why. If no one is willing to stop and think it over, to evaluate if it’s worth the risk, then the act of vengeance will be ongoing at the cost of many lives. Many people do not realize that having to avenge the death of a loved one will take so much time and patience in their lives. In the short story, “An Act of Vengeance,” by Isabel Allende, the issue involves a young girl who gets raped by Tadeo Cespedes, whom also killed her father on the same day. She has lived her life with the burden of having to avenge her father’s death for 30 years. However, in the film, “Act of Vengeance,” directed by Isaac Florentine, pertains to a lawyer who considers his work more important than his family until it was too late. His wife and daughter were murdered and dumped in a hole at the train yard. Therefore, he starts to train himself for the mission of vengeance for his family deaths. There are several similarities between a short story and a film that are about an act of vengeance the theme also differences in characterization, setting, style, and irony.

Odysseus often acts intelligently to fulfill intentions of self-provided survival. Using his gift of persuasion, he manipulates others to get help when he is in difficult situations. One such instance occurs when he arrives at Crete, an unfamiliar island where he knows nothing of the people and their customs, and needs to get home. Upon being washed up into the store, he comes across the princess Nausicaa, and immediately concocts a strategy to persuade her to give him help. In his speech to nausicaa he uses many clever tactics to get her to help him (79-80). Because he is naked, before he begins his speech, he “covers his manhood” with a branch as to not scare her. Then, he begins his speech with flattery, saying “it is of Artemis… that your

Oedipus is a hero, but he represents most men at the same time. He has human characteristics and feelings, such as his curiosity towards the knowledge Teiresias possesses and his horror when he realizes his horrible actions. “If you know something about our pain tell us…Speak then! Tell us what will emerge.” P.13 Oedipus questions Teiresias, curious to know what he knows. “Oh gruesomely clear it has all unraveled… I was bonded with the people I should have never killed.” P.40 Oedipus sees what he has done wrong and feels vulnerable and horror. The audience clearly sees that heroes are very human and how real their limitations. Most people would have felt that same vulnerability if the gods had made us their plaything and tormented us, writing a prophecy of our doom.

The use of rhetorical appeal in Oedipus the Colonus is prominent, as it paves the way for the plot of the story. In this portion of the play Oedipus tries to appeal to the audience’s emotions by forcing them to empathize with his past horrors and misfortunes. Oedipus states” I have suffered terribly, Theseus, wrongs on wrongs, no end”(ll. 670-671). Thus, evoking sadness and extreme grief those reading or watching the play. Sophocles uses pathos to excite and arouse the audience’s interests forcing them to wonder: what will happen to Oedipus. However, from what is being written, the audience might conclude that Oedipus is manipulative, which could prompt anger in a select few that are watching the play. In fact, when Oedipus says, “ I come

Ignorance is bliss. However, in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, Oedipus is a complex character that seeks the truth but not the truth about himself. Throughout the story, his character’s behavior brings many conflicts and struggles between the characters. Each time the King is confronted by a challenge, his choice in behavior causes him more problems than it resolves. Instead of stepping back and evaluating the situation and getting all the facts, Oedipus jumps to wild conclusions and unjustly accuses others of conspiring against him. While all along deep inside of him he has a feeling in his gut that there is some truth to what he is being told. He is very arrogant, quick to anger and ready to blame others before

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar, Mark Antony uses rhetorical devices such as paralipsis, rhetorical questions, and verbal irony in his speech to the plebeians in order to plot them against the conspirators. During his speech to the plebians, Antony uses paralipsis in order to kindle curiosity and interest in the audience. Antony mentions to the plebians that he had Caesar’s will with him but tells them, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it; It is not meet you know how much Caesar loved you” (3.2.152-153). By drawing attention to Caesar’s will, something Antony desperately wants to show the plebeians, but then dismissing the idea of reading it, Antony uses a type of verbal irony called paralipsis. Antony is aware that the contents

Oedipus’ impetuous behavior is another trait that eventually leads him to his downfall. While having a rash and short-tempered manor it seemed to have caused him to make bad judgment calls. Including when he accused Tiresias of being a part of the murder. The reason why being because Tiresias would not answer the questions the Oedipus asked. Oedipus then goes on, over exaggerating his speech towards Tiresias saying, “Did you rise to the crisis? Not a word, you and your birds, your gods-nothing. No, but I came along Oedipus the ignorant, I stopped the sphinx! With no help from the birds, the flight of my own intelligence hit the mark” (Lines 449-453). Following this quote, Oedipus ignores Tiresias’ warnings to not pursue the killer; if he did he

In the play King Oedipus, Sophocles depicts Oedipus’ inevitable downfall, which represents man’s struggle between free will and fate. In an attempt to use the audience’s knowledge to his advantage, Sophocles opens the play seventeen years after Oedipus murders his father, Laius and marries his mother, Jocasta. The sequence in which the story unravels reveals the strong psychological focus towards Oedipus’ character. In search of his identity, Oedipus’ enigmatic quality and moral ambiguity compels readers to question whether his ignorance renders him morally blameless. The vagueness about Oedipus’ intellectual state can be interpreted as unconscious knowledge, which may make him morally culpable. Guilty

In “Oedipus the king” translated by David Grene, a dialogue between different characters in which the idea of tone, attitude, and diction is amplified throughout this text using many rhetorical strategies and shifts supporting more emphasis to the text which brings it to life, as it also provides the tools for the audience to live through the text, and live through it’s reality.

Henry Rollins once stated, “Weakness is what brings ignorance, cruelty, and pride, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor.” In Sophocles play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, weakness is his fate. Throughout the play, Oedipus is trying to outrun his fate because he feels the gods are subordinate to his powerful figure. Oedipus is seen as a god throughout Thebes because he defeated the mighty Sphinx, who was once haunting over the city. After defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus took over as king by killing his father and coupling his mother as his hubris blinded him from reality. Sophocles uses dramatic irony to show the ignorance of Oedipus Rex as he cannot see the truth. Oedipus cannot see the truth because his hubris is encouraged by the people and himself. Oedipus’ ignorance is also clearly displayed after an effort to save his city. Although Oedipus is a fictional character created thousands of years ago, his actions can easily connect to many people in today 's society. The theme conveyed in Sophocles play Oedipus Rex is hubris often results in one 's ignorance.

It is often said that an anti-climax work is more admired than its counterparts. For reasons, the struggle of humans, the ultimate failure of a hero, and the corruption of mortal spirit have always hold its ground against classic comedy. From the ages of Oedipus Rex, a tragedy carries the irony of an egoistic giant trapped in predestined downfall. Oedipus was almost certain that he had escaped the arranged destiny. This confidence led him to pursue the murderer of Thebes until, at the end, he made the horrible discovery that his wife was his mother, and that his daughters were instead, his sisters. In this case, such a miraculous story is hugely benefited by some re-occurring elements call motif. Sophocles adaption of motif enhances the mood

Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.