Throughout the works of Sophocles, suffering is often a central theme. ¨Oedipus the King,¨ for instance, depicts a complicated set of characters where suffering has been brought upon others because of Oedipus. The play connects this idea through the concept that fate cannot be fought, arrogance can be a downfall, and there are more things power than an individual. The overall concept of these occurrences led to the suffering brought upon others.
Both King Laius and Queen Jocasta failed at their attempt to fight the fate of Oedipus´s prophecy. Tiresias told them the contents of the prophecy, and then King Laius decided to tell someone to kill Oedipus. This plan to not follow through; thus, allowing the prophecy to continue to be filled.
The play titled "Antigone" by Sophocles is about hardships that the main character Antigone has to go through with her two brothers killing each other because, after the king, their father Oedipus, dies, the sons now have to rule the City of Thebes. The brothers agreed that they would lead for a year, and since Eteocles was the oldest, he headed first, but when it was Polyneices's turn, Eteocles didn't want to give the throne up. So they ended up going to war and killing each other. Unlike Polyneices, Eteocles celebrates his death while Polyneices rot in the field. Antigone is trying to have a proper burial for her brother Polyneices, but her evil uncle Creon does not want Polyneices to have a proper burial because they both went against the
There are many alternative actions that could have been taken so that the prophecy did not come true. “Laius drove a metal pin through the infant’s ankles and gave it to a shepherd, with instructions to leave it to die of exposure on the nearby mountain, Cithaeron” (Introduction. pg XL). Instead of sending someone else to do their dirty work, they should have killed the baby themselves. They could have even had someone watch the shepherd take the baby to make sure that the baby was properly placed to die.
Oedipus’ typical compassion is tested when his position is at risk, exposing his selfish nature. Oedipus is usually a compassionate ruler. He would communicate with his people and give them a chance to be heard. For example, Oedipus goes to his people and after hearing them speak of their sufferings, he replies, “each of you suffers in himself alone his anguish, not another’s; but my spirit groans for the city, for myself, for you” (Fritt 5). Here, Oedipus is showing his sympathy and pity for his people and that he wants to help them.
Oedipus portrayed his actions made him kill these men in a pure hast, fulfilling half of the prophecy. If Oedipus instead calmed himself down the outcome of the situation could’ve been avoided all together and the prophecy could’ve remained un-touched. Jocasta seems to put the connection together that Oedipus killed Laius, faster then he could. All of Oedipus’ actions are based on pure impulse and towards the emotions he is feeling at the time to make such bad judgment calls. It has been shown that Oedipus’ short tempered and irrational behavior made him do unthinkable things to the people who got in his
In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and agency are very strong throughout the play. Both sides of the argument can be greatly supported. The attributes of a person have either a positive or negative affect on the choices that they make. For Oedipus, his main attribute was the desire for knowledge and understanding about his own life. Because of this strong will and desire, this was Oedipus’ driving force in the play to lead him to the truth of his beginnings.
Background Information: In Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Oedipus was told that he would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. However, Oedipus doesn’t believe that he killed Laius but was blind to the truth for him accept it which led to his demise. 3.Thesis Statement:
In ancient Greek literature, diseases and afflictions often play key roles within the story. In Sophocles 's tragedy Oedipus Rex, the presence and recurrence of afflictions are central elements to the plot. Oedipus and his city both possess conditions that determine the outcome of the play. The motif of ailments, like the plague and blindness, highlight the hubris and failures of Oedipus to demonstrate his reliance on the gods.
Whether it be Sophocles or Shakespeare tragedies, they resemble the rendering of human suffering and a man’s destiny. However, a closer look into the features of a tragic drama between a classic Greek tragedy and a Shakespearean tragedy has noticeable differences. Sophocles tragedies were laid upon the inscrutable power of Fate or Destiny, capable of bringing about havoc and ruin to human life. For example, when Antigone commits a sin in such ignorance that the impression of a sinister destiny that rules her life is paramount.
In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus’s suffering due to his excessive pride
Critic Northrop Frye claims that tragic heroes “seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them… Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” A perfect example of this assertion would be King Oedipus in the classical tragic play “Oedipus Rex,” written by Sophocles, where Oedipus, himself, becomes the victim of his doomed fate. As someone who was born and raised of royal blood, he becomes too proud and ignorant, believing that he was too powerful for his fate. Using the metaphor “great trees [are] more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass,” Frye compares the heroic but unfortunate Oedipus to the great trees as they both are apt to experience victimization of tragic situations
The plot is thoroughly integrated with the characterization of Oedipus, for it is he who impels the action forward in his concern for Thebes, his personal rashness, and his ignorance of his past. His flaws are a hot temper and impulsiveness, but without those traits his heroic course of self-discovery would never occur. Fate for Sophocles is not something essentially external to human beings but
Oedipus was getting hints of his prophecy and knowledge. King Oedipus hears Laius prophecy, thebes is looking for laius murder to bring healing to the city. Jocasta doesn't want him to keep searching because she is afraid. “I feel that my own curse now begins to descend on me.” (line 703, part 2)
Sophocles’ mythical play of Oedipus the King describes a Greek king that has taken the rule of Thebes from its former king who had been murdered. Oedipus is seen as a famous character which was sought after for the king of Thebes due to his victory over the Sphinx. In Greek legend, the Sphinx devoured all travelers who could not answer the riddle it posed: "What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening? "
The Queen, Jacosta, Oedipus’ wife tells him not to believe in the prophet, because they’ve been wrong before, she then tells Oedipus about how she and King Laius had a son who was prophesied to kill Laius and sleep with her but since the child was supposedly dead the prophecy couldn’t be true. Oedipus becomes a bit weary because as a child an old man told him he was adopted and that one day he’d kill his real father and sleep with his mother, Oedipus did also kill a man at a crossroads which sounded like the way Laius died. Oedipus continued questioning the messenger and found out that he was the man everyone spoke of and Jacosta then comes to the realization that Oedipus is her son and kills herself.
Through the outcomes of both plays, the audience is able to receive some hard truths and be confronted with reality. In their respective ways, the two plays reveal truths about the human experience in the way that the plays are symbolic of very real human or societal problems. Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex, has a fateful plot with a tragic ending. His play follows the conventions of tragedy, implementing plot, character development,